Tiger wrestlers tested at Rose Hill

ROSE HILL -- Fort Scott High School's wrestling team saw many of the teams and individuals it will face at the end of the month at the Caney Valley Class 4A Regional Tournament here over the weekend in the Rose Hill Tournament, a tournament that usually features state powers in classes 6A, 5A and 4A.

"The tourney was a great test for us, especially this year, as we were able to see many of the top wrestlers that will attend our regional tournament in Caney," Fort Scott head coach David Brown said. "For us, we now see where we need to focus over the next two weeks so a State berth can be earned. It will take a great effort for these wrestlers to make it to state with the competition they will face in their weight classes."

Justin Sharp was the Tigers' only medalist, finishing in sixth place at 125 pounds. He pinned Cody Adkins of Independence in his first match of the day but fell into consolation when he lost a 14-3 major decision to Kyle Johnson of Columbus.

In consolation, Sharp pinned El Dorado's Bryan Lockard and won an 8-5 decision over Andale's Ben Thomas. He lost in the consolation semifinal to Troy Clark of Chanute by a 13-3 major decision and to Mulvane's Seth Sharpe in the fifth-place match by a 6-0 decision.

Michael Durossette was 1-2 at 130 pounds. He was pinned by Adam Leedy of Chanute in his first match. In consolation, he won by default over Brit LaRue of El Dorado, then lost to Shane Goetz of Hutchinson by pinfall.

Lee Culbertson was also 1-2, wrestling at 152 pounds. He won a 12-8 decision over Dustin Oliver of Independence but was pinned by Andale's Willie Eck. In consolation, he was eliminated by Brice Loeffler of Concordia via pinfall.

Blake Cowen went 2-2 at 160. He pinned Columbus' Paul Morris in the first round but lost to Hutchinson's Sammy Sanders by a 14-1 major decision. In consolation, Cowen pinned Skylar McGinnis of Chanute but lost to Ian Whittit of Derby, 7-2.

Denzell Davis only got to wrestle twice at 119 pounds because of the many byes that were in the bracket. He lost by pin to Eric Knox of Hugoton and by 4-2 decision to Jonathan Peterson of Hutchinson.

The Tigers will conclude regular-season action by going to a Southeast Kansas League triangular Thursday night at Columbus. Chanute, which will also be in attendance, and Columbus are both undefeated in league matches going into the event. Fort Scott is 3-2 as is Pittsburg, which will be wrestling Labette County and Parsons.