Bryant reaches semifinals; Sharp still alive

SALINA, Kan. -- Two Fort Scott High School wrestlers remain alive at the Kansas Class 4A State Wrestling Tournament going into today's action.

Senior Drew Bryant (29-13) advanced to the semifinals at 285 pounds but was pinned there by Abilene's Matt Holt. Bryant drops into the consolation semifinals, where he has the luxury of watching his potential opponent wrestle twice before Bryant faces him.

Sophomore Tyler Sharp lost in the quarterfinals at 112 and will begin his day bright and early this morning with a consolation cross-bracket match at 9 a.m.

Two other Tigers have been eliminated, both in two matches -- sophomore Victor Hughes at 135 pounds and classmate John Metcalf at 160.

Freshman Jacob Durossette, who finished second at last weekend's Chanute Regional, was injured during the week and unable to take part in the tournament at 125 pounds.

The 285-pound weight class could have been considered wide open as none of last year's six medalists returned. Bryant proved that in his first match by defeating Jesse Austin of Baldwin, 7-4. Austin was ranked sixth in this weight class in the Kansas Wrestling Coaches Association's most recent poll.

Austin had won his Regional at Holton with ease, pinning his three opponents there in a cumulative time of 3 minutes, 37 seconds.

In the quarterfinals, Bryant pinned Josh Horn of Winfield in overtime. Horn had upset fifth-ranked John Demmer in the first round by pinning him. Demmer had lost just three matches this season prior to State but was eliminated in the first round of consolation by Austin.

Holt, the top-ranked wrestler in the KWCA poll, advanced to the semifinals with a pin over Anthony White of Cheney and a 2-1 decision over third-ranked Tanner Stanage of Prairie View. He pinned Bryant with 54 seconds remaining in the semifinal.

Bryant will wrestle at 12:15 this afternoon in the consolation semifinals, provided the tournament stays on schedule. If he wins that match, he will advance to the third-place match at 3 p.m. If he loses, he will wrestle for fifth at 2 p.m. Since the top six finishers earn medals, Bryant is guaranteed one regardless of the outcome of his matches. A rematch with Austin is possible if he wins his first two matches today.

Holt (29-5) will face unranked Hayden Chandler of DeSoto (27-14) for the championship tonight.

Sharp (29-15) was declared the winner of his first match at 112 when Jaysten McClure of Maize South defaulted. That put Sharp into a quarterfinal against top-ranked Dustin Reed of Colby. Reed won by pinfall in 1 minute, 15 seconds.

Reed (39-2) will wrestle for the championship tonight against fifth-ranked Corey Spader of Spring Hill (30-7). Reed finished second in the 103-pound weight class in last year's 4A tourney.

Sharp will face Brade Hake of Concordia (33-7) in consolation cross-bracketing this morning. Hake was upset in the first round by Justus Seaton of Bonner Springs by pinfall. He stayed alive by scoring a technical fall over Pratt's Cesar Regalado in the first round of consolation.

In order to wrestle for a medal today, Sharp has to win his first two matches and reach the consolation semifinals. Once there, he, like Bryant, is guaranteed a medal.

Hughes (31-16) drew Abilene's Courtney Strauss in the first round at 135. Strauss is ranked third in this weight class and has lost just one match all year. That match was in the semifinals of the Concordia Regional by pinfall.

Strauss (38-1) pinned Hughes in 3:45 and won his next to matches to advance to tonight's final where he will face second-ranked Jonathan Blackwell of Bonner Springs (41-5).

Hughes fell into consolation, where he was eliminated by an 11-7 decision by Travis Beinap of Rose Hill.

Metcalf (27-17) faced fourth-ranked Austin Ortiz of Buhler in the first round at 160 and lost a 6-5 decision. He dropped into consolation where he faced Michael Pretorious of Rose Hill and lost a 10-6 decision.

Ortiz lost in the quarterfinals to second-ranked Drake Lovvorn of Holton. Lovvorn, in turn, lost in the semifinals to top-ranked Jake Hattabaugh of Andale on a 3-2 decision. Hattabaugh (35-2) faces fourth-ranked Colton Easterberg of Clay Center (29-6) for the championship tonight. Easterberg finished third in Class 4A at this weight last season.

Durossette, who was ranked No. 5 at 125 pounds by the coaches, officially defaulted to Colton Wray of Buhler and Caleb White of Mulvane. The championship match will be between fourth-ranked Caleb Seaton of Bonner Springs (33-5) and top-ranked Bo Newport of Prairie View (44-3). Newport finished second at 112 last year while Seaton was fourth in Class 5A at 119.

Andale is currently the team leader and it's by a wide margin with 120.5 points to 78 for second-place Lenexa St. James. Abilene is third with 68.5 points and defending champ Clay Center is fourth with 63. Fort Scott is tied for 25th with Southeast Kansas League rival Parsons with 13 points. Andale is seeking its first state crown since 2006.

Kyle Johnson of SEK rival Columbus (33-2) will wrestle for the State crown at 130 pounds tonight against Konnor Kriss of Colby (37-6). Johnson was second in this weight class last year while Kriss took third at 119. He is the only SEK wrestler in a championship final.

NOTES -- Pittsburg's Aaron Seybold (39-5) has advance to the 135-pound final at Park City with three pins and will face Newton's Miles Johns (36-4) for the championship tonight....