SEK wrestling champs to be decided here Thursday

For the first time since the format began for the 2013-14 season, the Southeast Kansas League Dual Wrestling Tournament will be held in Fort Scott. The tournament will take place at the FSHS gymnasium Thursday beginning at 3 p.m.

The seven schools will be seeded and then placed in a bracket. This will be a wrestling-style bracket with "wrestlebacks" determining places three through seven, not a common seven-team bracket with a bye included that one sees in basketball.

Only team titles are at stake in this tournament. No individual champions will be declared.

Since 2013-14, the Southeast Kansas League has determined its team champion with this tournament, eschewing the round-robin format with duals held throughout the season. Chanute has won both tournament titles, the first one in its home gym two years ago and again at Coffeyville last season.

Chanute also won the SEK title in 2012-13, the last year of the old format and so is going for its fourth consecutive title. The Blue Comets have won 14 championships overall, second to Columbus' 19. Columbus is no longer a member of the SEK, however. Only one other school has won more than two league titles: Coffeyville, whose last of nine came in 1983.

Of the remaining schools, Fort Scott, Labette County and Pittsburg have each won two titles and Parsons has a share of one. Independence has never won a league wrestling championship.

If Chanute, coached by former Tiger Andy Albright, wins the tournament, it will be the first team to win four consecutive league titles since the Comets did so from 2007-10 although they shared the first title in that run with Fort Scott and Labette County.

Pittsburg could be a threat to unseat the defending champions. The Purple Dragons will come into the tournament as the No. 3-ranked team in Class 5A. None of the other teams are ranked by the coaches.

Pittsburg also has five ranked wrestlers, all of whom are juniors. Wes Jameson is No. 5 at 132 pounds with Joseph Tallie No. 5 at 152, Dylan Prince No. 1 at 195, Kayne Hutchison No. 3 at 220 and Duncan Deveron No. 1 at 285.

The Purple Dragons have won the SEK title just twice, doing so in back-to-back seasons, 2011 and 2012.

Fort Scott, whose last title was the 2007 tri-championship, has a pair of ranked wrestlers in 138-pounder Derek Bollinger and 145-pounder Zarek Fewell, both of whom qualified for the Class 4A State Tournament as freshmen last season. Bollinger is No. 2 in his weight class and Fewell No. 6. Both have won at least 30 matches this season.

Chanute also has two ranked wrestlers. Nick Ornelas, a junior, is No. 6 at 126 pounds and Brady Vogel, a senior, is No. 1 at 160.

The only other state-ranked wrestler is Independence senior Seth Stroble, who is No. 3 at 285 pounds.

There are also six returning State medalists in these duals and 17 State qualifiers. The medalists include Bollinger, who was sixth at 132 pounds in Class 4A last season, Prince, who was third at 182 in 5A, Hutchinson, third in 220 in 5A, Ornelas, fifth in 4A at 126, Vogel, 4A runner-up at 160, and Parsons senior Keenan Dodd, who finished third in Class 4A at 220.