Luellen brothers position Rossville for 3A team title
Posted: February 26, 2016 - 10:18pm
brent.maycock@cjonline.com
HAYS —For as
long as Isaac and Isaiah Luellen have been wrestling together, only once have
they had their hands raised as state champions in the same year.
That came at the 2013 Kids State Tournament and proved to be a
special moment for the Rossville brothers.
What could top it? If they could duplicate the feat Saturday at
the Class 3-2-1A state championships in Hays and help bring home a team title
for the Bulldawgs in the process.
The duo set up both possibilities with dominating performances
Friday. Isaiah had no trouble finding his way into Saturday’s 152-pound title
match and Isaac had even less trouble returning to the 182-pound finals after
winning last year’s state title at that weight.
“It’s what we wanted all season, so that’s accomplished,” Isaiah
Luellen said. “But we’ve still got another step. We can’t be happy with just
being in the finals. We have to win the whole thing. We’ve got some unfinished
business to take care of.”
Overall, Rossville did some heavy lifting in its bid to capture
its first team state title after posting top-three finishes the past two years.
The Bulldawgs put four in the finals with Bryce Gfeller earning a shot at his
third straight state title by reaching the 126-pound finals and Kole Davoren putting
a dramatic and momentum-building finish on the day with a 3-2 sudden-death
upset win in the 220-pound finals.
Rossville heads into Saturday’s action with a 10-point lead on
three-time defending champion Norton (101-91).
“I really want to win this tournament,” Isaac Luellen said. “That’s
been our goal all season long. If we both win, that could lead to a team title
as well.”
Of all Rossville’s victories on Friday, Davoren provided the most
dramatic moments. And they started even before the state meet with Davoren
waking up Monday with a 101-degree temperature coupled with vomiting.
“I could not think of a worse time for a fever to come on and be
throwing up,” Davoren said. “I wasn’t going to let it keep me from being here,
though.”
If Davoren was weakened by the bout of fever, it hardly showed and
he had plenty in the tank when he needed it the most. He got down early against
Hoisington’s Austin McHenry in the quarterfinals, but rallied for a 5-3
overtime win to set up a No. 1 vs. No. 2 showdown with top-ranked Chris Cox of
Oakley in the semifinals.
The two traded escapes during regulation, and after a scoreless
overtime Cox got an escape in the second overtime for a 2-1 lead. Davoren
couldn’t manage an escape in his overtime period on bottom, but Cox couldn’t
keep him on the mat and Davoren was awarded a stalling point to tie the match
and force sudden death.
Needing an escape to win, Davoren got it with four seconds left in
the match, earning a shot in the finals against Smith Center’s Dalton Kuhn
(13-3).
“I probably gave my mom a heart attack,” said Davoren, who
improved to 37-6. “I was confident and I could tell my shape was being
important and that helped me in the end.”
Isaac Luellen was virtually untouchable in his three matches at
182, taking easy wins, including a 22-7 technical fall win over Riley County’s
Chris Truesdale in the semifinals.
“I felt great today, relaxed and on point,” said Luellen, who
improved to 45-0 and will face Lyons’ Cody Clarke (32-5) in the finals. “If I
wrestle like that tomorrow, it’ll produce a state championship.”
Isaiah, meanwhile, posted pins in his first two matches and then
handled Russell’s Chase Prester 8-3 in the semifinals. His challenge in the
finals is a huge one, No. 1 Christopher Ball of Hoisington, who is 40-0 and the
younger brother of Brandon Ball, who beat Luellen at state last year.
“I was just letting it fly today,” said Luellen, who is 39-6. “I
just want to get that state title. I have to get to his legs early on and
attack him and beat him on my feet.”
Rossville did have a handful of hiccups that could have put the
Bulldawgs in firm control of the tourney.
Senior 120-pounder Alex Cavanaugh, ranked No. 1 all year, was
upset in the semifinals in a match that had state championship written all over
it. Facing standout freshman Dayton Porsch of Hoxie, Cavanaugh led 1-0 in the
second period before Porsch caught him with an underhook and threw him for a
takedown to lead 2-1 and went on to win 3-1.
Earlier in the day, 160-pound No. 1 Derek Gentry was knocked off
in the quarterfinals, getting pinned by Russell’s Kelton Suchy in the first
period of their match.
Both are still alive, however, as is freshman Phoenix Thomas, who
bounced back from a first-round loss to pin his consolation first-round foe.
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