ARAPAHOE – The small numbers that the Elwood wrestling team has faced all season long, didn’t seem to phase them as they were champions of the Arapahoe Invite over the weekend.

 The Pirates placed eight wrestlers, including two gold medalists over the weekend as Elwood had its best finish at an invitational all season long.

 At 119 pounds, Walter Flint took home the silver medal after going 2-1 on the day. Flint had a first-round bye, before moving into the semi-final, where he won by pin over Bryce Brown of S-E-M in :20 seconds, the fastest out the Elwood wrestlers. Flint lost his championship match to Jason Carwin of Flemming, Colo., by pin in the third period.

 Senior Michael Daake still is working on staking his claim at one of the top seeds in this year’s state tournament, as he took home another gold medal. Daake took out Derek Stabenow of Elm Creek by pin in the second period, before defeating Devin Simon of Rawlins County by a 11-2 major decision.

 Elwood’s other senior Will Rahjes also brought home a medal, as Rahjes brought home third place.

 Rahjes won his opening match at 135, by pinning Damen Mackety at 1:14 of the first period. Rahjes got a second round bye before losing to Cale Eacker in a close one, a 2-0 decision. Rahjes moved to the third-place match, defeating James Rundel of Wauneta-Palisade by a 2-0 decision to take the bronze.

 Thad Reiman also brought home a medal for Elwood, bringing home the Pirates’ second bronze medal of the day at 140 pounds. Reiman opened his day with a 5-4 decision win over Jared Bohl of Norton, KS, before losing to John Frerichs of S-E-M in the first period by pin. Reiman bounced back to win his next two matches, both by pin, to take home third.

 Mitch Kubert went 2-2 on the day at 145 pounds, to take home fifth overall on the day. Kubert lost his opening match to Calvin Frerichs of S-E-M by a 9-7 decision, before bouncing back with a pin of Lance Taylor in the second period. Kubert lost again, this time to Eli Bozarth of Norton by pin in the second period. Kubert won his fifth-place match, pinning Justin Cline in the third period to grab fifth.

 Markeith Hodgson took home Elwood’s third bronze medal, even after going 0-2 on the day. Hodgson lost to Andy Gardner of Arapahoe by pin in the second period and also by pin to ranked Dalton Meier of Elm Creek in the first period. Hodgson got a bye in the consolation match to take third overall.

 The 171-pound bracket belonged to Hunter Ertz as the Pirate dominated his bracket to bring home the team’s second gold medal. Ertz defeated Bryce Linden of Arapahoe with a first period pin, then pinning Dayne Fanders of Rawlins County in the second period. In the championship match, Ertz defeated Zach Burden of S-E-M by a 8-5 decision to give Ertz the gold.

 Finally, Dillon Tiede finished off Elwood’s championship run, with a second place finish at 189 pounds. Tiede first defeated Mychal Robinson of Axtell by a 16-4 major decision, before losing to Keagan Haarberg of Wauneta-Palisade 4-2. Tiede took the silver after defeating Will Jack of Eustis-Farnam by pin in the second period.

 Elwood won with 121 total team points, while S-E-M came in second with 115.5 points. The Pirates are on the move again, as they prepare to take part in the FKC tournament, scheduled for Feb. 4.

• Elwood Pirates
• Elwood Wrestling

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