T-Birds eye top-10 finish in wrestling

Topeka Capital-Journal, The, Feb 26, 1999 by RICK PETERSON

WICHITA -- Shawnee Heights wrestling coach Bob Gonzales doesn't expect to challenge for the Class 5A team championship this weekend at the Kansas Coliseum.

In fact, after a 20th-place showing a year ago, a top-10 finish would be enough to send Gonzales and the T-Birds home happy.

"If we could do that, I'd probably be a happy camper," said Gonzales, who will have nine T-Birds competing. "I would be ecstatic, because you've got to look at where we came from. "We're a good high school program and we work real hard, but you have to go back to four years ago when we were in the top 10. It's been awhile since we've been in this position, and I'm really happy for our kids." Obviously, Gonzales would like to see his T-Birds come home with a gold medal or two, but he is more intent on Heights coming home with a stack of state medals, which are awarded for top-six finishes. Wins in the first two rounds gets a wrestler to the semifinals and guarantees a medal. "You've got to coach your kids to take one round at a time," Gonzales said. "Our goal right now is to win the first two and get into that semifinal round." The key, obviously, is the early rounds, and the pairings seem to be a mixed bag for the T-Birds. "The pairings are tough, but we're going to live with what we receive," Gonzales said. Shawnee Heights, ranked ninth in the coaches rankings, finished fourth last week at the Salina South regional, but was just 4 1/2 points out of second place. The T-Birds dropped four one-point decisions and another by two points. "I told them, "We've got one more chance; let's win the close ones,' " Gonzales said. Shawnee Heights' best chances for gold this weekend would appear to be junior 125-pounder Aaron Meggison and senior 152-pounder Ted Hanshaw, who were both regional champions lastweek. Seaman will have seven competitors in the 5A meet, led by 171- pound junior Ronnie Connell, who was second last week at Salina. Highland Park and Topeka West, which also competed in the Salina South regional, qualified five and four wrestlers, respectively, for state. Arkansas City has had a strangle hold on the 5A championship, winning 11 straight titles, but this could be the year that Ark City is unseated. Goddard appears to have the best chance of knocking off the Bulldogs, who have a lineup dominated by underclassmen. "If you're going to beat Ark City, you better do it now, because once they're senior-dominated it's pretty tough," Gonzales said. Washburn Rural will have three wrestlers competing in the 6A meet, led by 140-pound junior Logan Corbin (29-7), who was a regional champion last week at Derby. Hayden will have four competitors in the 4A division. The 3A-2A-1A state tournament will be held today and Saturday at Gross Coliseum on the campus of Fort Hays State. Fans unable to attend the state tournaments can keep track of the action on the Internet by accessing www.pratt.net. City pairings in Scoreboard, 6-D