Knoles finishes 33-4 as D220 state champion

Senior Brandon Knoles joined some elite company Thursday as only the third ever state wrestling champion at Perkins County Schools. 

After getting upset in the D4 semifinals, Knoles took that lesson and experience to heart, clearing the D220 bracket en route to a state championship.

Coach Tanner Collins said Knoles was on a different plane throughout the two-day tournament. 

“I’ve never seen an individual wrestler with that much focus and determination in their face,” Collins said.

Going into the championship match against Maxwell’s  Luke Howitt, a wrestler he had already beaten earlier in the season, Knoles got one direction from Collins—don’t get in a headlock. 

Both knew that was Howitt’s go-to move and as long as he could stay clear of it, Collins knew he could win the match.

He not only won the match but did it with a pin in the final seconds of the second period after building a 3-0 lead.

Earlier rounds

As a third-place finisher at districts, Knoles faced a second-place district finisher in the first round of state.

Junior Chandler Carrier of Scribner-Snyder, 20-14, who took second in the D1 district, became Knoles’ first victim. He needed just 1:54 to record his first of two pins in the meet. 

In the quarterfinals, Knoles knocked off senior Chet Wichmann of Palmer, who brought in the best record at 220 with  a 51-2 mark. 

The match was tied 1-1 in the third period. With less than 20 seconds left, Knoles got a two-point takedown to claim a 3-1 decision against the top-rated wrestler to move into Thursday’s semi-finals. 

There, he built a 6-4 lead over Sandhills/Thedford senior Reed McFadden by the third period and rode him out to victory to move to the finals. 

Collins said Knoles’ upset loss in the district worried him a little bit. 

“Every other loss, he was pretty calm, collected and didn’t let it bother him. That was not the case after that match,” Collins said. 

He said he pulled Knoles in close and told him the upset didn’t change a thing.

“I said nothing changes. You got to Omaha. And you still got to beat everybody there to win,” Collins told him.
He reassured Knoles that “everything you want is still right in front of you.”

With the focus Knoles displayed, Collins said he said very little to him during his matches, except for his advice in the finals. 

Looking at the championship podium during the medal presentations, Collins realized that Knoles beat the second, third and fourth place finishers at 220 en route to his championship medal.

Knoles joins state champions Austin Thelander, 2013, 106 and Beau Wood, 2019, at 195.

Three other qualifiers

Collins took three others to Omaha for the state meet—freshman Mason Toner at 120 and juniors Colton Pouk at 138 and Austin Meyer at 285.

Collins is looking forward to getting each of them back next season to help build the nucleus of another successful campaign. 

Collins said the experience will be good for all of them.

He said Toner was a little overwhelmed by the atmosphere but making the tournament will benefit him down the road as well as provide some motivation. 

Toner went out after falling in his first two matches. 

Collins said Pouk was ahead in both matches before giving up falls as well. 

He added Pouk has faced some adversity down the stretch, suffering from a bad case of cauliflower ear that will need some treatment now the season is over. 

Collins said he was proud of how Pouk persevered, despite the pain. 

Meyer, the district champion at 285, opened his tournament with a pin, putting Jacob Stromberg, 25-32, of Palmer to the mat in 1:20.

In his quarterfinal match, Meyer suffered a 1-0 loss to Summerland’s Logan Mueller in the three-period match. 

Collins said Mueller, who went on to finish second, rode Meyer out the entire third period to preserve the 1-0 win. 

Just 45 minutes later, Meyer found himself back in the mat for a consolation match with Isaac Welch of Mullen. 

Collins said the short turnaround time after a long match with Mueller took its toll on Meyer. 

He suffered a fall at 4:46 to end his comeback bid for a medal. 

The results of the Plainsmen wrestlers at the state meet, along with their final record, follow:

Class D State Tournament

120 Mason Toner (9-25)-—Champ. Round 1: Lance Russell (High Plains Community) over Toner, Fall 1:31; Cons. Round 1: Carter VanPelt (Southwest) over Toner, Fall 2:30.

138 Colton Pouk (22-9)—Champ. Round 1: Damien Erickson (Stanton) over Pouk, Fall 3:08; Cons. Round 1: Wyatt Urkoski (High Plains Community) over Pouk, Fall 4:30.

220 Brandon Knoles (33-4) 1st place—Champ. Round 1: Knole over Chandler Carrier (Scribner-Snyder), Fall 1:54; Quarterfinal: Knole over Chet Wichmann (Palmer), Dec 3-1; Semifinal: Knole over Reed McFadden (Sandhills/Thedford), Dec 6-4; 1st Place Match: Knole over Luke Howitt (Maxwell), Fall 3:58.

285 Austin Meyer (33-10)—Champ. Round 1: Meyer over Jacob Stromberg (Palmer), Fall 1:20; Quarterfinal: Logan Mueller (Summerland) over Meyer, Dec 1-0; Cons. Round 2: Isaac Welch (Mullen) over Meyer, Fall 4:46.