SALINA — Ellsworth junior Will Donley claimed fourth place in the 132-lb. weight bracket at the 1A-4A State Wrestling Tournament Feb. 22-24 at Tony’s Pizza Event Center, Salina.

The boys, who normally compete in the 3-2-1A division, typically wrestle at Gross Memorial Coliseum, Hays, but due to a scheduling conflict, the tournament was moved to Salina, where they combined the event with 4A boys and 1-4A girls.

Donley returned from a sixth-place finish last year to nab fourth, while sophomores Keegan Urbanek and Micah Galvan competed for the first time at state to make their mark on the mat and gain experience for future years.

Donley competed twice Thursday and won his first match by major decision, 9-0. He won his next match by decision 8-3, and with two wins, was guaranteed to place and finish in the top six.

Donley’s next match Friday was against the 2023 state champion Carson Ochs of Hoxie, who won by decision 9-2 and would take first again. Donley’s loss didn’t end his fight. His match on Saturday would determine if he would compete for third or fifth. He won 5-0 and moved on to the third place match. He was defeated by a fall, and ended his season with a fourth place finish.

Urbanek competed at 165 lbs. He lost his first match by decision 6-3, but with state being a double-elimination tournament, had a chance at redemption. He won his next match by decision 11-5, and moved on to compete Saturday, where he was defeated by decision, 6-1.

Galvan competed at 175 lbs. He was defeated by a fall his first round, then lost in a close match by decision, 3-2. For him, the highlight of the tournament was “the competition.”

“The three state qualifiers had a great year and I would expect to see them back there next year,” Head Coach Steve Thorburn said. “It’s been a fun year. Will wrestled good and gets to write his name up on the board again this year. It’s a tradition for the wrestlers to put their own name up on the board, and I have no problem buying new markers to do that.”

“The three state qualifiers had a great year and I would expect to see them back there next year.”

Steve Thorburn

Head Coach