BonnerSprings.com

The Bonner Springs High School wrestling team placed 19th out of 23 teams on Friday and Saturday, Dec. 19-20, at the Lee’s Summit (Mo.) Holiday Invitational.

Two Braves returned home with medals in hand. Sophomore Caleb Seaton placed second at 112 pounds and senior Tanner McCleary took third at 285.

Those were the biggest highlights from a two-day tournament that featured competition from schools primarily based in Missouri, but also from schools as far away as Idaho. Francis Howell Central out of St. Charles, Mo., won the tournament title with 388.5 points. Blackfoot (Id.) High finished second with 384.5 and Liberty (Mo.) was third with 278.5. Bonner Springs had 124 points.

Seaton dominated in his pool and posted a 5-0 record. That earned him a spot in the eight-man final bracket. Seaton won his quarterfinal match with a first-period pin of Rockhurst’s Luke Tripp. In the semifinals Seaton pinned Francis Howell’s Nick Baker in the opening period. Seaton’s string of successes ran out in the finals, however, as he fell via a 20-7 major decision to Terrel Wilbourn of Francis Howell Central.

McCleary battled to a 4-1 record and second-place finish in his pool. That earned him a berth in the bracket where he promptly defeated Troy’s Ken Stanger with a first-period pin in the quarterfinals. McCleary dropped a 5-1 decision to Justin Ellertson of Timberland in the semifinals but bounced back to edge Doug Crawford of Jefferson City in the third-place match, 4-1.

Senior 171-pounder Anthony Ellingsworth was the only other Brave to advance to the bracket. He went 4-1 in pool matches, but he lost both bracket matches and finished out of the medals.

Junior 125-pounder Brooks Ballou and sophomore 152-pounder Brian Callahan both went 2-3 but didn’t advance to the bracket.

Sophomore 135-pounder Dallas Keller, junior 140-pounder Ryan Demato, senior 145-pounder Adam Shirley, junior 160-pounder Ryan Bartels, junior 189-pounder Clarence Forshey and sophomore 215-pounder Brandon Clark all went 1-4 and didn’t move on to the bracket.

The Braves next compete at 9 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 10, at their home invitational.

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