BonnerSprings.com

Brandon Jobe couldn’t have asked for a better result in his first outing as the new Bonner Springs wrestling coach.

The Braves opened the season Tuesday at home with duals against Piper and Basehor-Linwood, and they won both.

BSHS held off Piper in a 40-34 thriller that came down to the final match, and it beat BLHS, 39-30.

The Braves won by using a mix of experienced veterans and precocious freshmen, and they even turned in quality efforts in some losses.

“They got out there and they battled every match,” Jobe said. “Good things happen when you do that.”

There was plenty of good Tuesday night. Freshman 103-pounder Justus Seaton opened the Piper dual with a second-period pin. Freshman 130-pounder Jonathan Blackwell won his match with a 17-1 technical fall, and freshman 135-pounder Tyler Lentz won his match with a first-period pin. Freshman Aaron Puckett followed suit with a 20-2 technical fall at 140 pounds. Senior Ryan Bartels and junior Brian Callahan picked up victories at 160 and 171 pounds, respectively, before Piper rallied to tie the team scores at 34-34.

Sophomore heavyweight Chase McCleary broke the tie when he pinned Jeremy Farmer in the third period of the final match. Moments later, the gym erupted in cheers and McCleary was swarmed by his teammates.

It was an emotional victory for the Braves, but for Jobe as well. He’s a 1999 Piper graduate, so his first coaching victory came against his alma mater.

“It’s kind of funny that my first dual actually coaching was against Piper, and it came down to a heavyweight match,” he said. “I’m glad it ended that way. It was real exciting for the fans and it was good for our guys.”

There was less drama against Basehor-Linwood because the shorthanded Bobcats were open in six weight classes, thus granting automatic victories for the Braves and a comfortable advantage in team points.

The Bobcats won six of the eight head-to-head matchups, but the Braves used a pin by junior 119-pounder Caleb Seaton and a hard-fought 5-2 victory by Puckett to earn the nine-point difference in the team scores.

The Braves next compete at the Kaw Valley League Dual Tournament at 9 a.m. Saturday at Turner High School. Among the teams in attendance will be reigning Class 5A state runner-up Lansing and Mill Valley, last year’s ninth-place finisher at state in Class 5A.

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