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Bonner Springs placed second at the annual Wyandotte County Tournament Saturday at Harmon High School.

The Braves had eight wrestlers finish in the top three in their weight classes, and they placed 10 out of the 13 wrestlers that came to the tournament.

Four Braves captured county championships. Caleb Seaton placed first at 119 pounds, Aaron Pucket was the champ at 140, Brian Callahan took first at 171, and Jake Barren was first at 285.

Barren and Seaton pinned their way through the tournament, and Callahan and Puckett dominated all of their matches en route to individual titles.

Turner, a traditional power in Class 5A, entered as the tournament favorite and won the team championship.

“I thought we had a chance to give Turner a better run for the championship,” BSHS coach Brandon Jobe said. “We lost a few crucial close matches early in the tournament. For the most part we wrestled well, but are still making very costly mistakes that we should not be making. Our progression throughout the year has been excellent with such a young team (half of varsity line-up is made up of freshmen). We are competing with and beating many upperclassmen. Of course we will keep improving in the years to come, but we are challenging the guys to be a great team now. ”

The Braves’ junior varsity squad also competed Saturday. They traveled to the Blue Valley Tournament and faced difficult competition.

Luis Gardea placed second at 119, and Brian Williams finished third at 125. Jobe said they were the first BSHS wrestlers ever to place at the tournament.

“Gardea has been very successful at the JV level this year, compiling a (20-2) record,” Jobe said. “He has a great mentality and hates to lose. I am very excited to see what he can do in the future.”

The Braves will compete at the Kaw Valley League Championships at 9 a.m. Saturday at Basehor-Linwood High School.

The Class 5A regional tournament takes place Saturday, Feb. 20, at Shawnee Heights.

“I would love to have a huge Bonner Springs cheering section for our guys who have worked extremely hard the past few months,” Jobe said. “I am very proud of them, they deserve the support.”

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