BonnerSprings.com

Wichita — Jonathan Blackwell entered the Class 5A state wrestling tournament with the goal of placing in the top six.

That would earn him a state medal, a lofty goal for the Bonner Springs freshman.

Blackwell got his medal, all right, but it wasn’t the one he — or most likely anybody else in the stands Saturday at Intrust Bank Arena — figured it would be.

Blackwell took the 130-pound bracket by storm and earned a spot in the state finals before placing second to Emporia sophomore Brandon Charbonneau.

Did Blackwell see this coming?

“Honestly, no I did not,” he said with a grin shortly after the championship match.

“It was probably the best I’ve wrestled all season, and it worked out good.”

Blackwell was one of just two freshmen in the bracket at 130, and his 11 losses may have thrown the opposition for a curve. He also hadn’t shown up in the state rankings all year, making him a bit more of a mystery to others.

Proving just how inaccurate rankings can be, Blackwell shredded his way through three of the top six ranked wrestlers in the state to reach the finals.

Blackwell opened the tournament with a 20-3 technical fall against Newton sophomore Miles Johns, the No. 3 wrestler in the state. Then Blackwell squared off with No. 2-ranked Mario Corado, a Pittsburg junior, and earned a 6-3 decision to reach the semifinals.

Tyrell Carstarphen, a Highland Park senior, was ranked sixth in the state but was no match for Blackwell. The BSHS freshman showed poise throughout the match and earned a 5-1 decision to reach the finals.

“Coming into this tournament, everybody’s 0-0. It doesn’t matter if you’re a freshman or a senior, it doesn’t matter if you’re hurt or sick, you go out there and you’ve got to wrestle every single match. That’s what he did,” first-year BSHS coach Brandon Jobe said. “He had probably the toughest road out of anybody. It wasn’t an easy road for him, but he was up to the challenge.”

After taking down three ranked wrestlers, Blackwell ran into the No. 1-ranked wrestler in the state in Charbonneau, and this time Blackwell met his match. The taller, more experienced Charbonneau fought off Blackwell’s attempts at takedowns and controlled the match from start to finish. It was scoreless after the first minute, but Charbonneau soon scored a takedown and led 2-0 after the first period.

“He’s pretty good on his feet. That’s how he took me down,” Blackwell said.

Charbonneau extended his lead to 4-1 after two and led 4-2 with one minute left in the match before extending his lead to 6-3.

Even after the loss, Blackwell was upbeat. He had a state medal around his neck, and his hard work paid off.

“My coach pushed me at practice and I had to work hard all week,” he said.

Blackwell finished the season with a 35-12 record.

Two other Braves also brought home state medals. Junior Caleb Seaton (43-4) posted a 3-2 record at 119 pounds and placed fourth for the third year in a row. Freshman 140-pounder Aaron Puckett (34-10) also went 3-2 at state and finished fourth.

At 103, freshman Justus Seaton (27-14) posted a 2-2 record and came one victory short of earning a state medal. At 171, junior Brian Callahan (27-14) went 1-2 and was two victories short of a medal.

Bonner Springs finished 16th as a team with 52 points. Emporia won the state title with 157, Lansing was second with 148 and Andover Central was third with 118.

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