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Basehor — The Bonner Springs wrestling team officially made its return to Class 4A when it opened the season with duals against 4A foes Piper and Basehor-Linwood on Tuesday night at BLHS, and the Braves made a major statement.

They throttled the Pirates, 48-27, and then defeated the Bobcats, 46-20, to begin the season with a 2-0 record while looking plenty worthy of their No. 7 state ranking.

The Braves strength was in their lower and middle weight classes, and that was where they recorded all of their points against Piper.

They opened with three rapid-fire pins as 103-pounder Josiah Seaton, 112-pounder Justus Seaton and 119-pounder Billy Fratzel all earned first-period pins. Caleb Seaton — a three-time state medalist — used the first period of his 125-pound match to practice takedowns and near-falls before finishing with a pin midway through the second period. That gave BSHS a 24-0 lead.

Austin Cobb dropped a 7-6 decision at 130 pounds, but Colton Bulkley (135), Jonathan Blackwell (140) and Aaron Puckett (145) all recorded victories by forfeit to stretch the lead to 42-3.

Bonner Springs’ final victory came at 171 pounds as Jared Clements maintained a narrow lead through most of his match against Piper’s Joe Thorington before earning a pin with 22.2 seconds left in the third period.

The Pirates won most of the upper weights as they claimed victories at 152, 160, 189, 215 and 285 pounds.

The matches with Basehor-Linwood proved to be a much tougher battle despite the more lopsided score. BSHS won the final three matches by forfeit which made the lead grow from 28-20 to 46-20.

The Braves’ strength — the lighter and middle weights — also were the Bobcats’ strengths.

BLHS won the first three matches and surged to a 13-0 lead before pins by Caleb Seaton and Cobb brought the Braves back. Bulkley earned a 9-0 major decision to put BSHS on top, but Basehor-Linwood’s Symon Seaton — a defending state champion — put the Bobcats back ahead with his 4-2 decision against Blackwell at 140 pounds. Puckett won his match at 145, and Stites lost at 152. A 10-8 decision by Jose Contreras at 160 pounds pushed the Braves to a 22-20 lead, and Clements won by pin at 171 in the final match of the night.

Bonner Springs next competes at 9 a.m. Saturday at the Kaw Valley League Dual Tournament at Lansing.

NOTES

— The Braves competed without 189-pounder Brian Callahan who missed the meet with an injury. He is ranked fifth in the state in his weight class.

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