GENTRY — Defending 1A-5A champion Gentry couldn’t keep up with Little Rock Christian and Beebe and finished one point out of third place, with a 205.5, in the state wrestling tournament at the Jack Stephens Centeron the campus of the University of Arkansas-Little Rock.
Gentry coach Alonzo Pettigrew said his team came in confident, but inexperience got to them.
“Eight of our 14 are first-year wrestlers and four are freshmen,” Pettigrew said. “That inexperience istough. The last few weeks we won some 7A duals, but that inexperience in this environment showed up.”
Gentry’s Tanner Coy (160) and Barnabus Cheney (135) claimed 1A-5A titles as second seeds. Both are juniors and have another year of high schoolwrestling ahead of them.
Gentry junior Kolby Rankin (152) took a second-place title this year, losing in his final match to Central Arkansas Christian’s Tyler Binford. Rankin started out ahead, but Binford scored an escape, put Rankin, a 2010 state champion, in a headlock on the edge of the mat and was able to finish the pin just before the first period ended.
Gentry senior Tre Ascensio-Porter (215), a firstyear wrestler, took a third place title.
Heavy-weight Bryar Preuss (285), a sophomore, also in his first year of wrestling, took fourth in the state tournament, as did junior Steven Thao (130).
Senior Eli Blackmon-Stewart (145) took fifth, and senior Bruce Lee Xiong (103) came away in sixth place. Xiong was also in his first year of wrestling.
Sports, Pages 9 on 03/02/2011