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By Kendall Gaignat

During the final match for the 113 weight class, sophomore Austin Keal looks at his opponent as he prepares to wrestle at the Bobcat Classic on Saturday, Jan. 13.

The wrestling team placed fourth in the Bobcat Classic with 155.5 points on Saturday, Jan. 13 at Basehor-Linwood. Seniors Jarrett Bendure and Conner Ward won their respective weight classes, while sophomores Austin and Zach Keal took second in their respective weight classes.

In the final match, Ward defeated Olathe North’s Javier Contreras 6-5.

“I started out down 4-0 to a good competitor but, I believe, a lesser opponent than me. I was down 4-0 and I just had to come back,” Ward said.

Bendure faced Leavenworth’s Joey Hancock in the final match and claimed the weight class title with an 11-4 win.

“I was just trying to dominate him as much as possible,” Bendure said. “He’s going to be my opponent for the senior night dual, so I wanted to set the tone early before we even get to senior night.”

Head coach Travis Keal was glad to have four wrestlers in the finals.

“Anytime you can get four finalists in a tournament like this, it’s not easy to do,” Keal said. “To win two of the final matches was good for Mill Valley and for our kids.”

Bendure enjoyed seeing the progress of his teammates.

“The main thing I like to see [is] our team getting better,” Bendure said.

Ward was impressed with a teammate’s win over a previous state champion.

“The highlight of the weekend for me was teammate Austin Keal. He had a big win in the semifinals over the returning state champion, so that was big for us,” Ward said.

According to Keal, the team needs to focus on improving for the rest of the month in order to be successful later on in the season.

“We have to keep getting better in the month of January,” Keal said. “The rest of this month is a time for us to jump levels.”

The next wrestling meet is a dual at BVSouthwest on Wednesday, Jan. 17.