BonnerSprings.com

The Bonner Springs Braves claimed the Huron League Championship Saturday at Sumner Academy in dramatic fashion.

Junior David Bass won two pivotal matches against Turner and Atchison with the title on the line in the 215- pound weight class and sophomore Myjestic Hickmon came through in the clutch with the best performance of his career to help lead the Braves to victory.

In the process, the Braves crowned two individual champions, had six runners-up and two third-place finishers enroute to their third Huron League Championship in school history.

"It feels goodit is something we talked about doing," Braves coach Dan Burns said. "It wasn't a team goal at the start of the season, but the wrestlers made it a goal of their own. They wanted it and they did it together."

The Braves two individual champions were Erick Ratliff (103) and Bass (215). Silver medalists were Hickmon (112), Jess Buck (119), Matt Middleton (125), Chad Vandenberg (130), Donnie Shepherd (135), and Spencer Buck (140). Third-place finishers were Danny Gardner (160) and Jeff Burns (189). Nathan Sparks (145), Chris Carpenter (152), Ryan Silvers (160) and Brad Rittinghouse (275) each won two bouts and finished fourth.

The Braves began the day with a 38-26 victory over eventual runner-up Sumner Academy. The Braves built a 27-3 lead and never looked back.

In the second round, Hickmon avenged an earlier loss against Ben Pierce with a 15-11 victory. Pierce pinned Hickmon two days earlier. Hickmon was determined and wrestled with a lot of heart. He weighs just 105 pounds wrestling in the 112- pound class. The second-place finish was Hickmon's first varsity medal.

"I wrestled a lot more aggressive," Hickmon said. "I kept my head up to keep from being put in a cradle because that is how he beat me last time."

Against Turner, the Braves built a 22-7 lead before losing four consecutive matches to fall behind 24-22. The Braves then got three consecutive victories from 171 to 215 to claim the victory. Danny Gardner (171) won an 8-6 decision, Jeff Burns (189) won by fall in the third period, and Bass (215) won by a 15-5 major decision.

"I started thinking four matches before about what we needed to do to win the dual," Bass said. "I knew Jeff and I had to win for the team to win."

After the victory against Turner, the Braves faced a rugged Atchison team. Bass was the hero once again in this one. After a scoreless first period against David Downing, Bass scored a reversal and a penalty point to take a 3-1 lead. In the third period, Downing scored an escape with 30 seconds left to make the score 3-2.

Because of his determination, Bass held on to the slim lead. The Braves also held on to win the dual, 37-36. The victory not only gave the Braves the league title, but Bass the individual crown.

According to Bass, conditioning and a new-found attitude played a huge role in his triumph.

"We came up with a new rule on the team that we don't lose the last 15 seconds of the match no matter the outcome and I wasn't going to lose," Bass said. "Coach Burns has taught us to push the other guy harder than he wants to go and he will back down."

The Braves will travel to Turner on Saturday, Feb. 16, for the Regional Championships.

The top four finishers in each weight class will advance to the state tournament the following weekend in Wichita. Burns has high expectations for his team to advance.

"We look to continue our success," he said. "We believe if you place at league you ought to place at regionals."