By Jayden Mies
Freelance Reporter
Special to the Tribune
The Pratt High School boys’ wrestling team recently competed in the 2025 Dodge City Varsity Tournament at the United Wireless Arena. This was a two-day contest filled with stiff competition from schools across the whole state of Kansas. The Greenbacks fought hard and had some valuable takeaways from this tournament.
The contest took place on Saturday, January 11, and concluded the following Sunday. In total, there were 17 teams in attendance, and Pratt was one of the smallest there. The Greenbacks competed against wrestlers from schools like Blue Valley, Goddard, Manhattan, and several other 5A/6A competitors. However, they were still able to claim a ninth-place finish, scoring 101 total points.
First, Alex Chavez competed in the 120 lbs. class for Pratt. After 10 total matches, Chavez was able to place ninth, scoring 12.5 team points. Over these matches, he claimed a 6-4 record that included five pins and one tech fall victory.
Following him was Kameron Cox in the 126 lbs. division. Cox went 3-6 with a bye in the sixth round, which allowed him to place thirteenth in a tough weight class. Cox had two pins, and he won his last match by a medical forfeit. Cox scored 6 team points for Pratt.
Next, Sabastian Beach competed in 150 lbs. He received a first round bye and then went 2-6 for the remainder of the tournament. He ended up placing tenth, scoring 2 team points.
The first top three placer for Pratt was Blake Winsor. In a tough 157 lbs. division, he was able to claim third place individually. Winsor started the tournament off by winning six straight matches, including an exciting tiebreaker win against a very tough opponent from Hutchinson. After that, he unfortunately dropped two matches to wrestlers from Goddard and Tonganoxie but ended on a high note by winning on a major decision of 10-0 in the third-place match.
Wyatt Lovell had a solid day in 165 lbs. for Pratt. He received a first round bye, and then went 4-4 the rest of the tournament, which earned him seventh place in his weight class. He racked up 8.5 team points, with two of his wins being pins.
Like all previous contests this year, Taye Wilson has continued to prove why he is one of the best wrestlers in the state in any class. In this tournament, Wilson continued his undefeated record with a 9-0 performance. This included seven pins, and two tech falls by scores of 22-3 and 19-4. In total, Wilson scored a monstrous 33 points for Pratt.
Raul Perez also had a great performance over the weekend. He played five total matches, posting a 3-2 record in the 190 lbs. division. All three of his wins were by fall, and he was able to tally 16.5 team points. Lastly, Xavier Pedroza rounded things out for Pratt in the 285 lbs. weight class. He went 2-5, which included a second round bye, and he won the seventh-place match by a forfeit.
Although the team was hoping for a higher finish, they had several key takeaways from this tournament. They were able to gain valuable experience from some tough competition against bigger schools, and they faced a heavy weekend workload well for the first time this year. On Saturday, January 18 the Greenbacks traveled to Clearwater for their annual varsity tournament.
