BUFFS ROUNDUP: Saturday, Feb. 15, 2020
WRESTLING
Anjelina Serrano became the first Garden City High School girl wrestler to qualify for the KSHSAA State Championship on Friday in McPherson when she captured four matches to reach the finals of the 130-pound division in the regional qualifying tournament.
She then capped off the McPherson Regional by knocking off the No. 1-seeded wrestler in the title match, with a fall at 5:31 of the third period Saturday, giving her a 5-0 record in the regional and in the process sparked the Buffs to a runner-up finish in the team standings with 122 points, just one point back of champion and WAC rival Great Bend’s 123.
“We came into the tournament unranked with only one state-ranked wrestler,” head coach Carlos Prieto said afterward. “We end up in second place by one point that came down to the last match. I couldn’t be more proud of the girls.”
Serrano’s title match upset came against WAC rival Breanna Ridgeway of Great Bend, who entered the final with a 32-0 record.
Serrano won her first three matches by pinning her opponents and then in the semifinals earned a hard-fought 4-0 decision over Ashlynn Goodwin (15-3) of Goddard to advance to Saturday’s championship bout.
Five other Lady Buffs also advanced to the Feb. 27 State tournament in Salina by finishing in the top six of their respective weight divisions. This will be the inaugural KSHSAA Girls State Wrestling Championship.
Chloe Sullivan took fifth by going 4-2 in the tournament at 101 pounds. She improved her season record to 25-12 and claimed the spot with a pin of Eleanor Breen of Wichita Southeast at 0:27 in the medal match.
Esmerelda Corado took sixth at 116 pounds, going 3-3. She will take a 24-9 into the state meet.
Belle Hernandez captured fourth at 136 pounds, having to wrestle eight matches in two days. She finished 6-2 in the tournament.
Alondra Guzman posted a 4-2 record to take sixth place at 155 pounds. She improved her season mark to 15-11. Senior Destiny Avila also qualified at 123 pounds with a sixth-place finish.
Two of the Lady Buffs didn’t qualify, yet had respectable performances. Anahi Cervantes went 2-2 at 109 pounds while Kallista Rhoades also went 2-2 at 170 pounds. Cervantes ended her season with an 11-19 record and Rhoades finished at 11-13.
Meanwhile, back at home in The Garden, the boys varsity battled Ulysses in a dual match and came away with a 48-30 victory to finish the regular season with a 14-3 dual-match record.
The deciding outcome came from a stretch of matches that began at 126 pounds with Ryan Heiman and ended at 152 pounds with Josh Janas. Including those two, the Buffs won five straight weight divisions all by falls, scoring 30 of their points. Also recording falls were Steven Sellers at 132 pounds, Jacob Holt at 138 pounds and Erick Dominguez at 145 pounds.
Also winning by a fall was Alex Rodriguez at 182 pounds. Trae Torres and Matt Montoya won by walkovers as Ulysses didn’t have an opponent at 106 and 120 pounds. The Buffs were open at 285 pounds.
Next up for the Buffs will be the Class 6A Super Regional on Feb. 21-22 at Topeka-Washburn Rural. The top eight qualifiers in each of the 14 weight classes will advance to the state tournament on Feb. 28-29 at Hartman Arena in Park City, just north of Wichita.
BASKETBALL
GIRLS
Garden City High School’s Lady Buffaloes garnered their first February victory on Friday night with a solid 51-37 Western Athletic Conference triumph on the road at Great Bend.
The Lady Buffs held a slender 11-9 lead after one quarter and extended it to 20-13 at halftime. An 18-7 surge in the third quarter provided them with a 37-20 advantage headed to the final quarter where Great Bend managed a 17-13 edge.
Amaya Gallegos tied her career high with 17 points while Keyhana Turner tied her career-best with 15 points to lead the way.
The Lady Buffs improved their season record to 9-8 overall and 3-2 in the WAC. They will return home on Tuesday, Feb. 18, to take on rival Dodge City in a 6 p.m. tipoff at The Garden.
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Garden City (9-8/3-2) 11 9 18 13 — 51
Great Bend (4-13/1-5) 9 4 7 17 — 37
Garden City (51) — Beasley 0 3-4 3, Calzonetti 2 1-1 5, Franco 2 0-0 6, Gallegos 5 4-4 17, Meng 1 0-0 2, Turner 4 7-14 15, Rodriguez 1 0-1 3. Totals 15 15-24 51.
3-point goals: Franco 2, Gallegos 3, Rodriguez 1.
BOYS
The Garden City Buffaloes’ boys basketball team suffered through a pair of offensive cold spells on Friday night, resulting in a 45-35 loss at Great Bend in a Western Athletic Conference contest.
The Buffs were tied with the Panthers at 13 after one quarter and despite scoring just seven points in the second, trailed only 22-20 at intermission. The cold spell on offense continued into the third quarter, getting outscored 8-4 but still within range at 30-24.
In the fourth quarter, the Buffs were outscored 15-11 for the final 10-point deficit.
Azavier Williams was the lone double-figure scorer with 12 points and the Buffs managed just three 3-point baskets.
They will return home for a Tuesday night match-up with rival Dodge City. Tip-off will be at approximately 7:45 p.m. in The Garden following the girls varsity game.
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Garden City (8-9/1-4) 13 7 4 11 — 35
Great Bend (13-4/5-1) 13 9 8 15 — 45
Garden City (35) — Rosales 2 0-0 4, Williams 4 2-4 12, Tolbert 2 0-0 5, Wiese 1 3-3 5, Tanner 2 1-2 5, Nuzum 2 0-0 4. Totals 13 6-9 35.
3-point goals: Williams 2, Tolbert 1.
Garden City High School 