Ansley-Litchfield Wrestling Spartans send four to state and Slingsby is Runner-Up
The Ansley-Litchfield wrestling team had one of the more solid teams in the area throughout this season. For most of the season they were rated inside the top ten in Class D, and they finished the year as Runner-Up in the Fort Kearney Conference.
The Spartans had a mixture of underclassmen and upperclassman this season.
They were able to get Owen Hartman at 106 pounds, David Lewis at 126 pounds, Chase Racicky at 138 pounds, Collin Arehart at 160 pounds, Hunter Arehart at 170 pounds, Cooper Slingsby at 182 pounds, Kolby Larson at 195 pounds, and Gavin Barela at 220 pounds to districts. Out of those wrestlers, they were able to get the Arehart brothers, Slingsby, and Larson to the Class D State Tournament.
At state, they all performed very well. In fact, A-L almost got everybody who qualified to medal. The only wrestler to fall short was Collin Arehart, who lost one match before the medal rounds.
Rising to the top of the Spartan wrestlers was Cooper Slingsby. He went 3-0 on his way to the State Finals at his weight class.
It did not come easy for him as he won a 1-0 decision over Brett Bridger of Fullerton in the Semifinals.
In the end, he ended up coming up short with a loss to Reece Zutavern of Sandhills-Thedford in the finals. Both Slingsby and Larson who finished fourth will be very competitive next season and could possibly be State Champs for A-L and will be great leaders.
The Spartans are losing three seniors in the Arehart brothers and Lewis. All three wrestlers we very instrumental in the team’s success and will be missed next season.
“As a team, we showed improvements throughout the year and just worked harder and got better as the season went on,” A-L Coach Mitchell Sloggett said. “We lose three seniors (two of which were state qualifiers) but gain four freshmen. I am ready to get started with summer wrestling to continue to improve on the mat. Kolby and Cooper will be back for one more push at an individual state title.”