West Elk Patriots will be represented by three wrestlers this week at the 3-1A boys state tournament in Salina, as senior Evan Coble, junior Creyo Koop and sophomore Edward Metcalf all punched their tickets to the state tournament.
Coble advances to the state contest for the fourth year and will by vying for his fourth state medal. He will face Reid Fort (25-11) of Oberlin-Decatur Community in the opening round of the state tournament. Coble is currently ranked fourth in the 132-pound weight class.
Koop will be making his third state appearance, and will also be vying for another state medal. He is currently ranked first in the 165-pound weight class and ranked second in all classes. Koop will face Eli Stein (13-10) of Hayes Thomas More Prep Marion, in the opening round of state.
Metcalf will be making his first state appearance. He will face Corbin Puga (33-2) of Norton Community, during the opening round of state.
The state contest will be held this Thursday-Saturday, in Salina. The opening round is set to begin at 5:15 p.m.
A special state send-off for the West Elk wrestlers (Coble, Koop, Metcalf and Lady Patriot Kayla Wright) will be held on Thursday, Feb. 22, at 8 a.m.
Also representing West Elk at the Eureka Regional were Josh Patteson, Landon Wunderlich and Boedy Murphy. All three were just one match away from advancing to the state contest.
Additional details from the Eureka Regionals can be found on page 5 of this week’s edition.
