Andy Cash finished his senior campaign with a bronze medal in hand.
Last week, on the mats at the CHI Health Center, the Ansley-Litchfield wrestler won a pair of matches on the mat, benefited from a unique two forfeit victories, and dropped his semifinal bout to finish the meet sitting in third place.
“I think that today I wrestled really good,” Cash said during an interview moments after stepping off the medals stand on Saturday. “This is not where I wanted to end the season at, but it is a lot better than how I finished last year and the years before.”
Cash had the unique situation of having an opening round forfeit. The Spartan was supposed to open the state tournament opposite Kyan Sones of Meridian.
“I was not a fan,” Cash said of not being able to wrestle that first round match, prior to plunging into the quarterfinal round. “I wanted to actually win the matches to move on, not just win by forfeits.
“Not getting that warm-up before the quarterfinals was hard, especially just going straight into wrestling after sitting around all day.”
That situation wasn’t a hinderance to the senior, however.
Cash handedly defeated his quarterfinal opponent, Braxton Richards of North Platte St. Pat’s. The Spartan locked up the Irishman in three minutes.
That quarterfinal victory set Cash up for a semifinal bout against Collin Vrbka of Shelby-Rising City. The eventual runner-up grappled with Cash into the second period, before he pinned him with sixteen seconds to go in the frame.
“I was just looking to go with whatever happens,” Cash said of his gameplan in the semifinals opposite the Husky. “I could have done better.” On Saturday, Cash was guaranteed either third or fourth place after his consolation semifinal opponent, Caleb Sharman of High Plains Community, was forced to forfeit the match due to medical reasons.
Then, in one final curveball, the Spartan was paired up against his Fort Kearny Conference foe from Pleasanton— Kenan Hasenauer—in the consolation final.
“I had wrestled him at districts and I beat him,” Cash said of the Bulldog. “We had wrestled at the beginning of the year, and I had lost to him.”
In a match that Cash described as “exciting,” the Spartan put Hasenauer on his back in ninety-five seconds to secure the bronze.
Joining Cash at last week’s state wrestling tournament was Isaac O’Brien.
O’Brien met up with David Bryner of Wauneta- Palisade in the opening round of the bracket at 175-pounds. The Bronco took sixty-seven seconds to pin the Spartan. Following that loss, O’Brien fell to the backside of the bracket, where, on Friday morning, he was matched up with his Fort Kearny Conference foe from Loomis, Cauy Meyer.
Meyer battled forty- six seconds before he pinned the Spartan, ending O’Brien’s senior season. The Spartan finished the year with a 34-20 record.
Cash’s four victories last week helped the Spartans finish the state meet with twenty-two points. Ansley-Litchfield tied with Archbishop Bergan for thirtieth at the meet. Morrill beat the Spartans, with the Lions scoring twenty- three points, while both Ansley-Litchfield and Archbishop Bergan bested the boys from St. Mary’s.
Burwell secured the team title in the championship round. The Longhorns scored 114 points, beating Central Valley by fourteen. Shelby-Rising City came in third with 94.5 points, while teams from Plainview and Aquinas Catholic rounded out the top five.
