Showdowns at Carroll

Just look at this lineup for the Bishop Carroll wrestling tournament this Saturday, starting at 9 a.m.: Heights, Campus, North and South out of 6A; Carroll, Salina South, Newton, Winfield and Schlagle out of 5A; and Andale, Rose Hill, Independent and Mulvane out of 4A. The teams attending combine to have 42 state-ranked wrestlers. Heights, led by three returning state champions, Kendric Maple, Chase Nelson and Daniel Deshazer, is ranked second as a team in 6A. Host Bishop Carroll is ranked second in 5A, led by ultra-talented OU signee Kyle Detmer at 160 pounds. Salina South is ranked seventh in 5A, and Andale is fifth in 4A, followed by Independent of Wichita in sixth. The potential marquee match-ups for this weekend's tournament are numerous. Chief among them is the possibility of Heights' Nelson going up against Detmer at 160 pounds. The two squared off this past summer for the first time in Greco and freestyle tournaments. Detmer won both, though Nelson nearly pinned him in the first round of one of the matches. The second most intriguing match-up should take place at 125 pounds between the area's two young phenoms, Heights' Daniel Deshazer and Carroll's Dylan Penka. Deshazer, a state champ last season as a freshman, is looking like a possible four-time state champ in the future, though Penka, second at 5A state at 103 pounds last year, will be a constant challenger in the regular season. Rose Hill's Zac Sparr, a state runner-up in 4A last season, makes this weight class even deeper at the Carroll tournament. At 140 pounds, Independent's Codie Bontz, a state runner-up in 3-2-1A last season, will battle it out with Carroll's Jake Mainz and Heights sophomore Dalton Maier. The competition is very thick at 112 pounds for the tournament. North High senior Jack Wenzel seeks to return the favor the South High's Brijin McCullough after losing to him last week. McCullough, though, was beaten already this season by Heights freshman Uylesses Deshazer. Deshazer is ranked third in 6A, McCullough fourth, and Wenzel fifth. This may be the most exciting weight class of the day.