A memorable wrestling season that saw the Mingus team go 11-0 during the regular season came to an end on Thursday, March 18, at Poston Butte High School in San Tan Valley. And as was the case throughout the regular season, things generally went pretty well for the Marauders.
As a team, Mingus registered 95.5 points. That was good enough for a fourth-place finish behind only Safford, Sahuarita and American Leadership Academy Gilbert North.
“All of our wrestlers are deserving of praise, including those who didn’t qualify for state,” Mingus coach Klint McKean said. “This was a season like no other, with challenges like no other season. Just making it through is an accomplishment in and of itself.”
In total, four Marauders placed at state. Three of those wrestlers won, giving Mingus more state champions than any other school.
Brody Townsend went 3-0 to set up a finals matchup with Thunderbird’s Vonn Fenn. There, Townsend earned a 2-1 decision to take home the state championship at 106 pounds. Townsend finished the season with only one loss.
At 126 pounds, Kai Miller entered state undefeated. He finished it the same way. Miller got the ball rolling with a pin in his first match and followed that up with a 2-1 decision in the quarterfinals. Miller then advanced to the finals with a 10-0 Major Decision win in the semifinals. There, he scored a 4-2 win over Sahuarita’s Christian Lopez to win a state championship and cap off his perfect season.
“Both Brody and Kai avenged losses in their finals matches,” McKean said. “Brody lost to Vonn Fenn last week in the sectional finals, but he came back and won when it counted the most,”
“Kai’s championship against Christian Lopez was the most exciting of any finals match. He was losing 0-2 in the last period. With about 30 seconds remaining he tied it on a reversal and then turned his opponent with a crushing half for two more nearfall points and the go ahead score with less than 10 seconds left. The cheering in the stands was deafening.”
Conrad Brady was not only undefeated on the season but was the defending state champion. None of that changed, nor did it come especially close. Brady was nothing short of dominant, scoring pins over Lee Williams’ Oscar Gomez, Payson’s Nick Dimbat and Bradshaw Mountain’s Kaleb Hill to reach the finals. Brady kept it going there, pinning Cody Owens from Combs to win the 170 pound crown and become a two-time state champion.
“Conrad faced his toughest opponent of the season in the finals — the fact that he was still able to get the pin shows just how dominant he is,” McKean said. “In my book Conrad is the best 170-pounder in the state, regardless of division.”
In addition to the three state champions, the Marauders had one more state placer in Isaac McKean at 138 pounds. McKean won his first two matches to reach the semifinals. While he lost there to Poston Butte’s Hayden Gerritson and to Show Low’s Andy Wilhelm in the third place match, McKean’s fourth- place finish got him on the podium with room to spare. It was his second-straight year placing at state.
For the Marauders, even more exciting than this season is what could lie ahead. Brady will graduate as a two-time state champion but youth is definitely served for the rest of the team. Townsend and Miller are both sophomores while McKean is a junior.
While repeating as a state champion is always a challenge, it’s not hard to imagine that Mingus could find itself in a similar — or even better — position in 2022.
