Trojans continue early-season grind at Service Salute Invite

ATCHISON — Less than 24 hours after a grueling day of duals, the Colby Community College men’s wrestling team was back on the mat Sunday for the Service Salute Invite hosted by Benedictine College. Despite the quick turnaround, the Trojans showed fight and flashes of progress across several weight classes, highlighted by freshman standout Talon Suttles’ fourth-place finish at 133 pounds.

Head coach Joseph Cornejo said the weekend offered a valuable test for his young squad. “This week our focus is to fix the little mistakes we made,” Cornejo said. “Focus on little details that we as a team need to work on. Our confidence is there, our abilities are there. It’s just the team is so young. The more we wrestle the college style, the more they will transition to college wrestling.”

Suttles put together another impressive performance, finishing 3-2 on the day with one fall and two technical falls. His only losses came to NAIA powerhouse Texas Wesleyan and Division II opponent Quincy University, both by narrow decisions. That capped a strong overall weekend for the Colorado freshman, who also went 3-1 during Saturday’s Loosbrock Duals.

The Sunflower Standard is sponsored by

“Talon had a great weekend,” Cornejo said. “Duals 3-1 (1 fall, 1 tech, only loss was to D2 Quincy University). Tournament 3-2 (1 fall, 2 techs, 4th place, lost to NAIA school Texas Wesleyan and D2 Quincy University).”

Elsewhere in the lineup, several Trojans notched wins to build on. Tevin Jackson (125) and Robert Tatum (285) each earned early pins, while Ayden Wohlgemuth (157) and Kash Alley (184) both opened with first-round falls of their own. Robert Cazares (165) picked up a technical fall in the consolation rounds, and Sebastian Rodriguez (141) and Scotty Engle (149) each secured pins in their brackets.

Cornejo emphasized that the biggest takeaway wasn’t the win-loss column, but the continued growth of his roster. “There is no more stopping during a match,” he said. “There is no more one move works. We have to chain wrestle and transition from move to move. That only comes with experience wrestling college matches. Win, lose, or draw—the family environment and standards we set will push us to be better and better each week, each tournament, and each dual until we peak at the right moment around regionals time. All these battles are just tests for the war at the end of the season.”

Looking ahead, the Trojans’ schedule won’t get any easier. “It doesn’t get any easier. Only gets tougher,” Cornejo added. “Now we go test our skills in Iowa next weekend. Then the following week we test in Nebraska. The grind continues as we do not shy from a weak schedule. We go wrestle the best to try and be the best.”

Colby will next travel to Iowa for a two-day slate of competition before heading north to Nebraska the following week, continuing a stretch that will test the Trojans’ endurance and resolve early in the season.