BRIGHTON — The loss sat in the pit of Carter McElhany’s stomach. McElhany, the top seed in Class 5A at 125 pounds and winner of 41 matches as a sophomore last season, saw his state championship dreams evaporate with a surprising loss to Chaparral’s Kurtis Nelson last February.
But he moved forward, and Saturday in the finals of the Brighton Invitational, the Coronado junior inched one step closer to making amends for last February’s letdown. His 13-2 major decision over Burlington’s Bon Kinder wasn’t quite as dominant as last year’s pinfall victory in the finals here, but it was more than enough to walk out of Bill Gamble Gymnasium with a little more confidence that he’s bounced back from his loss to Nelson.
Besides, that state championship loss has been his real motivator this season.
“That’s pretty much been the only thing that I can remember about last year. I got upset in the finals,” said McElhany, who improved to 21-1 this season. “That’s really been my key motivator for this year. That’s my worst fear is to get upset again, so I’m working real hard to make that not happen again.”
His team didn’t have much to worry about either on Saturday. With seven finalists, the Cougars easily walked away with the invitational title, scoring six individual championships en route to 221.5 points. Burlington came in second with 178.5 points, and Cherokee Trail was third with 154.5.
While McElhany once again proved his worth, Kinder proved he’s no slouch. He took third last year at 125 in Class 2A as a junior. No, he wasn’t able to find a way to avenge last year’s Burlington Invitational loss to McElhany, but he gained valuable experience with the state tournament at the Pepsi Center just three weeks away.
“This is more of an opportunity than taking a loss. We can learn from our mistakes and get better from them,” Kinder said. “I feel like I become a better wrestler if I lose against someone tough like this.”
Burlington seniors Mi- chael Satterly (215 pounds) and Isaiah Churchwell (heavyweight), who also reached the championship finals in 2A a year ago only to be turned back, were victorious Saturday.
Satterly pinned Ridge View Academy’s Coltin Ostermiller in 5 minutes, 58 seconds, while Churchwell earned a 9-3 decision over Cherokee Trail’s Ben Jordan.
