Wildcats celebrate successful season in 2014-15!

Senior Zach Knox listens as Coach Bovaird gives advice during a match at Baldwin. Photo by Andy Brown.

Tuesday evening, the Wildcat wrestling family gathered at Louisburg High School to celebrate a season full of successes.

2014-2015 Team Accomplishments:

3rd place @ Tonganoxie, Fort Scott and Frontier League
2nd place @ Parsons and Topeka
5 4A STATE QUALIFIERS
12-5 Dual Record

Varsity Letter-winners:

Seniors: Zach Knox (4), Nephi Rodriguez (1), Billy Rose (1), BrentonWrigley (3)
Juniors: Jordan Crowder (1), Jimmy Dolan (2), Zach Jones (2), Dillin Roberts (2), Bradley Trageser (3), Chris Turner (1), Anders Vance (3)
Sophomores: David Bindi (2), Connor Green (1), Ben Hupp (1), Nathan Keegan (2), Mason Koechner (2), Dylan Meyer (2), Lyndon Smith (1)
Freshmen: Ryan Adams (1), Kyle Allen (1), Tucker Batten (1), Thad Hendrix (1)

(#) indicates number of years lettered

Team Awards:

Wrestler of the Year: Brenton Wrigley
Wildcat of the Year: Nathan Keegan
Workhorse Award: Anders Vance
Newcomer of the Year: Ryan Adams
JV Wrestler of the Year: Bradley Trageser
Highest GPA: Austin Raetzel

KWCA Honors:

Zach Knox, KWCA Academic All-State, Honorable Mention
Brenton Wrigley, KWCA Academic All-State, Honorable Mention

Senior Brenton Wrigley celebrates after qualifying for the state tournament. Photo by Andy Brown.

 

Miami County Republic Tri-County Spotlight Team:

Nathan Keegan, 1st Team, 113 lbs.
Ryan Adams, 1st Team, 138 lbs.
Mason Koechner, 1st Team, 220 lbs.
Anders Vance, 1st Team, 285 lbs.
Brenton Wrigley, 2nd Team, 195 lbs.
Zach Knox, Honorable Mention, 132 lbs.

30-match winners:

Nathan Keegan, 30-19
Ryan Adams, 37-12
Brenton Wrigley, 35-9
Mason Koechner, 39-14

Champions Club:

Anders Vance (Eudora, Regionals)
Brenton Wrigley (Tonganoxie, Topeka, Frontier League)
Zach Knox (Topeka)
Ryan Adams (Topeka)

Stats Records:

Zach Knox, Career Nearfall-2 (28)
Zach Knox, Career Reversals (38)
Zach Knox, Career Escapes (77)
Ryan Adams, Season Nearfall-2 (19)
Ryan Adams, Season Reversals (25)
Mason Koechner, Season Pins (33)

Download the 2014-15 Wildcat Wrestling Yearbook by clicking here!

Upper weights dominant at Baldwin!

Baldwin Invitational

January 30, 2015

The Louisburg wrestling team brought home more medals than ever before from the Baldwin Invitational Tournament. Three teams dominated the 17-team event. Abilene took the championship with 215.5 points, followed by Baldwin (185) and Smoky Valley (141.4). Louisburg finished in 10th place overall with 110 points. The difference between 10th and 5th place ended up being just 18 points. This was the Wildcats’ best performance at the BIT since entering the tournament in 2012.

Brenton Wrigley, Mason Koechner, and Anders Vance go for a combined 12-3, each wrestler taking 3rd in his respective weight class after losing to top-ranked wrestlers in the semifinals. Photo courtesy of Alicia Vance.

Three upper-weights lead the Wildcats with 3rd place finishes. Senior Brenton Wrigley took 3rd at 195 lbs. after losing an overtime semi-finals match to the eventual champion. Sophomore Mason Koechner, who rebounded from a semifinals loss at 220 lbs., and junior Anders Vance, who fell in the semifinals at 285 lbs., also took 3rd place in their respective weight classes. Wrigley’s lone loss was to the #3 ranked wrestler from Baldwin. Koechner was trailing by two points against the #5 ranked wrestler from Smoky Valley and had a cradle locked up when he slipped and was pinned. Vance dropped a tough match to the #2 ranked wrestler from Wamego. Sophomore Nathan Keegan took 5th place at 113 lbs., earning a pin and a major decision along the way. Senior Zach Knox lost a tough match to an Osawatomie opponent to take 6th place at 132 lbs. Junior Bradley Trageser, wrestling unattached at 285 lbs., came out and took 6th place in his weight class. Freshman Ryan Adams faced some tough opposition, earning 2 pins en route to a 7th place finish. His final match was a revenge win against Tonganoxie.

Three Wildcats earned a win on the day but didn’t place. Freshman Thad Hendrix was 1-2 at 106 lbs., freshman Tucker Batten was 1-2 at 126 lbs., and junior Jordan Crowder was 1-2 at 170 lbs. All of their wins were by pin. A pair of juniors and a pair of sophomores also represented LHS at Baldwin: junior Chris Turner at 145 lbs., junior Dillin Roberts at 152 lbs., sophomore Ben Hupp at 160 lbs., and sophomore Lyndon Smith at 182 lbs. LHS was open at 120.

Vance brought home a nice honor in addition to his 3rd place medal. Vance was given the Gorriarian Award, a traditional award given to the wrestler in the tournament with the most pins in the least amount of time. He recorded 4 pins in a time of 9:53. Knox was also recognized with earning 3rd fastest pin of the tourney at 0:13.

After the Wildcats take a week off of competition, our next meet will be the Frontier League Duals, hosted by Eudora. Last year, we went 2-4 to take 5th place in the league. Anders Vance is looking to improve on his 3rd place finish from 2014 and Brenton Wrigley is looking to improve on his 4th place finish.

Individual Results:
106 lbs. – Thad Hendrix (fr.) 1-2, 1 pin
113 lbs. – Nathan Keegan (so.) 3-2, 1 pin, 1 major, 5th place
120 lbs. – open
126 lbs. – Tucker Batten (fr.) 1-2, 1 pin
132 lbs. – Zach Knox (sr.) 2-3, 1 pin, 6th place
138 lbs. – Ryan Adams (fr.) 3-2, 2 pins, 7th place
145 lbs. – Chris Turner (jr.) 0-2
152 lbs. – Dillin Roberts (jr.) 0-2
160 lbs. – Ben Hupp (so.) 0-2
170 lbs. – Jordan Crowder (jr.) 1-2, 1 pin
182 lbs. – Lyndon Smith (so.) 0-2
195 lbs. – Brenton Wrigley (sr.) 4-1, 2 pins, 3rd place
220 lbs. – Mason Koechner (so.) 4-1, 3 pins, 3rd place
285 lbs. – Anders Vance (jr.) 4-1, 4 pins, 3rd place
285 lbs. – Bradley Trageser (jr.) 2-3, 2 pins, 6th place (unattached)

Team Placing: 10th place out of 17 teams (110 points)

Next Competition: Frontier League Duals (February 13-14, 2015)

White Team victorious at the Purple-White Scrimmage!

4th Annual Purple-White Scrimmage

2 December, 2014

Keeping the tradition going, the Wildcats unofficially kick-started the season with the 4th Annual Purple-White Scrimmage. Thirty-nine wrestlers took to the mat Tuesday evening to give our home crowd a show in a formal intersquad dual to determine who will represent LHS at the varsity level. Wrestlers also engaged in matches to determine the ranking in each weight class and exhibition matches to give them invaluable mat experience.

Ultimately, the White Team prevailed 66-45. The White Team is currently 3-1 against the Purple Team since the scrimmage’s inception in the 2011-12 season.

Although there were several pins on the evening, there were also many exciting match-ups. Winning a 7-0 decision at 145 lbs., freshman Will Ridley defeated sophomore Connor Green for the varsity spot. Sophomore Nathan Keegan edged freshman Kyle Allen at 120 lbs., and senior Zach Knox won a tough 6-4 decision against sophomore Dylan Meyer at 132 lbs. Senior Brenton Wrigley defeated junior Jimmy Dolan for varsity at 182 lbs. In other varsity wrestle-offs, sophomore Ben Hupp pinned Dillin Roberts in an exciting come-from-behind match at 160 lbs. Sophomore Mason Koechner pinned junior Bradley Trageser at 220 lbs., and junior Jordan Crowder pinned junior Marshall Rooney at 170 lbs. Uncontested for varsity positions were freshman Thad Hendrix at 106 lbs., sophomore David Bindi at 113 lbs., freshman Tucker Batten at 126 lbs., freshman Ryan Adams at 138 lbs., junior Zach Jones at 152 lbs., and Anders Vance at 285 lbs. Senior Joey Goode was to face off against sophomore Nathan Allen at 195 lbs., but a concussion suffered at practice prevented Goode from being able to wrestle.

The Wildcats feature several returning lettermen from last season. Bindi was 21-14 at 106, Knox was 27-15 at 126, and Goode was 13-9 at 195. Bindi, Meyer, Knox, and Wrigley were all one match away from qualifying for state in 2014. Other letterwinners in 2014 include Dolan, Jones, Roberts, Trageser, Vance, and Koechner. Senior Nephi Rodriguez, Hupp, Keegan, and sophomore Owen Staver also won varsity matches last season.

For the fourth year, we’ve been proud to welcome back several figures from Louisburg High School Wrestling history. This season we had the honor to have Shawn Crossley (’98), Dereck Kerr (’00), Justin Kircher (’00), and Jesse Myers (’00) serve as honorary coaches. Crossley was a 3-time state qualifier, sported an 83-31 career record, and was the 1998 Senior Wrestler of the Year. Kerr was a 4-time state qualifier, a 2-time Frontier League champion, and had an 80-28 career record. Kircher was a 2-time state qualifier for the Wildcats. Myers was a 3-time state qualifier, a regional champion, a 2-time Frontier League champion, and had a 63-21 career record. All four were members of the 1997 team that was undefeated Frontier League Duals champions and the 1998 team that won the Frontier League Tournament. That team was also 12-1 in duals and won team titles at Spring Hill, Louisburg, and Prairie View. Crossley and Kerr coached the White Team to its third straight victory in the Purple-White series.

The Wildcats officially begin the season with a home dual against Osawatomie on Thursday, December 4. The varsity then takes to the mats Saturday, December 6 at the Fort Scott duals where we’ll face off against Anderson County, Blue Valley Southwest, Fort Scott, Paola, and Shawnee Mission West. That same day, JV will compete at the Blue Valley North JV Tournament.

Varsity Challenge Matches:
120 lbs. – Nathan Keegan (Purple) def. Kyle Allen (White) dec. 6-4
132 lbs. – Zach Knox (Purple) def. Dylan Meyer (White) dec. 8-6
145 lbs. – Will Ridley (Purple) def. Connor Green (White) dec. 7-0
160 lbs. – Ben Hupp (White) def. Dillin Roberts (Purple) wbf
170 lbs. – Jordan Crowder (Purple) def. Marshall Rooney (White) wbf
182 lbs. – Brenton Wrigley (White) def. Jimmy Dolan (Purple) dec. 6-2
220 lbs. – Mason Koechner (White) def. Bradley Trageser (Purple) wbf

Ranking Matches:
132 lbs. – Jaylen Boileau (White) def. Sierra Sullivan (Purple) wbf
145 lbs. – Chris Turner (Purple) def. Jacob Mitchell (White) wbf
160 lbs. – Kylan Harper (White) def. Jud Deering (Purple) wbf
160 lbs. – Leland Koehn (White) def. Kain O’Keefe (Purple) wbf
182 lbs. – Lyndon Smith (White) def. Billy Rose (Purple) wbf
220 lbs. – Nephi Rodriguez (Purple) def. Matthew Rison (White) wbf

Exhibition Matches:
106 / 120 lbs. – Thad Hendrix (Purple) def. Alec Maler (White) wbf
113 / 120 lbs. – David Bindi (White) def. Nathan Keegan (Purple) dec. 6-4 OT
132 / 145 lbs. – Garrett Caldwell (Purple) def. Jaylen Boileau (White) wbf
138 / 152 lbs. – Ryan Adams (White) def. Zach Jones (Purple) wbf
160 lbs. – Owen Staver (Purple) def. Zac Meyer (White) wbf
182 lbs. – Austin Raetzel (White) def. Billy Rose (Purple) wbf
195 / 220 lbs. – Josh Vickrey (White) def. Nathan Allen (Purple) wbf
220 / 285 lbs. – Anders Vance (White) def. Bradley Trageser (Purple) wbf

Next Competitions:
Thursday, Dec. 4: Osawatomie Dual @ HOME, 6:30pm (Varsity and JV)
Saturday, Dec. 6: Ft. Scott Duals, 9:00am (Varsity)
Saturday, Dec. 6: Blue Valley North JV, 8:00am (JV)