LHS drops duals to Paola and BVSW, finishes 3rd at Fort Scott

Fort Scott Duals

December 6, 2014

For the second straight year, the Wildcats have brought home a 3rd place finish at the Fort Scott Duals. The varsity squad went 3-2 in duals, soundly beating Fort Scott, Shawnee Mission West, and Anderson County, but dropping competitive duals to Paola and Blue Valley Southwest. Blue Valley Southwest defeated Paola for the team title.

Bringing in a solid core of experienced wrestlers, the Wildcats were able to balance out with some new additions to the varsity line-up. Overall, we were 39-26 in individual matches, with 25 matches being won by pin. This squad, while fielding a group with relatively mixed experience levels, remains competitive. To open the day, we defeated host school Fort Scott 54-25. The rest of the day was back-and-forth, with the next dual being a 25-37 loss to Blue Valley Southwest. LHS rebounded to knock off Shawnee Mission West 51-18, but then we lost the next dual to Paola 33-39. The final dual of the day was a 54-21 victory over Anderson County.

Freshman Ryan Adams (138 lbs.) and junior Anders Vance (285 lbs.) led the team on Saturday. Both finished the day 5-0. Adams had four pins and Vance had two. Four Wildcats were 4-1 on the day: sophomore David Bindi (113 lbs.), sophomore Nathan Keegan (120 lbs.), junior Jimmy Dolan (182 lbs.), and senior Brenton Wrigley (195 lbs.). Bindi lost a close match against BVSW, getting reversed in the final seconds. Keegan’s only loss came to a returning 4A state placer from Paola. Dolan’s and Wrigley’s sole losses came against some athletic opponents from SMW. Senior Zach Knox faced some tough competition, going 3-2 at 132 lbs. One of his losses was to a returning state qualifier from Paola. Sophomore Ben Hupp was 3-2 at 160 lbs., earning three pins along the way. Sophomore Mason Koecher (220 lbs.) was also 3-2 on the day, recording three pins. Other Wildcats competing were freshman Tucker Batten, who was 2-3 at 126 lbs.; freshman Will Ridley, who was 0-5 at 145 lbs.; junior Zach Jones, who was 1-4 at 152 lbs.; and junior Jordan Crowder, who was 1-4 at 170 lbs.

This Friday and Saturday, the LHS wrestling team will be competing at the 36th Annual Eudora Tournament of Champions, which will include state-ranked teams such as Atchison County (321A), Baldwin (4A), Prairie View (4A), Rossville (321A), and St. James Academy (5A). In total, twenty-five teams will be competing at Eudora this weekend.

Individual Results:
106 lbs. – open
113 lbs. – David Bindi (so.) 4-1, 2 pins
120 lbs. – Nathan Keegan (so.) 4-1, 3 pins
126 lbs. – Tucker Batten (fr.) 2-3
132 lbs. – Zach Knox (sr.) 3-2, 2 pins, 1 major
138 lbs. – Ryan Adams (fr.) 5-0, 4 pins
145 lbs. – Will Ridley (fr.) 0-5
152 lbs. – Zach Jones (jr.) 1-4
160 lbs. – Ben Hupp (so.) 3-2, 3 pins
170 lbs. – Jordan Crowder (jr.) 1-4, 1 pin
182 lbs. – Jimmy Dolan (jr.) 4-1, 2 pins
195 lbs. – Brenton Wrigley (sr.) 4-1, 3 pins
220 lbs. – Mason Koechner (so.) 3-2, 3 pins
285 lbs. – Anders Vance (jr.) 5-0, 2 pins

Dual Results:
LHS 54, Fort Scott 25
Blue Valley Southwest 37, LHS 25
LHS 51, Shawnee Mission West 18
Paola 39, LHS 33
LHS 54, Anderson County 21

Dual Record: 3-2 (4-2 overall)

Team Placing: 3rd out of 6 teams

Next Competitions:
Wednesday, Dec. 10: Blue Valley NW Mixer (JV)
Friday, Dec. 12: Santa Fe Trail Mixer (JV)
Friday-Saturday, Dec. 12-13: Eudora Tournament of Champions (Varsity)

Knox leads ‘Cats in opener

FORT SCOTT — Zach Knox may only be a sophomore, but he provided the Louisburg wrestling team with a bright spot on a day that found the Wildcats on the wrong end of a lot of duals. Louisburg finished with a 1-4 record at the Fort Scott Dual Tournament to open its season Saturday, but Knox took care of business in all five of his matches. Click here to read the rest: “Knox leads ‘Cats in opener” (Andy Brown, Louisburg Herald, 12/05/12)

Fort Scott Duals

Knox goes undefeated, leads Wildcats at Fort Scott

December 1, 2012

Sophomore Zach Knox recorded 3 pins to lead the Wildcats in our first competition of the season at the 2012 Fort Scott Duals. The Wildcats faced off against five other opponents in a round-robin competition in which all teams go head-to-head in dual format. Louisburg faced three regional opponents and two other larger schools, going 1-4 in duals and taking 5th place as a team.

The weekend was filled with positives and negatives, and this sport is truly a roller-coaster ride throughout the season. Fielding a team with only four wrestlers with varsity experience, the Wildcats were able to fill 13 of the 14 weight classes. Not only were most of the team first-time varsity wrestlers, but eight of them were either freshmen or sophomores. Every LHS wrestler represented the team with pride and determination. Inexperience was our biggest disadvantage, as we lost to Fort Scott 49-30, Blue Valley Southwest 51-21, Anderson County 41-31, and Paola 36-30. Our sole dual victory came against Shawnee Mission West by a score of 42-33.

Three Wildcats ended the day with a .500 record or better: Knox was 3-0 at 120 / 126 lbs., sophomore Sean Dennis was 2-1 at 145 lbs., and freshman Jacob Bolton was 2-2 at 152 lbs. Knox recorded three pins, while Dennis and Bolton each earned two pins. Also recording pins were freshman Anders Vance (1-4 at 220 lbs.) and senior Kade Larson (2-3 at 285 lbs.). Sophomore Austin Huber (120 / 126 lbs.) won by major decision against his Anderson County opponent, senior Austen Scott (132 lbs.) won a high-scoring decision against his Anderson County opponent, and junior Ben Powers (138 lbs.) earned a decision against his Blue Valley Southwest opponent. Five other Wildcats, all of them either freshmen or first-year wrestlers, hit the mats for LHS on Saturday: freshman Adam Harris (0-4 at 106 lbs.), freshman Parker Cates (0-2 at 113 lbs.), senior Dylan York (0-5 at 160 lbs.), sophomore Brenton Wrigley (0-3 at 170 lbs.), and junior TJ McKiearnan (0-3 at 182 lbs.).

This upcoming weekend, the Wildcats will take on a hefty challenge at the 34th annual Eudora Tournament of Champions. Over twenty teams from 4A, 5A, and 6A will be competing at this tough two-day tournament. LHS will have the chance to square off against many state-ranked wrestlers.

Individual Results: (not including forfeits)
106 lbs. – Adam Harris (fr.) 0-4
113 lbs. – Parker Cates (fr.) 0-2
120 / 126 lbs. – Zach Knox (so.) 3-0, 3 falls
120 / 126 lbs. – Austin Huber (so.) 1-3
132 lbs. – Austen Scott (sr.) 1-2
138 lbs. – Ben Powers (jr.) 1-4
145 lbs. – Sean Dennis (so.) 2-1, 2 falls
152 lbs. – Jacob Bolton (fr.) 2-2, 2 falls
160 lbs. – Dylan York (sr.) 0-5
170 lbs. – Brenton Wrigley (so.) 0-3
182 lbs. – TJ McKiearnan (jr.) 0-3
195 lbs. – open
220 lbs. – Anders Vance (fr.) 1-4, 1 fall
285 lbs. – Kade Larson (sr.) 2-3, 2 falls

Dual Record: 1-4

Team Placing: 5th out of 6 teams

Next Competition:
Eudora Tournament of Champions (December 7-8, 2012)

4A Regionals @ Fort Scott

February 17-18, 2012

Wildcats sending 3 to 4A State in Salina!

Although the season came to an early end for many of the Wildcat Wrestlers, the 4A Regional Tournament in Fort Scott was scene to many highlights of the Louisburg program. Three wrestlers qualified for the 4A State Tournament in Salina next week, and several others came close to making it into the top-4. LHS finished in 6th place as a team in the 15-team field; Pittsburg brought home the Regional championship, followed by Prairie View, Chanute, Fort Scott, and Paola.

Leading the pack was senior Austin Hood, our lone regional champion at 126 lbs. Austin kick-started his bid for a 3rd consecutive state title with a pin and two technical falls. In the finals, Austin was leading his Fort Scott opponent 14-1 when he secured the fall. Junior Cullen Hood (120 lbs.) also made the championship finals, where he saw a familiar face in Prairie View’s Kaleb Konitzer. Midway through the second period, Konitzer caught Cullen in a funk move, reversing him and scoring nearfall. In the third period, Cullen fought for a takedown, but couldn’t pull it off, losing by a 7-0 decision. After a dramatic Friday evening, senior Austin Caskey (145 lbs.) had a rough road to a state berth. Caskey dropped a heart-breaker in overtime to a Prairie View opponent and would have to beat the #2 seed to make it to the top-4. In a tight battle, Caskey pulled out a 6-5 victory over his Independence opponent. In the consolation finals, he ran into a hard-hitting opponent from Coffeyville and lost by fall to take 4th.

Several other Wildcats had good opportunities and came close, but ultimately came up short in their goals to qualify for state. Freshman Austin Huber (113 lbs.) earned a revenge win against a Prairie View opponent in the consolation quarterfinals. In his next match, he dropped a close 3-1 decision to a wrestler from Independence. Junior Curtis Lemke (152 lbs.) won two matches before falling in the consolation quarterfinals to a Parsons opponent. Junior Kyle McLellan began the tournament as the #3 seed, but in the championship quarterfinals he suffered a concussion that knocked him out of the tournament. McLellan had a great chance of placing in the top-4. Junior Austen Scott (132 lbs.) gave his Paola opponent fits in the consolation quarterfinals. He nearly earned a defensive pin a couple of times, but lost 6-3. Freshman Shea Cox finished his season bumping up to 160 lbs. to fill in for the team; he drew a tough opponent in the first round, but on the back side, he had a great match against a Fort Scott opponent. Cox scored the first takedown in the match, but got caught in a reversal and was pinned in the second period.

The Wildcats’ season culminates next weekend with the 4A State Tournament at the Salina Bicentennial Center. Wrestling begins Friday at 10:00am. Matches will continue throughout the day on four mats and by the end of the day, the 2012 state finalists will have been determined. Saturday, matches begin at 9:00am and we will see who all earns state medals by the end of the day. This is a historic opportunity for Louisburg Wrestling, as senior Austin Hood will be competing for his third state title. Austin is the school’s first 4-time state medalist and is already the school’s only 2-time state champion. All three qualifiers have had outstanding seasons, regardless, and they could use as much support as possible as they battle for state medals!

Individual Results:
113 lbs. – Austin Huber (fr.) 1-2
120 lbs. – Cullen Hood (jr.) 3-1, 2 falls, 2nd place
126 lbs. – Austin Hood (sr.) 4-0, 2 falls, 2 tech falls, 1st place
132 lbs. – Austen Scott (jr.) 0-2
145 lbs. – Austin Caskey (sr.) 3-2, 1 fall, 4th place
152 lbs. – Curtis Lemke (jr.) 2-2, 1 fall
160 lbs. – Shea Cox (fr.) 0-2
220 lbs. – Kyle McLellan (jr.) 0-1, injury default

Team Placing: 6th out of 15 teams

Next Competition: 4A State Tournament (February 24-25, 2012)