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)

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)