Wrigley wins league crown at 195 pounds

By Andy Brown
- Tweet
- Pin It
Updated: February 18, 2015

Louisburg senior Brenton Wrigley won the 195-pound weight class Saturday at the Frontier League Dual Tournament in Eudora. Wrigley is now the No. 5 ranked wrestler in Class 4A in his weight class.

EUDORA — Brenton Wrigley is trying to end his Louisburg wrestling career on a good note and he is already well on his way to doing that.

In his first, of what Wrigley hopes to be his final three tournaments, he stood on top of the medal stand. Wrigley, a senior, won the 195-pound title Saturday at the Frontier League Dual Tournament in Eudora.

Wrigley was one of four Wildcat wrestlers to earn spots in the top two. In the process, he and the rest of the Louisburg team put together a strong showing of their own as the Wildcats finished third with a record of 4-2.

Louisburg couldn’t have asked for a better start to the tournament. The Wildcats opened with victories over Ottawa (40-31) and Spring Hill (42-40) on Friday and then followed it up with wins over De Soto (54-25) and Eudora (54-27).

The schedule quickly got more difficult as Louisburg faced off with the state’s No. 2 ranked team Baldwin next and fell 51-27. Baldwin rolled to the league championship with a 6-0 mark.

Next up was rival Paola and the Wildcats came up just short in a 41-30 loss. Louisburg trailed just 32-30 heading into the 220-pound match, but suffered a close loss at 220 and was open at 285.

Wrigley posted a 6-0 record, but three of those wins were big and all came Saturday. Wrigley upset De Soto’s Jeremy Slitor with a pin in the second period. Slitor was previously the No. 5 ranked wrestler in Class 4A.

Baldwin’s Gunther Wehrman was next and Wrigley held on for a 5-4 decision before edging out Paola’s Jake Miller for a 3-1 decision in overtime.

After his performance, Wrigley is now ranked No. 5 in Class 4A at 195 pounds by the Kansas Wrestling Coaches Association.

The Wildcats also got good tournaments from Nathan Keegan (113 pounds), Tucker Batten (126) and Ryan Adams (138) who finished second in the league with just one loss each. Zack Knox (132), Lyndon Smith (182) and Mason Koechner (220) each finished in third place.

All four of Keegan’s wins came by pin and three of those were under a minute. His lone loss came thanks to Eudora’s Elijah Kennedy, the eventual champion and Keegan was pinned in the third round.

Three of Batten’s victories were also by pin and all three were under two minutes, while Adams, a freshman, recorded four pins on his way to a 5-1 day.

Louisburg will host the 16-team regional tournament beginning at 3 p.m. this Friday and will continue at 11 a.m. on Saturday. The top four in each weight class will qualify for the state tournament.