Minor wins state title, LKWC places four

Louisburg Middle School eighth-grader Bret Minor captured his first kids state wrestling title Sunday at the Kansas Expocentre in Topeka. Minor, who wrestles in the 14-and-under, 90-pound division, finished with a 4-0 record.

TOPEKA – Bret Minor has made so many trips to the Kansas Kids State Folkstyle Championships he is running out of fingers to count them on.

This season was Minor’s ninth time advancing to the state tournament in Topeka, and as it turns out, it was his most memorable one.

Minor, an eighth-grader at Louisburg Middle School, won the 14-and-under 90-pound state crown Sunday at the Kansas Expocentre with a 4-0 record wrestling for Slyterdome. He has now earned state medals for every place in his near-decade long state tournament career.

The Louisburg Kids Wrestling Club also had a strong showing at the state tournament last weekend as the Wildcats placed four of their 15 participants. Ashton Moore (8-and-under, 80 pounds), Harrison Kalinka (10-U, 90) and Mason Koechner (high school, 220) all medaled fourth place. Brandon Doles (10-U, 110) came in fifth overall.

Two other Louisburg Middle School students also participated in the state tournament. Eighth-grader Hunter Bindi (14-U, 85), who wrestles for Heartland Youth, medaled third. Sixth-grader Cade Holtzen finished with a 1-2 record with Olathe Southside.

As for Minor, he was basically untouchable through much of the tournament. He opened action Saturday with an 11-0 major decision of Larned’s Kristopher Nolde and recorded a 15-0 technical fall over Jackson County’s Kolby Roush in the quarterfinals.

Minor then followed that up with a 10-0 major decision over East Kansas’ Larry Gulley. Then in the championship match, Minor defeated Freddy Maisberger of the Thunderbirds by a 7-0 decision.

Bindi hoped to join his classmate in the championship round, but came up one victory shy. Bindi won his first two matches of the tournament, but fell in the semifinals. He responded to pin Rose Hill’s Kyle Sackett in the consolation semifinals and then won a tough 2-0 decision over Lucas Glover of the Kansas Young Guns.

LWKC’s Moore, Kalinka, Koechner and Doles also had strong outings. Moore, Doles and Koechner each finished the day with 4-2 records and Kalinka was 3-2.

Moore had to wrestle on the backside of the bracket most of the tournament after losing his first match. He responded to record four straight victories, including a 3-1 decision over Pratt’s Damien Quint in the consolation semifinals to put him in the third-place match, where he would fall to Dodge City’s Holden Kite.

Kalinka won his first two matches of the tournament on pins over Hutchinson’s Karsen Scheuler and Pittsburg’s Matthew Smith. After a loss in the semis, Kalinka pinned Jace High in the consolation semifinals before losing a tough 2-0 decision of Team Lightning’s Sam Elliott.

In the high school division, Koechner was busy wrestling six matches. Koechner opened with a 4-2 decision of Colyn Gugelman of Colby, but lost a 14-9 decision to Burlington’s Nathan Vander Linden in the quarterfinals.

Koechner responded with three straight victories, including two pins that put him in the third-place match. He lost by a 7-3 decision to Corey Atkins of the Kansas Young Guns to take fourth.

Doles got his tournament started with a pin in just 28 seconds before falling to Caden Ross of the Young Guns in the quarterfinals. Doles battled back to capture a 9-1 major decision over Great Bend’s Breanna Ridgeway and a 4-1 decision against Ulysses’ Justin Degollado.

After falling in the consolation semis, Doles bounced back to win the fifth-place match by a 4-0 decision over Clay County’s JW Jackson.

Also participating in the state tournament for the Louisburg Kids Club was Tyson Blancarte (2-2 record, 8-and-under, 46 pounds), Kaden Allen (2-2, 8-U, 52), Jay McCaskill (0-2, 8-U, 64), Brayden Yoder (0-2, 8-U, 67), Gage Gilliland (0-2, 8-U, 73), Ryan Owens (1-2, 12-U, 68), Brayden Dame (1-2, 12-U, 92), Blue Caplinger (0-2, 14-U, 135), Austin Moore (2-2, 14-U, 145), Nathan Keegan (2-2, high school, 120) and Ryan Adams (1-2, high school, 145).