Three Wildcats bring home medals from Baldwin

By Andy Brown
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Updated: January 31, 2018

Andy Brown / Louisburg Sports Zone

Louisburg senior Ryan Adams works for a pin at the Baldwin Invitational Tournament on Saturday. Adams was second in the 145-pound weight class and was one of three Wildcats to earn medals.

BALDWIN CITY – The Louisburg High School wrestling team saw some of the best competition the state had to offer Saturday at the Baldwin Invitational Tournament.

It was the Wildcats’ most difficult tournament to date and provided them with a lot of tough matches. Despite all that, Louisburg was still able to come away with some hardware.

The Wildcats earned three medals on the day, including a pair of wrestlers that found themselves among the top two in their weight classes.

Freshman Cade Holtzen won the 113-pound weight class as he finished his round-robin bracket with a 5-0 record as he continues to have a strong season that includes a No. 5 ranking in Class 4A and a 32-1 record on the season.

“Cade is establishing himself as one of the toughest 113 pounders in the state,” Louisburg coach Bobby Bovaird said. “He hasn’t seen some of the tough western Kansas competition, but for the folks around this area, he’s proven himself to be a high-caliber wrestler as a freshman. We’ll see how things stack up at regionals and state though. He’s been wrestling strong and improving his skills each time he gets on the mat.”

Freshman Cade Holtzen won the 113-pound weight class Saturday at the Baldwin Invitational.

Ryan Adams pinned his way to the championship match of the 145-pound bracket, where he met a familiar opponent. Adams, the No. 5 wrestler in the state, went up against No. 4 Patterson Starcher from Tonganoxie.

Adams has seen Starcher in two previous appearances this season, but came up short in both instances. Despite battling an illness, Adams put up a fight against Starcher in a 7-0 loss to finish second overall.

He still had a successful tournament as he picked up big victories along with way, including a pin of Burlington’s Cael Johnson in the semifinals, who is the No. 6 ranked wrestler in the state.

“Ryan has been fighting pneumonia the last week, and I wouldn’t have blamed him if he had taken the weekend off to rest up,” Bovaird said. “I’m pretty proud of how he stepped up and battled through his weakness. His semifinals win was a great step forward for him. That kid was ranked at state right below him, and he’s a tough kid.

“Ryan’s finals match had some high spots, but you could tell he wasn’t feeling his best. He toughed it out against a guy who’d pinned him twice earlier this season. Next time we see him will be at state. If Ryan is healthy, the way he’s been wrestling lately, that match will go much differently.”

Junior Blue Caplinger competed in the toughest bracket of the tournament at 160 pounds. It featured five of the top six wrestlers in the state, including Caplinger, who is ranked No. 5.

To open the tournament, Caplinger met Eudora’s Elijah Kennedy, the No. 3 ranked wrestler in the state. Caplinger nearly pulled off the upset in a 4-2 decision and he almost tied the match as time expired.

Caplinger responded to win two of his next three matches to finish fourth overall, including a 1-0 decision over Tonganoxie’s Caden Searcy in the consolation semifinals.

“Blue had a tough bracket indeed,” Bovaird said. “Five of the top-six ranked kids in the state were there on Saturday. His first match was a battle against Kennedy. Blue lost a 4-2 decision on that one, but the final minute of the match, he was getting closer and closer to tying up the match. On the back side of the bracket, he got a 1-0 decision against a kid who’d beaten him 3-4 times two years ago, and that was a nice revenge win. In the 3rd place match, he faced the No. 1 ranked kid in 4A, who’d just gotten beat in the semifinals, and that was a tough loss for Blue.”

Junior Austin Moore, who is ranked No. 5 at 195 pounds, had a difficult bracket as well. Moore squared off with No. 3 Connor Searcy from Tonganoxie for the third time, and like the other two times, came up short in a 4-2 decision in the semifinals. He also fell to Prairie View’s Chanz Gerleman on the back side of the bracket before rebounding to win his fifth place match.

“Austin had a chance to wrestle the Tonganoxie kid for the third time this season,” Bovaird said. “He’s a strong wrestler, and Austin just couldn’t get that takedown this time. On the back side of the bracket, he got caught and pinned by a Prairie View kid who he might have just overlooked. It was a tough day, but I think Austin knows what to do to correct that problem for next time.”

Seniors Thad Hendrix (106 pounds), Kyle Allen (126) and Tucker Batten (138) finished their day on a good note as they each won their fifth place matches.

Senior Thad Hendrix finished fifth overall at 106 pounds for the Wildcats

Overall, the Wildcats finished ninth out of 16 teams with 108.5 points. Holton won the tournament with 190 points and Tonganoxie was second with 161.

“As always, Baldwin proves to be a great test for us,” Bovaird said. “We have a chance to see several schools that we don’t typically see until state — Clay Center, Rock Creek, Buhler and Wamego to name a few. It gives us an indication of where we’re at in the season. The seeding meeting is always difficult because we haven’t seen a lot of the teams, so we get to hear a lot of common opponents. Plus, we get to see how we stack up head-to-head when we get on the mats.

“We struggled in a few spots, and we dropped some matches I don’t think we should have let get away. One point of emphasis we’ve been working on is overtime matches. We lost two of them this weekend, and it just shows up how much harder we need to be working.

Louisburg returns to the mat tonight in its final home match of the season as it hosts Lawrence High for dual on Senior Night. Matches are set to begin at 6 p.m.

2018 BALDWIN INVITATIONAL RESULTS

TEAM SCORES

Holton 190
Tonganoxie 161
Basehor-Linwood 130
Burlington 129
Baldwin 122
Santa Fe Trail 116
Spring Hill 115
Clay Center 113
Louisburg 5
Prairie View 5
Eudora 90
Buhler 82
Goodland 81
Rock Creek 54
Wamego 42
Osawatomie 31

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS

106

Thad Hendrix (23-11) placed 5th and scored 11.00 team points.

Champ. Round 1 – Thad Hendrix (Louisburg) 23-11 won by major decision over Lucas Hopper (Baldwin) 12-12 (MD 17-5)
Quarterfinal – Jake Barnes (Holton) 20-10 won by forfeit over Thad Hendrix (Louisburg) 23-11 (For.)
Cons. Round 2 – Thad Hendrix (Louisburg) 23-11 won by fall over Ryan Owens (Louisburg) 1-3 (Fall 2:15)
Cons. Round 3 – Jacob Hollman (Osawatomie) 20-7 won by decision over Thad Hendrix (Louisburg) 23-11 (Dec 11-6)
5th Place Match – Thad Hendrix (Louisburg) 23-11 won by decision over Hunter Harris (Tonganoxie) 13-15 (Dec 13-6)

106

Ryan Owens (1-3) placed 8th.

Champ. Round 1 – Ryan Owens (Louisburg) 1-3 received a bye () (Bye)
Quarterfinal – Rhett Koppes (Clay Center) 28-3 won by fall over Ryan Owens (Louisburg) 1-3 (Fall 1:38)
Cons. Round 2 – Thad Hendrix (Louisburg) 23-11 won by fall over Ryan Owens (Louisburg) 1-3 (Fall 2:15)
Cons. Round 3 – Ryan Owens (Louisburg) 1-3 won by major decision over Taye Payne (Goodland) 11-17 (MD 18-5)
7th Place Match – Lucas Hopper (Baldwin) 12-12 won by fall over Ryan Owens (Louisburg) 1-3 (Fall 4:35)

113

Cade Holtzen (32-1) placed 1st and scored 23.50 team points.

Round 1 – Cade Holtzen (Louisburg) 32-1 won by fall over Kolton Varner (Clay Center) 3-5 (Fall 0:42)
Round 2 – Cade Holtzen (Louisburg) 32-1 won by tech fall over Drake Parkinson (Basehor-Linwood) 9-13 (TF-1.5 3:55 (18-1))
Round 3 – Cade Holtzen (Louisburg) 32-1 won by fall over Benton Flory (Baldwin) 6-17 (Fall 2:04)
Round 4 – Cade Holtzen (Louisburg) 32-1 won by fall over Tanner Shoup (Rock Creek) 18-13 (Fall 2:43)
Round 5 – Cade Holtzen (Louisburg) 32-1 won by decision over Will Schreiner (Eudora) 16-11 (Dec 9-3)

126

Kyle Allen (19-13) placed 5th and scored 9.00 team points.

Champ. Round 1 – Kyle Allen (Louisburg) 19-13 received a bye () (Bye)
Quarterfinal – Kolby Roush (Holton) 26-6 won by fall over Kyle Allen (Louisburg) 19-13 (Fall 5:37)
Cons. Round 2 – Kyle Allen (Louisburg) 19-13 won by decision over Josh Broyles (Baldwin) 14-14 (Dec 6-1)
Cons. Round 3 – Trajan McCormick (Spring Hill) 21-10 won in sudden victory – 1 over Kyle Allen (Louisburg) 19-13 (SV-1 4-2)
5th Place Match – Kyle Allen (Louisburg) 19-13 won by major decision over Bryce Isabell (Santa Fe Trail) 1-3 (MD 15-1)

132

Gabe Bonham (13-12) place is unknown and scored 2.00 team points.

Champ. Round 1 – Manten Crow (Goodland) 9-19 won by forfeit over Gabe Bonham (Louisburg) 13-12 (For.)
Cons. Round 1 – Gabe Bonham (Louisburg) 13-12 received a bye () (Bye)
Cons. Round 2 – Gabe Bonham (Louisburg) 13-12 received a bye () (Bye)
Cons. Round 3 – Tyler Roberts (Santa Fe Trail) 14-11 won by forfeit over Gabe Bonham (Louisburg) 13-12 (For.)

138

Tucker Batten (20-10) placed 5th and scored 10.00 team points.

Champ. Round 1 – Tucker Batten (Louisburg) 20-10 won by fall over Devin Owings (Baldwin) 4-8 (Fall 0:56)
Quarterfinal – Adler Pierson (Wamego) 20-6 won by decision over Tucker Batten (Louisburg) 20-10 (Dec 4-0)
Cons. Round 2 – Tucker Batten (Louisburg) 20-10 won by decision over Wyatt Dickie (Spring Hill) 18-8 (Dec 7-3)
Cons. Round 3 – Lawson Henry (Holton) 31-5 won in sudden victory – 1 over Tucker Batten (Louisburg) 20-10 (SV-1 6-4)
5th Place Match – Tucker Batten (Louisburg) 20-10 won by decision over Reed Knitter (Clay Center) 22-13 (Dec 10-6)

145

Ryan Adams (21-4) placed 2nd and scored 24.00 team points.

Champ. Round 1 – Ryan Adams (Louisburg) 21-4 won by fall over Willie Bowman (Holton) 8-13 (Fall 0:13)
Quarterfinal – Ryan Adams (Louisburg) 21-4 won by fall over Zach Jeanneret (Santa Fe Trail) 17-15 (Fall 1:41)
Semifinal – Ryan Adams (Louisburg) 21-4 won by fall over Cael Johnson (Burlington) 30-3 (Fall 1:06)
1st Place Match – Patterson Starcher (Tonganoxie) 29-2 won by decision over Ryan Adams (Louisburg) 21-4 (Dec 7-0)

160

Blue Caplinger (23-9) placed 4th and scored 13.00 team points.

Champ. Round 1 – Blue Caplinger (Louisburg) 23-9 received a bye () (Bye)
Quarterfinal – Elijah Kennedy (Eudora) 26-7 won by decision over Blue Caplinger (Louisburg) 23-9 (Dec 4-2)
Cons. Round 2 – Blue Caplinger (Louisburg) 23-9 won by fall over Dakota Garrison (Santa Fe Trail) 20-16 (Fall 2:17)
Cons. Round 3 – Blue Caplinger (Louisburg) 23-9 won by decision over Caden Searcy (Tonganoxie) 7-3 (Dec 1-0)
3rd Place Match – Brett Bober (Burlington) 30-1 won by fall over Blue Caplinger (Louisburg) 23-9 (Fall 1:19)

170

Ben Wiedenmann (5-14) place is unknown and scored 0.00 team points.

Champ. Round 1 – Jon Trowbridge (Basehor-Linwood) 32-3 won by major decision over Ben Wiedenmann (Louisburg) 5-14 (MD 18-6)
Cons. Round 1 – Jacob Reiss (Rock Creek) 15-12 won by decision over Ben Wiedenmann (Louisburg) 5-14 (Dec 4-0)

182

Garrett Caldwell (12-19) place is unknown and scored 0.00 team points.

Champ. Round 1 – Joey Ewalt (Prairie View) 33-3 won by fall over Garrett Caldwell (Louisburg) 12-19 (Fall 2:30)
Cons. Round 1 – Cy Hockey (Baldwin) 17-15 won by fall over Garrett Caldwell (Louisburg) 12-19 (Fall 1:55)

195

Austin Moore (30-4) placed 5th and scored 15.00 team points.

Champ. Round 1 – Austin Moore (Louisburg) 30-4 won by fall over Preston Langley (Burlington) 6-18 (Fall 0:29)
Quarterfinal – Austin Moore (Louisburg) 30-4 won by fall over Conner Ridgeway (Santa Fe Trail) 13-13 (Fall 0:38)
Semifinal – Connor Searcy (Tonganoxie) 35-4 won by decision over Austin Moore (Louisburg) 30-4 (Dec 4-2)
Cons. Round 3 – Chanz Gerleman (Prairie View) 9-6 won by fall over Austin Moore (Louisburg) 30-4 (Fall 2:18)
5th Place Match – Austin Moore (Louisburg) 30-4 won by fall over Conner Ridgeway (Santa Fe Trail) 13-13 (Fall 0:53)

220

James Nelson (0-4) place is unknown and scored 1.00 team points.

Champ. Round 1 – Keegan McDonald (Clay Center) 2-8 won by fall over James Nelson (Louisburg) 0-4 (Fall 2:36)
Cons. Round 1 – James Nelson (Louisburg) 0-4 received a bye () (Bye)
Cons. Round 2 – William Harris (Tonganoxie) 9-18 won by fall over James Nelson (Louisburg) 0-4 (Fall 1:24)

285

Hunter Day (10-21) place is unknown and scored 0.00 team points.

Champ. Round 1 – Tylar Patrick (Wamego) 26-0 won by fall over Hunter Day (Louisburg) 10-21 (Fall 0:43)
Cons. Round 1 – Jacob Miller (Tonganoxie) 19-17 won by fall over Hunter Day (Louisburg) 10-21 (Fall 2:39)