Wildcat wrestlers win Topeka Invitational

Louisburg wrestlers (from left) Kyle Allen, Ben Wiedenmann, Ryan Owens, Blue Caplinger, Thad Hendrix, Garrett Caldwell, Cade Holtzen, Gabe Bonham, Austin Moore, Anthony Welborn, Ryan Adams, Tucker Batten, Hunter Day and Sam Kratochvil pose for a team picture following their win in the Topeka Invitational.

TOPEKA – It isn’t considered one of its toughest tournaments of the season, but the Topeka High Invitational still presented a few challenges for the Louisburg High School wrestling team.

Despite those obstacles, the Wildcats were still able to leave Topeka on Saturday as champions.

Louisburg won the tournament for the second straight time with 202 points and edged out Council Grove, which had 199.5 points, for the team title. In the process, the Wildcats also had four individual champions on a day that they had all 13 wrestlers place in the top six.

“I like the Topeka tournament because it gives a chance to do some practical application of the moves we’ve been working on to start off the month of January,” Louisburg coach Bobby Bovaird said. “The guys just had a little time off for Christmas break, we have a pretty tough tournament of our own, and then we go to Topeka for their invitational. It’s been getting more and more competitive each year we’ve been, and I like to see how we fare against some different competition.

“This year they added Shawnee Mission West, Burlingame and Bishop Miege, all of whom were pretty competitive in the tournament. Plus, there’s Council Grove, which is always a tough team. We had some guys really step up and win some great matches. We faced a lot of new teams — teams that aren’t 4A — and it’s nice to have a mix-up like that. We saw some new styles and some new techniques that were able to test us.”

Freshman Cade Holtzen (113 pounds), Blue Caplinger (160) and Austin Moore (195) were the tournament’s No. 1 seeds and all three wrestled like it, as all three wrestlers earned first place honors.

Holtzen, who is currently ranked No. 5 in Class 4A, recorded five consecutive pins to the win the title at 113 pounds. That success also improved his record to 25-1 on the season.

As for Caplinger, he encountered a tough match in the championship round, as he squared off with Bishop Miege’s Drew Perez who had a 22-2 record going into the match. Caplinger was able to get the pin on Perez to win his second straight tournament and he is ranked No. 6 in Class 4A.

Moore improved his record to 23-2 on the year with four straight pins and then met Council Grove’s Preston Gilbert in the finals, where he won an 8-2 decision. Moore is currently ranked No. 5 in the state.

“I was really happy with their performances,” Bovaird said. “Cade continues to have a dominant freshman season. He came out with five pins on the weekend and he looked strong in each match. Blue just came off a 2-1 decision against the #3 ranked kid in Kansas 6A on Wednesday, and he was in a pretty competitive 160-pound bracket. The finals match was against a pretty tough wrestler from Bishop Miege, and Blue continues to wrestle smart. He keeps solid position, and when he hits a move, he goes 100% and catches good kids. This time, it got him a pin in the finals.

“Austin was 5-0 in his pool at 195. His final match of the day was an 8-2 decision against a strong Council Grove opponent. Austin was dominant against him, despite struggling to turn him. I think it was a great time to have a match go the full six minutes. It definitely highlighted a couple areas that he can tweak. Other than that, he looked as strong as ever on the mat.”

The Wildcats also had another champion in freshman Anthony Welborn, who moved up from junior varsity to fill in at 120 pounds. Welborn wrestled three matches and finished with a 2-1 record, but took first based on a tiebreaker.

“Anthony, who’s filling in for Hunter Bindi at 120, was a great surprise,” Bovaird said. “Anthony pinned his first two kids to set him up pretty good going into the final match. He lost that match 11-15, but that left a three-way tie for 1st place in his round robin pool. Because he had two pins, that gave him the criteria to be named champion. He’s a strong athlete who doesn’t stop moving. I noticed that his opponents are never safe when they’re on top of him.”

Seniors Ryan Adams (145), Tucker Batten (138) and Kyle Allen (126) also found themselves in the championship round, but came up just short of winning a championship.

Adams, who is ranked No. 5 in the state, went up against Highland Park’s Angelo Plakio in the championship round and lost a tough 6-4 decision.

Batten won his first two matches before falling by major decision to Topeka West’s T.J. Peterson. Allen was also 2-0 going into his final match, before getting pinned by Council Grove’s Billy Sales.

Gabe Bonham (132) finished third for the Wildcats. Thad Hendrix (106) and Hunter Day (285) took fourth as they each earned a medal.

Garrett Caldwell (182) came in fifth overall, while Ryan Owens (106) and Ben Wiedenmann (170) each finished sixth.

Louisburg will gear up for another tough tournament Friday when it travels to Parsons as the Wildcats continue to prepare themselves for the postseason.

“It was an exciting day of competition, with Council Grove battling back and forth with us for the team title,” Bovaird said. “They have some very tough kids who are solid wrestlers. Although we ran into a few close matches and made some mistakes that cost us wins on the day, I think it was a great showing to have everyone on the mat placing in the top 6.

“This tournament sets us up pretty good for this upcoming weekend, when we go to Parsons on Friday. That tournament has been changed to a traditionally bracketed tournament instead of a dual tournament. The next weekend we go to Baldwin for their really competitive Baldwin Invitational Tournament, which showcases some of the strongest teams in Kansas 4A.”

TOPEKA HIGH INVITATIONAL RESULTS

TEAM SCORES

Louisburg 202
Council Grove 5
Topeka West 118
Bishop Miege 5
Burlingame 5
Topeka High 5
Shawnee Mission West 81
Gardner-Edgerton 79
Highland Park 5
Holton 44
KC-Washington 24

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS

106

Thad Hendrix (17-8) placed 4th and scored 16.00 team points.

Champ. Round 1 – Thad Hendrix (Louisburg) 17-8 won by fall over Xavier Lewis (KC Washington) 3-10 (Fall 0:00)
Quarterfinal – Thad Hendrix (Louisburg) 17-8 won by fall over Jon Crouch (Burlingame) 6-10 (Fall 0:00)
Semifinal – Maxwell Curry (Topeka Highland Park) 13-8 won by decision over Thad Hendrix (Louisburg) 17-8 (Dec 11-10)
Cons. Semi – Thad Hendrix (Louisburg) 17-8 won by decision over Ryan Owens (Louisburg) 6-5 (Dec 6-5)
3rd Place Match – Elijah Collins (Burlingame) 14-6 won by decision over Thad Hendrix (Louisburg) 17-8 (Dec 5-2)

106

Ryan Owens (6-5) placed 6th.

Champ. Round 1 – Ryan Owens (Louisburg) 6-5 won by fall over Dean Marshall (Gardner Edgerton) 1-2 (Fall 0:00)
Quarterfinal – Tom Vanvalkenburg (Council Grove) 20-2 won by decision over Ryan Owens (Louisburg) 6-5 (Dec 7-2)
Cons. Round 2 – Ryan Owens (Louisburg) 6-5 won by tech fall over Mashyla Pantoja (Topeka West) 4-2 (TF-1.5 0:00 (16-1))
Cons. Round 3 – Ryan Owens (Louisburg) 6-5 won by major decision over Justina Nicholson (topeka high school) 5-17 (MD 9-0)
Cons. Semi – Thad Hendrix (Louisburg) 17-8 won by decision over Ryan Owens (Louisburg) 6-5 (Dec 6-5)
5th Place Match – Ryan Owens (Louisburg) 6-5 and Jon Crouch (Burlingame) 6-10 (DFF)

113

Cade Holtzen (24-1) placed 1st and scored 26.00 team points.

Round 1 – Cade Holtzen (Louisburg) 24-1 won by fall over Jeffrey Sisson (Holton High School) 1-14 (Fall 0:00)
Round 2 – Cade Holtzen (Louisburg) 24-1 won by fall over John Heckman (Burlingame) 4-11 (Fall 0:00)
Round 3 – Cade Holtzen (Louisburg) 24-1 won by fall over Maggie Goodwin (Gardner Edgerton) 4-10 (Fall 0:00)
Round 4 – Cade Holtzen (Louisburg) 24-1 won by fall over Aaliyah Bueno (Topeka West) 5-11 (Fall 0:00)
Round 5 – Cade Holtzen (Louisburg) 24-1 won by fall over Andrew Irwin (Council Grove) 19-6 (Fall 0:00)

120

Anthony Welborn (2-1) placed 1st and scored 18.00 team points.

Round 1 – Anthony Welborn (Louisburg) 2-1 won by fall over Jamonte Dew (KC Washington) 3-14 (Fall 0:00)
Round 2 – Anthony Welborn (Louisburg) 2-1 won by fall over Luke Huffman (Gardner Edgerton) 3-4 (Fall 0:00)
Round 3 – Colton Bacon (Council Grove) 10-9 won by decision over Anthony Welborn (Louisburg) 2-1 (Dec 15-11)

126

Kyle Allen (13-10) placed 2nd and scored 11.00 team points.

Round 1 – Kyle Allen (Louisburg) 13-10 won by decision over Jordan Thompson (KC Washington) 2-14 (Dec 9-3)
Round 2 – Kyle Allen (Louisburg) 13-10 won by major decision over Ethan Crapo (Shawnee Mission West) 4-8 (MD 13-1)
Round 3 – Billy Sales (Council Grove) 16-4 won by fall over Kyle Allen (Louisburg) 13-10 (Fall 0:00)

132

Gabriel Bonham (11-9) placed 3rd and scored 12.00 team points.

Round 1 – Gabriel Bonham (Louisburg) 11-9 won by decision over Conner Gilliland (Holton High School) 12-13 (Dec 6-0)
Round 2 – Christian Wyatt (Shawnee Mission West) 8-5 won by decision over Gabriel Bonham (Louisburg) 11-9 (Dec 8-7)
Round 3 – Gabriel Bonham (Louisburg) 11-9 won by major decision over Gabe Cantu (Bishop Miege) 4-7 (MD 10-1)
Round 4 – Gabriel Bonham (Louisburg) 11-9 won by fall over Collin Daniels (topeka high school) 2-5 (Fall 0:00)
Round 5 – Miguel Bueno (Topeka West) 20-5 won by decision over Gabriel Bonham (Louisburg) 11-9 (Dec 7-5)

138

Tucker Batten (14-6) placed 2nd and scored 18.00 team points.

Quarterfinal – Tucker Batten (Louisburg) 14-6 won by fall over Andrew Cole (Topeka West) 2-5 (Fall 0:00)
Semifinal – Tucker Batten (Louisburg) 14-6 won by decision over Drake Mills (Gardner Edgerton) 3-2 (Dec 2-0)
1st Place Match – TJ Peterson (Topeka West) 17-1 won by major decision over Tucker Batten (Louisburg) 14-6 (MD 12-2)

145

Ryan Adams (14-3) placed 2nd and scored 18.00 team points.

Quarterfinal – Ryan Adams (Louisburg) 14-3 received a bye () (Bye)
Semifinal – Ryan Adams (Louisburg) 14-3 won by fall over Justin Garden (Gardner Edgerton) 2-2 (Fall 0:00)
1st Place Match – Angelo Plakio (Topeka Highland Park) 17-4 won by decision over Ryan Adams (Louisburg) 14-3 (Dec 6-4)

160

Blue Caplinger (17-6) placed 1st and scored 26.00 team points.

Champ. Round 1 – Blue Caplinger (Louisburg) 17-6 received a bye () (Bye)
Quarterfinal – Blue Caplinger (Louisburg) 17-6 won by fall over Jacob Porrit (Shawnee Mission West) 7-10 (Fall 0:00)
Semifinal – Blue Caplinger (Louisburg) 17-6 won by decision over Joe Randles (Topeka West) 20-4 (Dec 8-5)
1st Place Match – Blue Caplinger (Louisburg) 17-6 won by fall over Drew Perez (Bishop Miege) 22-3 (Fall 0:00)

170

Ben Wiedenmann (5-9) placed 6th and scored 7.00 team points.

Champ. Round 1 – Ben Wiedenmann (Louisburg) 5-9 received a bye () (Bye)
Quarterfinal – Michael Welch (topeka high school) 19-5 won by fall over Ben Wiedenmann (Louisburg) 5-9 (Fall 0:00)
Cons. Round 2 – Ben Wiedenmann (Louisburg) 5-9 received a bye () (Bye)
Cons. Round 3 – Ben Wiedenmann (Louisburg) 5-9 won by fall over DJ Barnett (Gardner Edgerton) 0-2 (Fall 0:00)
Cons. Semi – Bo Kraus (Council Grove) 14-6 won by decision over Ben Wiedenmann (Louisburg) 5-9 (Dec 6-0)
5th Place Match – Danny Sublette (Shawnee Mission West) 8-12 won by decision over Ben Wiedenmann (Louisburg) 5-9 (Dec 2-1)

182

Garrett Caldwell (10-14) placed 5th and scored 13.00 team points.

Champ. Round 1 – Garrett Caldwell (Louisburg) 10-14 received a bye () (Bye)
Quarterfinal – Garrett Caldwell (Louisburg) 10-14 won by fall over Riley Champney (topeka high school) 6-7 (Fall 0:00)
Semifinal – Killian O`Connor (Holton High School) 8-7 won by fall over Garrett Caldwell (Louisburg) 10-14 (Fall 0:00)
Cons. Semi – Asher Gagnon (Council Grove) 6-13 won by fall over Garrett Caldwell (Louisburg) 10-14 (Fall 0:00)
5th Place Match – Garrett Caldwell (Louisburg) 10-14 won by fall over Levi MacDonald (KC Washington) 3-5 (Fall 0:00)

195

Austin Moore (23-2) placed 1st and scored 24.00 team points.

Round 1 – Austin Moore (Louisburg) 23-2 won by fall over Hunter Remigio (Shawnee Mission West) 13-16 (Fall 0:00)
Round 2 – Austin Moore (Louisburg) 23-2 won by fall over Carlos Campos (Topeka West) 10-15 (Fall 0:00)
Round 3 – Austin Moore (Louisburg) 23-2 won by fall over Vincent Samchez (Bishop Miege) 11-16 (Fall 0:00)
Round 4 – Austin Moore (Louisburg) 23-2 won by fall over Dallas Shell (Gardner Edgerton) 1-4 (Fall 0:00)
Round 5 – Austin Moore (Louisburg) 23-2 won by decision over Preston Gilbert (Council Grove) 18-3 (Dec 8-2)

285

Hunter Day (8-16) placed 4th and scored 14.00 team points.

Quarterfinal – Hunter Day (Louisburg) 8-16 won by fall over Noah Applehanz (Topeka West) 3-3 (Fall 0:00)
Semifinal – Keller Snesrud (Burlingame) 11-2 won by fall over Hunter Day (Louisburg) 8-16 (Fall 0:00)
Cons. Semi – Hunter Day (Louisburg) 8-16 won by fall over Steven Desch (topeka high school) 2-7 (Fall 0:00)
3rd Place Match – Sean Ryan (Bishop Miege) 21-6 won by fall over Hunter Day (Louisburg) 8-16 (Fall 0:00)