Wildcats win at Parsons for second straight title

By Andy Brown
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Updated: January 24, 2018

Photo courtesy of Louisburg wrestling

The Louisburg High School wrestling team captured their second consecutive title Friday when it won the Parsons Invitational with 170 points and five Wildcats won individual titles.

PARSONS – The Louisburg wrestling team could get used to these type of moments it has had the last two weeks.

For the second week in a row, Louisburg won a tournament title and its latest conquest came Friday at the Parsons Invitational. The Wildcats captured the 11-team tournament with 170 points, winning by more than 35 points.

Louisburg also left Parsons with five individual champions and had four more place in the top four in their respective brackets. The Wildcats did all this after winning the Topeka Invitational six days earlier.

“I felt like the guys wrestled pretty well,” Louisburg coach Bobby Bovaird said. “I tend to think that we wrestle better as the day goes on, especially when we’re doing an evening tournament like this one. We had a couple hiccups in some matches, but I’m really pleased with the determination the guys showed throughout the evening.”

Senior Thad Hendrix (106 pounds), freshman Cade Holtzen (113), junior Gabe Bonham (132), senior Ryan Adams (145) and junior Austin Moore (195) each won their weight class.

Bonham won his first tournament of the season at 132 pounds and did so in exciting fashion. He won his first two matches, which set up a bout against Santa Fe Trail’s Carter Greenfield in the championship, and Bonham won by a 9-4 decision in overtime.

“Gabe made a great run through the tournament, and I was pretty happy with what I saw from him on the mat,” Bovaird said. “In the finals, he had a returning state qualifier who had been ranked at one point this season. I didn’t see that affecting the way Gabe wrestled though. He was consistent, solid, and made his offense pay off in that match.

“He got the first takedown, which is always huge, and then when the match went into overtime, he kept up his offense. In the second overtime, he not only got a reversal to put him ahead, he was relentless and got some back points to secure the win.”

Hendrix and Holtzen breezed through their brackets on their way to a title. Hendrix defeated Wichita West’s Nasir Johnson by a 19-10 major decision to go 3-0 on the day. Holtzen, who is currently ranked No. 5 at 113 pounds in Class 4A, won by major decision to start the day and then pinned Anderson County’s Ashton Miller in the second period of the championship match.

Adams responded with another victory at 145 pounds. The Louisburg senior, who is currently ranked No. 5 in the state, won his opening match by technical fall, then recorded a pin before pinning Cherryvale’s Dalton Hestland-Vail in the first period.

Moore brought his No. 5 state ranking into the Parsons tournament and it was never in jeopardy. Moore pinned his first two opponents before winning a 9-0 major decision over Wichita West’s Seandale DeShazer.

“Thad had a wild back-and-forth match with a strong kid from Wichita West, but his intensity won him the match,” Bovaird said. “He wore the kid down to the point that you could see him hanging his head while Thad was constantly looking to score. Ryan, Cade, and Austin also had some challenges in their finals matches, but they were all able to overcome them to win some gold medals.”

The Wildcats also had three wrestlers finish 3-1 on the day to come in third. Seniors Kyle Allen (126), Tucker Batten (138) and junior Blue Caplinger (160, No. 5 in 4A) each ended their day with a win in the third place match, while junior Hunter Day (285) earned a fourth-place medal.

“All three of them were 3-1 with three pins,” Bovaird said. “Kyle and Tucker ran into a couple of tough kids from Mill Valley. Tucker’s opponent was a state placer last year, and Tuck only lost 5-0. Blue got caught by a tough Wichita West kid and fought off a mean headlock for about a minute before the referee called a questionable pin that was out-of-bounds. He then bounced back for the third place match to beat a kid who’d beaten him earlier this year and who has been ranked ahead of him at state.”

The Parsons Invitational, which had been a dual tournament in the past, changed to a bracket format for this year and Bovaird was happy with what he saw from his group.

“I was happy that our guys got a chance to win some individual hardware,” Bovaird said. “I wish we’d gotten some more matches at some weights, but in the end, the guys all ran into some quality opponents. Anderson County has been building these last few years, and we went head-to-head with them quite a bit. Santa Fe Trail was also there, and they’ve always put strong kids on the mat.”

Louisburg has a busy week ahead of it as the Wildcats host Ottawa for a dual meet Thursday before venturing to the Baldwin Invitational on Saturday for an all-day tournament.

Thursday’s dual will also coincide with the 3^rd Annual LHS Wrestling Alumni Reunion, which will begin at 5 p.m.

“I’m really excited about the alumni reunion,” Bovaird said. “We’re going to start at 5 pm with a little reception on the mezzanine. We’ll have some refreshments and memorabilia, photos, and newspaper clippings sitting out. I’ve heard from several guys from the 1970s, 80s, and 90s who plan on getting there. Shawn Crossley (Wildcat Wrestling Club coach and class of 1998) and Bruce Caldwell (class of 1990) have been great about networking and reaching out to the alumni. It should be a great night for the program, bringing the veterans back to watch the squad do their thing on the mat.”

PARSONS INVITATIONAL RESULTS

Team Scores

Louisburg 170
Anderson County 5
Lebanon (Mo.) 129
Mill Valley 118
Santa Fe Trail 5
Wichita West 89
Coffeyville 55
Cherryvale 5
Blue Valley SW 48
Labette County 37
Parsons 28

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS

106

Thad Hendrix (20-9) placed 1st and scored 21.00 team points.

Quarterfinal – Thad Hendrix (Louisburg) 20-9 won by fall over Tanner Barrett (Overland Park-Blue Valley Southwest) 16-9 (Fall 5:02)
Semifinal – Thad Hendrix (Louisburg) 20-9 won by decision over Austin Johnson (Lebanon) 11-7 (Dec 12-6)
1st Place Match – Thad Hendrix (Louisburg) 20-9 won by major decision over Nasir Johnson (Wichita-West) 2-1 (MD 19-10)

113

Cade Holtzen (27-1) placed 1st and scored 21.00 team points.

Quarterfinal – Cade Holtzen (Louisburg) 27-1 received a bye () (Bye)
Semifinal – Cade Holtzen (Louisburg) 27-1 won by major decision over Cael Schmitz (Lebanon) 18-9 (MD 13-2)
1st Place Match – Cade Holtzen (Louisburg) 27-1 won by fall over Ashton Miller (Garnett-Anderson County) 12-9 (Fall 3:31)

120

Anthony Welborn (2-3) place is unknown and scored 0.00 team points.

Quarterfinal – Logan Smith (Coffeyville-Field Kindley) 8-10 won by decision over Anthony Welborn (Louisburg) 2-3 (Dec 13-7)
Cons. Round 1 – Anthony Welborn (Louisburg) 2-3 received a bye () (Bye)
Cons. Semi – Carson Dulitz (Shawnee-Mill Valley) 14-9 won by decision over Anthony Welborn (Louisburg) 2-3 (Dec 10-3)

126

Kyle Allen (17-11) placed 3rd and scored 16.00 team points.

Quarterfinal – Kyle Allen (Louisburg) 17-11 won by fall over Chase Cline (Shawnee-Mill Valley) 10-12 (Fall 0:43)
Semifinal – Devon Handy (Shawnee-Mill Valley) 17-10 won by decision over Kyle Allen (Louisburg) 17-11 (Dec 3-2)
Cons. Semi – Kyle Allen (Louisburg) 17-11 won by fall over Evan Rogers (Lebanon) 5-5 (Fall 3:33)
3rd Place Match – Kyle Allen (Louisburg) 17-11 won by fall over Jaden Malson (Parsons) 11-4 (Fall 1:30)

132

Gabe Bonham (13-10) placed 1st and scored 19.50 team points.

Quarterfinal – Gabe Bonham (Louisburg) 13-10 received a bye () (Bye)
Semifinal – Gabe Bonham (Louisburg) 13-10 won by tech fall over Dominic Ireland (Garnett-Anderson County) 10-13 (TF-1.5 4:42 (16-0))
1st Place Match – Gabe Bonham (Louisburg) 13-10 won in tie breaker – 1 over Carter Greenfield (Carbondale-Santa Fe Trail) 12-5 (TB-1 9-4)

138

Tucker Batten (17-8) placed 3rd and scored 16.00 team points.

Quarterfinal – Tucker Batten (Louisburg) 17-8 won by fall over Jose Paredes (Carbondale-Santa Fe Trail) 18-11 (Fall 0:35)
Semifinal – Bryson Markovich (Shawnee-Mill Valley) 20-8 won by decision over Tucker Batten (Louisburg) 17-8 (Dec 5-0)
Cons. Semi – Tucker Batten (Louisburg) 17-8 won by fall over Gavin Wolken (Garnett-Anderson County) 16-9 (Fall 2:30)
3rd Place Match – Tucker Batten (Louisburg) 17-8 won by fall over Jose Paredes (Carbondale-Santa Fe Trail) 18-11 (Fall 2:28)

145

Ryan Adams (18-3) placed 1st and scored 23.50 team points.

Quarterfinal – Ryan Adams (Louisburg) 18-3 won by tech fall over Charles Vath (Overland Park-Blue Valley Southwest) 3-6 (TF-1.5 3:46 (16-1))
Semifinal – Ryan Adams (Louisburg) 18-3 won by fall over Zach Jeanneret (Carbondale-Santa Fe Trail) 15-12 (Fall 0:50)
1st Place Match – Ryan Adams (Louisburg) 18-3 won by fall over Dalton Hestand-Vail (Cherryvale) 12-4 (Fall 1:10)

160

Blue Caplinger (21-7) placed 3rd and scored 16.00 team points.

Quarterfinal – Blue Caplinger (Louisburg) 21-7 won by fall over Babcock Travis (Shawnee-Mill Valley) 12-8 (Fall 2:31)
Semifinal – Samuel Rushin (Wichita-West) 11-3 won by fall over Blue Caplinger (Louisburg) 21-7 (Fall 1:21)
Cons. Semi – Blue Caplinger (Louisburg) 21-7 won by fall over Dakota Garrison (Carbondale-Santa Fe Trail) 17-13 (Fall 3:38)
3rd Place Match – Blue Caplinger (Louisburg) 21-7 won by fall over Dalton Duke (Garnett-Anderson County) 17-4 (Fall 2:46)

170

Ben Wiedenmann (5-12) place is unknown and scored 0.00 team points.

Quarterfinal – Jake Henson (Lebanon) 16-4 won by decision over Ben Wiedenmann (Louisburg) 5-12 (Dec 3-1)
Cons. Round 1 – Kolten Jegen (Shawnee-Mill Valley) 13-4 won by decision over Ben Wiedenmann (Louisburg) 5-12 (Dec 7-2)

182

Garrett Caldwell (12-17) place is unknown and scored 4.00 team points.

Champ. Round 1 – Garrett Caldwell (Louisburg) 12-17 won by fall over Ethan Ludwig (Overland Park-Blue Valley Southwest) 0-2 (Fall 1:23)
Quarterfinal – Dominic Sutton (Garnett-Anderson County) 23-3 won by fall over Garrett Caldwell (Louisburg) 12-17 (Fall 2:55)
Cons. Round 1 – Garrett Caldwell (Louisburg) 12-17 won by fall over Ethan Ludwig (Overland Park-Blue Valley Southwest) 0-2 (Fall 0:51)
Cons. Round 2 – Gus Taylor (Parsons) 7-4 won by fall over Garrett Caldwell (Louisburg) 12-17 (Fall 2:42)

195

Austin Moore (27-2) placed 1st and scored 23.00 team points.

Quarterfinal – Austin Moore (Louisburg) 27-2 won by fall over Kael Ruble (Lebanon) 1-2 (Fall 1:14)
Semifinal – Austin Moore (Louisburg) 27-2 won by fall over Jaren Williams (Overland Park-Blue Valley Southwest) 21-14 (Fall 0:48)
1st Place Match – Austin Moore (Louisburg) 27-2 won by major decision over Seandale DeShazer (Wichita-West) 3-1 (MD 9-0)

220

James Nelson (0-2) place is unknown and scored 0.00 team points.

Quarterfinal – Dallas Higginbotham (Garnett-Anderson County) 21-2 won by tech fall over James Nelson (Louisburg) 0-2 (TF-1.5 2:00 (15-0))
Cons. Round 1 – James Nelson (Louisburg) 0-2 received a bye () (Bye)
Cons. Round 2 – Garrett Childers (Lebanon) 5-4 won by fall over James Nelson (Louisburg) 0-2 (Fall 1:21)

285

Hunter Day (10-19) placed 4th and scored 10.00 team points.

Quarterfinal – Taylor Kaffenberger (Lebanon) 7-3 won by fall over Hunter Day (Louisburg) 10-19 (Fall 0:55)
Cons. Round 1 – Hunter Day (Louisburg) 10-19 won by fall over Robbie Dervin (Shawnee-Mill Valley) 3-13 (Fall 2:19)
Cons. Semi – Hunter Day (Louisburg) 10-19 won by fall over Justin Alvorodocali (Lebanon) 0-2 (Fall 4:22)
3rd Place Match – Taylor Kaffenberger (Lebanon) 7-3 won by fall over Hunter Day (Louisburg) 10-19 (Fall 0:23)