Louisburg wrestlers have good showing at kids state

By Andy Brown
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Updated: March 4, 2019

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Louisburg’s Jay McCaskill, of the Rebel Wrestling Club, stands atop of the podium after he won the elementary 100-pound division on Feb. 24 during the Elementary State Tournament in Salina.

SALINA – Several Louisburg kid wrestlers took to the mats on Feb. 24 when they traveled to the Kansas 6-U and Elementary state tournament in Salina and a few were able to leave with some hardware.

Four competitors from the Rebels Wrestling Club, and another from the Wildcat Wrestling Club, left with state medals for their performance. Elementary wrestlers were also competing for a spot on the Kansas dual team that will compete in Iowa in April.

Jay McCaskill, who wrestled with the Rebels, was the state champion in the elementary 100-pound division. He went 4-0 on the day as he pinned his way to a state crown.

McCaskill got to the semifinals and eventually pinned Andover’s Logan Wilkens in the semifinals and pinned Preston Hagel of the Kansas Young Guns in two minutes in the first-place match.

Jovani Caudill finished fourth in the elementary 85-pound division as he wrestled seven matches on the day and posted a 5-2 record before falling in the third-place match. Caudill has had a successful season with the Rebels as he won the Tournament of Champions last January in Salina.

At 65 pounds, Tyson Blancarte finished sixth for the Rebels at the state tournament as he wrestled eight matches on the day and finished with a 5-3 record, including a pair of pins.

Sawyer Blue was seventh for the Rebels at 55 pounds as he opened the tournament with a pair of wins and then won by a 13-3 major decision in the seventh place match to finish his tournament with a 4-2 record.

Blue has also had a good season as he won the Tournament of Champions in Salina in January in the 8-and-under division.

**Braddock Tharp, of the Wildcat Wrestling Club, works for a pin during the 6-U state tournament on Feb. 24 in Salina.**

Braddock Tharp made history Sunday for the Wildcat Wrestling Club as he became the club’s first state placer. Tharp competed in the 6-and-under tournament at 53 pounds and came away with a third-place state medal.

Tharp won his first three matches of the tournament, but lost his semifinal match to Osawatomie’s Carson Slayman by a 9-5 decision. Tharp bounced back to win his next two matches, including a 7-4 decision in the third-place match against Bourbon County’s Kaidden Hathaway.

Also for the Wildcat Wrestling Club, Graeme Finch was 3-2 at 41 pounds and was one match away from placing in the top-6. He lost his last match by a 5-4 decision.

**Louisburg’s Kaden Allen (Paola Wrestling Club, green shirt) finished third in the elementary 85-pound division and Louisburg’s Jovani Caudill (Rebels, blue singlet) took fourth.**

Louisburg Middle School student Kaden Allen, who wrestles for the Paola Wrestling Club, also brought home a state medal. Allen finished third in the 85-pound elementary division and ended his tournament with a 5-1 record, with his only loss coming in the semifinals.

The Wildcat Wrestling Club also had a competitor take part in the War of the Roses 2019 Girls Open tournament last Sunday in McPherson.