Wildcats sweep Leavenworth, Piper on Senior Night

Louisburg senior Aidan Cannon works for a pin against his Piper opponent last Thursday during the Wildcats’ dual on Senior Night at Louisburg High School.

Before entering its most important tournament of the season, the Louisburg wrestling team had a chance to honor its senior class and did so in style.

Louisburg hosted Piper and Leavenworth in a double dual last Thursday for Senior Night at Louisburg High School and the Wildcats took care of business in impressive fashion.

The Wildcats downed Leavenworth 54-27 and then followed it up with a 54-16 victory over Piper to end their regular season on a good note. It also sent seniors Aiden Barker, Brandon Doles, Aidan Cannon, Bailey Hallas, along with managers Toni Caplinger and Amber Pritchett, out as winners on their home mat.

The seniors, and the rest of the team, have come a long way since their freshmen season.

“When Aiden and Brandon were freshmen, we only had four kids in that class, and the team only had 17 kids on it,” Louisburg coach Bobby Bovaird said. “That was an abnormally small group, but look at what we’ve grown to. We have 46 kids out this year, and the senior class picked up two more wrestlers (Bailey Hallas and Aidan Cannon), and they’ve done an awesome job of contributing to the program.”

Against Leavenworth, sophomore Noah Cotter opened with a pin at 106 pounds and Kaven Bartlett won by forfeit to give Louisburg an early 12-10 lead. Sophomore J’Lee Collins got a pin at 132 and junior Jesse Murphy rallied back to get a pin at 152 to help give the Wildcats a two-point advantage.

Then, the Wildcats got on a roll. Louisburg got pins in five of its next six matches from Lucas Swartz, Ashton Moore, Doles, Barker and Elijah Eslinger to secure the 54-28 win.

Louisburg continued that dominance against Piper. Freshmen Colton Blue (113) and Mike McKitrick (120) each got pins, as did Bartlett at 126 to take an 18-4 lead.

Freshman Jay McCaskill got a pin at 138 pounds, while Cannon got a win by pin in his lone match of the night at 145 pounds. 

Moore and Doles followed that up with wins by decision, while Barker and Eslinger got victories by pins and Cameron McClellan won by forfeit at 220.

The Wildcats hope to use that momentum into postseason action. Louisburg will travel to Paola on Saturday for the Class 4A regional tournament as the top four finishes in each weight class will qualify for the state tournament.

“We’re definitely excited for it,” Bovaird said. “Regionals is a weird time each year, and I think we’ve got the ability to hit our peak at the right time so that we achieve our goals at state.”

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