Louisburg wrestling wins home invitational for first time since 1998

The Louisburg wrestling team captured the Wildcat Classic team title Saturday, its first home tournament championship in nearly 25 years.

It had been a long time coming.

Louisburg had waited years for the opportunity to say that it won its home invitational — the Wildcat Classic. The time came Saturday as the Wildcats captured the title with 183 points and outlasted runner-up Shawnee Mission East, which had 160.

To put in perspective how long it had been since the Wildcats last won their home tournament, none of the current Louisburg wrestlers had been born yet and assistant coach Shawn Crossley was a senior in high school.

Louisburg last won the team crown in 1998 and it was a nice moment for a team that already had plenty to celebrate with individual titles and career milestones.

“This tournament has a lot of history over the years, and I thought it was pretty awesome for the guys to be able to go out and win it as a team,” Louisburg coach Bobby Bovaird said. “Back in the 1970-71 season, then head coach and athletic director Don Meek started up the tournament, and we won the inaugural Wildcat Classic. Before this year’s tournament started, we had a nice pep talk in the practice room, and Coach Crossley talked about how awesome it felt to have the team win this tournament when he was a senior in 1998.

“Looking through the records I have, that 1998 tournament was the last time we’d won our home tournament. We had some hiccups throughout the day, but in the end, the guys finished strong and everyone contributed to the team effort.”

***Senior Kaven Bartlett won the Wildcat Classic tournament championship at 138 pounds Saturday with a 4-0 record and three pins.***

The Wildcats also experienced a lot of individual success as senior Kaven Bartlett and sophomore Brayden Yoder won individual titles in their respective weight classes.

Bartlett had a 4-0 record on the day that included three pints. He faced off with Anderson County’s A.J. Shaffer in the championship at 138 pounds and left with a 7-2 decision.

In his semifinal match, Bartlett earned career win No. 100 with a pin of Shawnee Mission East’s Grey Robinson.

***Kaven Bartlett’s teammates present him with a plaque following his 100th career win Saturday.***

“The last time Kaven wrestled that Anderson County kid, he’d given Kaven a scare, but this time, it was definitely Kaven’s match,” Bovaird said. “He was calm and collected in his scrambles, he was direct with his attacks, and he was smart throughout the whole match. He made a statement with that match, and I’m looking forward to seeing what he’s able to do with each successive tournament we go to this year.”

Yoder picked up his first tournament win of the season. At 190 pounds, the Wildcat sophomore breezed through his bracket with four pins and a 13-2 major decision of Royal Valley’s Cyrus Harding to improve his record to 15-5 on the season.

***Sophomore Brayden Yoder works for one of his four pins during Saturday’s Wildcat Classic. Yoder won the 190-pound title with a 5-0 record.***

“One thing I said to Brayden after one of his matches was that this year, he’s been methodical, diverse, and dynamic in his matches,” Bovaird said. “He’s doing things right, he’s moving his feet and keeping pressure on top, and he’s hitting a variety of techniques. With those things, I’m hoping to see more confidence from him, and this weekend, he totally stepped up his game. To win his first varsity tournament as a sophomore, I’m pretty proud of how he’s been wrestling.”

The Wildcats also had four wrestlers finish with third place honors. Junior J’Lee Collins (126 pounds), senior Jesse Murphy (144), senior Trace Eslinger (215) and Elijah Eslinger (285) found a way to the medal stand.

Sophomore Jay McCaskill also earned a spot on the podium as he was fourth at 157 pounds.

***Louisburg senior Jesse Murphy gets a pin Saturday during the Wildcat Classic. Murphy took third place at 144 pounds.***

A number of Wildcats also earned their first varsity victories of the season in Kaleb Carter (144), Colin Robinson (150), Vance Hahn (165), Elias Pugh (175) and Grant Strubbe (285).

“There were a lot of great things this past weekend,” Bovaird said. “Everyone contributed team points that helped us win the team title. We had a full line-up, which was great because we were the only team to be able to do that. The timing of our tournament is rough because it’s right after the holiday break, and kids are always struggling with illnesses, injuries, and weight at this point. We had a bunch of guys wrestle unattached, too, and that was beneficial for the team because most of them were able to win matches and block other teams from scoring points.”

Louisburg will try for back-to-back tournament wins this Saturday when the Wildcats travel to the Topeka High Invitational.

106

Will Showalter (7-11) placed 5th and scored 7.0 team points.

Round 1 – Devin Vogel (Kansas City-Turner) 6-3 won by fall over Will Showalter (Louisburg ) 7-11 (Fall 2:17)
Round 2 – Denton White (Mound City-Jayhawk Linn) 14-1 won by fall over Will Showalter (Louisburg ) 7-11 (Fall 0:00)
Round 3 – Mitchell Horrigan (Leavenworth ) 10-6 won by fall over Will Showalter (Louisburg ) 7-11 (Fall 3:28)
Round 4 – Peyton Rivera (Hoyt-Royal Valley) 7-4 won by fall over Will Showalter (Louisburg ) 7-11 (Fall 1:22)
Round 5 – Will Showalter (Louisburg ) 7-11 won by fall over Brady Spegal (Blue Valley West ) 0-10 (Fall 2:36)

113

Broden Vargo (1-7) placed 5th and scored 5.0 team points.

Round 1 – Broden Vargo (Louisburg ) 1-7 received a bye () (Bye)
Round 2 – Makao Groneman (Kansas City-Piper) 5-9 won by fall over Broden Vargo (Louisburg ) 1-7 (Fall 1:19)
Round 3 – Scott Fohlmeister (Blue Valley West ) 10-7 won by fall over Broden Vargo (Louisburg ) 1-7 (Fall 0:33)
Round 4 – Jacob Garner (Leavenworth ) 6-7 won by fall over Broden Vargo (Louisburg ) 1-7 (Fall 1:23)
Round 5 – Alex Lowe (Mound City-Jayhawk Linn) 2-4 won by fall over Broden Vargo (Louisburg ) 1-7 (Fall 0:24)

120

Keegan Rogers (3-12) placed 9th and scored 1.0 team points.

Round 1 – Zach Schaffer (Anderson County) 5-0 won by fall over Keegan Rogers (Louisburg ) 3-12 (Fall 0:57)
Round 3 – Dylan Abeta (Leavenworth ) 3-5 won by fall over Keegan Rogers (Louisburg ) 3-12 (Fall 2:28)
Round 4 – Payton Mills (Kansas City-Piper) 12-7 won by fall over Keegan Rogers (Louisburg ) 3-12 (Fall 0:38)
Round 5 – Colby Cross (Kansas City-Turner) 3-6 won by fall over Keegan Rogers (Louisburg ) 3-12 (Fall 0:45)
9th Place Match – Keegan Rogers (Louisburg ) 3-12 received a bye () (Bye)

126

J`Lee Collins (11-7) placed 3rd and scored 20.0 team points.

Round 1 – J`Lee Collins (Louisburg ) 11-7 won by fall over JaVon Simmons (Kansas City-Piper) 5-13 (Fall 1:09)
Round 2 – J`Lee Collins (Louisburg ) 11-7 won by fall over Baylor Ritter (Shawnee Mission East) 0-5 (Fall 0:28)
Round 3 – J`Lee Collins (Louisburg ) 11-7 won by fall over Maximo Carrassquilla (Blue Valley West ) 11-13 (Fall 5:48)
Championship Bracket – Finan Marien-McManus (Shawnee Mission East) 6-9 won by decision over J`Lee Collins (Louisburg ) 11-7 (Dec 8-6)
3rd Place Match – J`Lee Collins (Louisburg ) 11-7 won by fall over Maximo Carrassquilla (Blue Valley West ) 11-13 (Fall 4:11)

132

Mika McKitrick (4-11) placed 6th.

Round 1 – Ethan Jenkinson (Shawnee Mission East) 20-2 won by fall over Mika McKitrick (Louisburg ) 4-11 (Fall 1:03)
Round 2 – Nick Hoover (Kansas City-Piper) 11-8 won by fall over Mika McKitrick (Louisburg ) 4-11 (Fall 0:24)
Round 3 – Xander Finn (Leavenworth ) 12-8 won by fall over Mika McKitrick (Louisburg ) 4-11 (Fall 1:08)
Consolation Bracket – Mika McKitrick (Louisburg ) 4-11 won by fall over Logan Henry (Louisburg ) 6-6 (Fall 0:00)
5th Place Match – Xander Finn (Leavenworth ) 12-8 won by tech fall over Mika McKitrick (Louisburg ) 4-11 (TF-1.5 1:43 (17-0))

132

Logan Henry (6-6) placed 7th and scored 6.0 team points.

Round 1 – Bowen Wade (Mound City-Jayhawk Linn) 11-5 won by fall over Logan Henry (Louisburg ) 6-6 (Fall 2:47)
Round 2 – Logan Meinheit (Blue Valley West ) 22-3 won by fall over Logan Henry (Louisburg ) 6-6 (Fall 0:28)
Round 3 – Logan Henry (Louisburg ) 6-6 won by fall over Darren Bausch (Hoyt-Royal Valley) 0-5 (Fall 0:53)
Consolation Bracket – Mika McKitrick (Louisburg ) 4-11 won by fall over Logan Henry (Louisburg ) 6-6 (Fall 0:00)
7th Place Match – Logan Henry (Louisburg ) 6-6 won by fall over Darren Bausch (Hoyt-Royal Valley) 0-5 (Fall 0:44)

138

Kaven Bartlett (19-0) placed 1st and scored 27.0 team points.

Round 1 – Kaven Bartlett (Louisburg ) 19-0 won by fall over Quinn Breuckmann (Blue Valley West ) 7-15 (Fall 1:49)
Round 2 – Kaven Bartlett (Louisburg ) 19-0 won by fall over Ray Phillips (Leavenworth ) 3-10 (Fall 1:55)
Round 3 – Kaven Bartlett (Louisburg ) 19-0 received a bye () (Bye)
Championship Bracket – Kaven Bartlett (Louisburg ) 19-0 won by fall over Grey Robinson (Shawnee Mission East) 11-8 (Fall 0:49)
1st Place Match – Kaven Bartlett (Louisburg ) 19-0 won by decision over Aj Schaffer (Anderson County) 4-1 (Dec 7-2)

144

Kaleb Carter (1-4) placed 8th.

Round 1 – Jesse Murphy (Louisburg ) 14-6 won by fall over Kaleb Carter (Louisburg ) 1-4 (Fall 3:50)
Round 3 – Kaleb Carter (Louisburg ) 1-4 won by fall over Armando Gomez (Shawnee Mission West) 1-4 (Fall 0:37)
Round 4 – Xavier Davis (Leavenworth ) 16-5 won by fall over Kaleb Carter (Louisburg ) 1-4 (Fall 1:20)
Round 5 – Trent Rymer (Kansas City-Piper) 6-6 won by decision over Kaleb Carter (Louisburg ) 1-4 (Dec 6-0)
7th Place Match – Joe Musick (Shawnee Mission East) 4-14 won by fall over Kaleb Carter (Louisburg ) 1-4 (Fall 4:15)

144

Jesse Murphy (14-6) placed 3rd and scored 20.0 team points.

Round 1 – Jesse Murphy (Louisburg ) 14-6 won by fall over Kaleb Carter (Louisburg ) 1-4 (Fall 3:50)
Round 2 – Jesse Murphy (Louisburg ) 14-6 won by fall over Armando Gomez (Shawnee Mission West) 1-4 (Fall 1:30)
Round 3 – Jesse Murphy (Louisburg ) 14-6 won by fall over Trent Rymer (Kansas City-Piper) 6-6 (Fall 0:47)
Round 5 – Xavier Davis (Leavenworth ) 16-5 won by fall over Jesse Murphy (Louisburg ) 14-6 (Fall 2:52)
3rd Place Match – Jesse Murphy (Louisburg ) 14-6 won by fall over Colton Wittman (Anderson County) 3-2 (Fall 2:39)

150

Colin Robinson (1-9) placed 7th and scored 3.0 team points.

Round 1 – Masten Wright (Anderson County) 5-0 won by fall over Colin Robinson (Louisburg ) 1-9 (Fall 1:05)
Round 2 – Raymond Carrillo (Kansas City-Turner) 11-6 won by fall over Colin Robinson (Louisburg ) 1-9 (Fall 1:35)
Round 3 – Weston Ross (Hoyt-Royal Valley) 1-7 won by fall over Colin Robinson (Louisburg ) 1-9 (Fall 5:07)
Consolation Bracket – Garrett Seely (Mound City-Jayhawk Linn) 6-5 won by fall over Colin Robinson (Louisburg ) 1-9 (Fall 0:41)
7th Place Match – Colin Robinson (Louisburg ) 1-9 won by fall over Weston Ross (Hoyt-Royal Valley) 1-7 (Fall 1:36)

157

Jay McCaskill (12-6) placed 4th and scored 11.0 team points.

Round 1 – John Wright (Anderson County) 4-0 won by fall over Jay McCaskill (Louisburg ) 12-6 (Fall 5:01)
Round 2 – Jay McCaskill (Louisburg ) 12-6 received a bye () (Bye)
Round 3 – Jay McCaskill (Louisburg ) 12-6 won by fall over Kaden Roebuck (Kansas City-Turner) 5-7 (Fall 3:31)
Round 4 – Brady Watts (Blue Valley West ) 17-6 won by decision over Jay McCaskill (Louisburg ) 12-6 (Dec 10-5)
Round 5 – Ruben Escalante (Kansas City-Piper) 11-5 won by major decision over Jay McCaskill (Louisburg ) 12-6 (MD 14-4)

165

Luke York (0-3) placed 7th.

Round 1 – Kenny Woods (Blue Valley West ) 15-7 won by fall over Luke York (Louisburg ) 0-3 (Fall 0:38)
Round 2 – Quentin Enriquez (Kansas City-Piper) 8-10 won by fall over Luke York (Louisburg ) 0-3 (Fall 1:06)
Round 3 – Luke York (Louisburg ) 0-3 received a bye () (Bye)
Consolation Bracket – Aiden Owen (Anderson County) 1-4 won by fall over Luke York (Louisburg ) 0-3 (Fall 0:35)
7th Place Match – Luke York (Louisburg ) 0-3 received a bye () (Bye)

165

Vance Hahn (2-17) placed 5th and scored 9.0 team points.

Round 1 – Christian Taylor (Girard) 9-5 won by fall over Vance Hahn (Louisburg ) 2-17 (Fall 0:27)
Round 2 – Connor Scott (Kansas City-Turner) 9-8 won by fall over Vance Hahn (Louisburg ) 2-17 (Fall 1:44)
Round 3 – Vance Hahn (Louisburg ) 2-17 won by fall over Aiden Owen (Anderson County) 1-4 (Fall 2:47)
Consolation Bracket – Vance Hahn (Louisburg ) 2-17 received a bye () (Bye)
5th Place Match – Vance Hahn (Louisburg ) 2-17 won by major decision over Aiden Owen (Anderson County) 1-4 (MD 11-2)

175

Elias Pugh (2-3) placed 5th and scored 7.0 team points.

Round 1 – Sawyer Vas (Kansas City-Piper) 13-2 won by fall over Elias Pugh (Louisburg ) 2-3 (Fall 1:05)
Round 2 – Gunnar Noard (Shawnee Mission West) 8-9 won by fall over Elias Pugh (Louisburg ) 2-3 (Fall 1:44)
Round 3 – Porter Foltz (Anderson County) 2-3 won by fall over Elias Pugh (Louisburg ) 2-3 (Fall 3:42)
Consolation Bracket – Elias Pugh (Louisburg ) 2-3 won by fall over Connor Fowles (Blue Valley West ) 10-13 (Fall 4:03)
5th Place Match – Elias Pugh (Louisburg ) 2-3 won by decision over Porter Foltz (Anderson County) 2-3 (Dec 10-9)

190

Brayden Yoder (15-5) placed 1st and scored 32.0 team points.

Round 1 – Brayden Yoder (Louisburg ) 15-5 won by fall over Grayson Fix (Shawnee Mission East) 3-13 (Fall 0:57)
Round 2 – Brayden Yoder (Louisburg ) 15-5 won by fall over Brady Brooks (Kansas City-Piper) 5-7 (Fall 1:24)
Round 3 – Brayden Yoder (Louisburg ) 15-5 won by fall over Noah Perchellet (Blue Valley West ) 9-12 (Fall 2:28)
Round 4 – Brayden Yoder (Louisburg ) 15-5 won by major decision over Cyrus Harding (Hoyt-Royal Valley) 7-5 (MD 13-2)
Round 5 – Brayden Yoder (Louisburg ) 15-5 won by fall over Kaiden Lands (Leavenworth ) 3-7 (Fall 1:32)

215

Kyle Oram (5-6) placed 4th.

Round 1 – Kyle Oram (Louisburg ) 5-6 won by fall over Ethan Ranes (Mound City-Jayhawk Linn) 1-6 (Fall 1:08)
Round 2 – Trace Eslinger (Louisburg ) 13-5 won by fall over Kyle Oram (Louisburg ) 5-6 (Fall 1:27)
Round 3 – Arrick Williams (Girard) 17-1 won by fall over Kyle Oram (Louisburg ) 5-6 (Fall 0:51)
Round 4 – Kyle Oram (Louisburg ) 5-6 won by fall over Nicco Coccumelli (Blue Valley West ) 1-4 (Fall 1:04)
Round 5 – Jayden Schuessler (Shawnee Mission East) 15-7 won by fall over Kyle Oram (Louisburg ) 5-6 (Fall 1:54)

215

Trace Eslinger (13-5) placed 3rd and scored 16.0 team points.

Round 1 – Jayden Schuessler (Shawnee Mission East) 15-7 won by fall over Trace Eslinger (Louisburg ) 13-5 (Fall 3:25)
Round 2 – Trace Eslinger (Louisburg ) 13-5 won by fall over Kyle Oram (Louisburg ) 5-6 (Fall 1:27)
Round 3 – Trace Eslinger (Louisburg ) 13-5 won by decision over Nicco Coccumelli (Blue Valley West ) 1-4 (Dec 11-7)
Round 4 – Trace Eslinger (Louisburg ) 13-5 won by fall over Ethan Ranes (Mound City-Jayhawk Linn) 1-6 (Fall 1:07)
Round 5 – Arrick Williams (Girard) 17-1 won by fall over Trace Eslinger (Louisburg ) 13-5 (Fall 1:20)

285

Elijah Eslinger (18-2) placed 3rd and scored 20.0 team points.

Round 1 – Elijah Eslinger (Louisburg ) 18-2 won by fall over Zack Benso (Girard) 3-14 (Fall 0:37)
Round 2 – Elijah Eslinger (Louisburg ) 18-2 won by fall over Brody McMannamon (Blue Valley West ) 13-13 (Fall 2:57)
Round 3 – Elijah Eslinger (Louisburg ) 18-2 won by fall over Cortez Velasco (Shawnee Mission West) 4-2 (Fall 1:32)
Championship Bracket – Luke Clayton (Shawnee Mission East) 18-7 won by fall over Elijah Eslinger (Louisburg ) 18-2 (Fall 3:30)
3rd Place Match – Elijah Eslinger (Louisburg ) 18-2 won by fall over Brody McMannamon (Blue Valley West ) 13-13 (Fall 2:21)

285

Grant Strubbe (2-3) placed 6th.

Round 1 – Luke Clayton (Shawnee Mission East) 18-7 won by fall over Grant Strubbe (Louisburg ) 2-3 (Fall 4:39)
Round 2 – Gabe Cornett (Kansas City-Turner) 16-3 won by fall over Grant Strubbe (Louisburg ) 2-3 (Fall 0:24)
Round 3 – Grant Strubbe (Louisburg ) 2-3 won by fall over Isaiah Casner (Mound City-Jayhawk Linn) 3-11 (Fall 1:48)
Consolation Bracket – Grant Strubbe (Louisburg ) 2-3 won by fall over Zack Benso (Girard) 3-14 (Fall 0:30)
5th Place Match – Cortez Velasco (Shawnee Mission West) 4-2 won by fall over Grant Strubbe (Louisburg ) 2-3 (Fall 0:41)