Eslinger wins league crown; Wildcats put four on podium

Louisburg senior Elijah Eslinger works for a pin Wednesday during the Frontier League Tournament at Bonner Springs High School. Eslinger won the 285-pound title.

BONNER SPRINGS — Team-wise, it wasn’t the finish Louisburg was hoping for, but the Wildcats left their mark on the Frontier League Tournament on Wednesday in Bonner Springs. 

Senior Elijah Eslinger earned the league championship at 285 pounds with a pair of pins as one of four Wildcats to find their way to the podium. Kaven Bartlett (138 pounds), Ashton Moore (175) and Brayden Yoder (190) also recorded top four finishes.

Louisburg finished seventh in the team standings with 97 points, while Paola won the league title with 263.5. Tonganoxie was runner-up with 247.5 points.

“This year might be the toughest I’ve ever seen the Frontier League,” Louisburg coach Bobby Bovaird said. “Paola and Tonganoxie are ranked high at state, and each of the other schools has several really tough kids in their lineups. 

“Being objective when I look at how we wrestled, I feel like there were several matches that we should have won. Mistakes were made and some things didn’t go our way, but that’s the reality of it. We’ve got time to review our performance, but more importantly we’ve got time to reset and refocus as we get ready for regionals.”

Eslinger won his second straight tournament in impressive fashion as he recorded a 39 second pin of Baldwin’s Jonathan Wren in the semifinals before pinning Tonganoxie’s Gavin Rhoads in 1:41 in the title match.

“Elijah’s league title makes it two varsity tournaments in a row that he’s won, and that’s really exciting to see happen,” Bovaird said. “I see him getting himself pretty focused and ready to go, regardless of his opponent. The key to his success as we get into the postseason is going to be keeping him focused on doing what he does best and not over-thinking or over-analyzing things.”

Bartlett also found himself in the championship match at 138 pounds and went up against Paola’s Ryan Pankov, who is ranked No. 4 in Class 4A. Bartlett had to wrestle from behind and eventually lost a 7-2 decision.

Leading up to that match, Bartlett earned pins over Ottawa’s Grady Sumrall and Bonner Springs’ Lane Vogel to advance to the title round. He is now 33-4 on the season.

“Despite a couple key moments that (Pankov) capitalized on, I feel like Kaven has been wrestling pretty well lately,” Bovaird said. “He’s still just as driven and focused in the practice room, and he’s got the right mindset to overcome that sort of match.”

Moore finished his tournament with a 3-1 record at 175 pounds to take third overall. The Louisburg sophomore opened with a pin of Eudora’s Max Mitchell and advanced to the semifinals.

He went up against Tongnaoxie’s Wyatt Harris and lost a tough 4-2 decision. Moore then responded with a pin of Caden Bartek of Spring Hill and then pinned Baldwin’s Wesley Martin in the third place match.

Yoder finished his day with a 2-2 record to take fourth at 190 pounds. He began the tournament with a major decision of Spring Hill’s Logan Alexander, but lost a tough overtime match to Tonganoxie’s Rocco Gehring, in a 5-3 decision.

The Louisburg sophomore bounced back to get a 12-0 major decision of Paola’s Sam Shore, before getting pinned by Ottawa’s Seth Ferguson in the third place match.

Louisburg will now prepare for its most important tournament of the season. The Wildcats will travel to Baldwin on Saturday for the Class 4A regional tournament.

The top four finishers in each weight class will advance to the state tournament the following week in Salina.

“On paper, our regional looks like it might be weaker than the others, especially the Wichita-area regional, but when you look at the caliber of kids in Kansas 4A this season, it’s still a very tough division,” Bovaird said. “We’ve got teams like Tonganoxie, Holton and Baldwin who have been ranked in the top ten all season, as well as teams with some very talented individuals. I think our team is ready for the final push to the end of the season.

“The winter sports season feels like it’s so much longer than the others, and that takes a toll on the kids at times. We do what we can to help combat any sort of burnout or mindset fatigue, and we keep pushing our kids to do their best. All our guys have been great at practice — they’re present, they’re focused, and they’re ready to get to work.”

106

Will Showalter (14-24) placed 6th and scored 6.0 team points.

• Quarterfinal – Jeremy Welch (Bonner Springs) 26-12 won by fall over Will Showalter (Louisburg) 14-24 (Fall 2:41)
• Cons. Round 1 – Will Showalter (Louisburg) 14-24 won by fall over Gabriel Campbell (Eudora) 4-12 (Fall 0:35)
• Cons. Semi – Brodie Starcher (Tonganoxie) 14-15 won by tech fall over Will Showalter (Louisburg) 14-24 (TF-1.5 4:07 (18-3))
• 5th Place Match – Asher Englert (Baldwin) 17-16 won by decision over Will Showalter (Louisburg) 14-24 (Dec 7-0)

113

Broden Vargo (2-15) placed 6th and scored 5.0 team points.

• Quarterfinal – Broden Vargo (Louisburg) 2-15 won by decision over Beckham Erpelding (Eudora) 2-8 (Dec 6-0)
• Semifinal – Brock Sutton (Ottawa) 16-2 won by fall over Broden Vargo (Louisburg) 2-15 (Fall 1:40)
• Cons. Semi – Jordan Bauswell (Tonganoxie) 8-15 won by fall over Broden Vargo (Louisburg) 2-15 (Fall 4:47)
• 5th Place Match – Liam McDowell (Bonner Springs) 2-2 won by fall over Broden Vargo (Louisburg) 2-15 (Fall 1:49)

120

Keegan Rogers (7-20) place is unknown and scored 0.0 team points.

• Quarterfinal – Hawken Andrews (Eudora) 23-7 won by fall over Keegan Rogers (Louisburg) 7-20 (Fall 1:04)
• Cons. Round 1 – Cole Mader (Ottawa) 18-20 won by fall over Keegan Rogers (Louisburg) 7-20 (Fall 2:04)

126

J`Lee Collins (19-16) placed 6th and scored 6.0 team points.

• Quarterfinal – Dax Duffett (Tonganoxie) 11-14 won by fall over J`Lee Collins (Louisburg) 19-16 (Fall 5:31)
• Cons. Round 1 – J`Lee Collins (Louisburg) 19-16 won by fall over Noah Van Foeken (Eudora) 13-19 (Fall 3:56)
• Cons. Semi – Ryan Pahl (Spring Hill) 21-15 won by fall over J`Lee Collins (Louisburg) 19-16 (Fall 2:54)
• 5th Place Match – Gunner Reichard (Baldwin) 19-17 won by fall over J`Lee Collins (Louisburg) 19-16 (Fall 4:13)

132

Mika McKitrick (11-22) place is unknown and scored 0.0 team points.

• Quarterfinal – Braeden Moore (Tonganoxie) 29-1 won by fall over Mika McKitrick (Louisburg) 11-22 (Fall 0:25)
• Cons. Round 1 – Dalton Dempsey (Baldwin) 18-10 won by tech fall over Mika McKitrick (Louisburg) 11-22 (TF-1.5 3:28 (15-0))

138

Kaven Bartlett (33-4) placed 2nd and scored 20.0 team points.

• Quarterfinal – Kaven Bartlett (Louisburg) 33-4 won by fall over Grady Sumrall (Ottawa) 18-20 (Fall 3:18)
• Semifinal – Kaven Bartlett (Louisburg) 33-4 won by fall over Lane Vogel (Bonner Springs) 25-13 (Fall 3:50)
• 1st Place Match – Ryan Pankov (Paola) 27-5 won by decision over Kaven Bartlett (Louisburg) 33-4 (Dec 7-2)

144

Colin Robinson (4-16) place is unknown and scored 0.0 team points.

• Quarterfinal – Brady Martin (Tonganoxie) 32-7 won by fall over Colin Robinson (Louisburg) 4-16 (Fall 1:01)
• Cons. Round 1 – Dalton Evans (Ottawa) 25-14 won by fall over Colin Robinson (Louisburg) 4-16 (Fall 4:37)

165

Vance Hahn (2-27) place is unknown and scored 0.0 team points.

• Quarterfinal – Clayton Younger (Paola) 30-5 won by fall over Vance Hahn (Louisburg) 2-27 (Fall 0:50)
• Cons. Round 1 – Ben Brooks (Spring Hill) 10-18 won by decision over Vance Hahn (Louisburg) 2-27 (Dec 7-1)

175

Ashton Moore (15-5) placed 3rd and scored 18.0 team points.

• Quarterfinal – Ashton Moore (Louisburg) 15-5 won by fall over Max Mitchell (Eudora) 7-14 (Fall 1:08)
• Semifinal – Wyatt Harris (Tonganoxie) 13-4 won by decision over Ashton Moore (Louisburg) 15-5 (Dec 4-2)
• Cons. Semi – Ashton Moore (Louisburg) 15-5 won by fall over Caden Bartek (Spring Hill) 14-20 (Fall 2:14)
• 3rd Place Match – Ashton Moore (Louisburg) 15-5 won by fall over Wesley Martin (Baldwin) 19-18 (Fall 3:00)

190

Brayden Yoder (30-12) placed 4th and scored 12.0 team points.

• Quarterfinal – Brayden Yoder (Louisburg) 30-12 won by major decision over Logan Alexander (Spring Hill) 8-18 (MD 10-0)
• Semifinal – Rocco Gehring (Tonganoxie) 22-12 won in sudden victory – 1 over Brayden Yoder (Louisburg) 30-12 (SV-1 5-3)
• Cons. Semi – Brayden Yoder (Louisburg) 30-12 won by major decision over Sam Shore (Paola) 20-17 (MD 12-0)
• 3rd Place Match – Seth Ferguson (Ottawa) 32-10 won by fall over Brayden Yoder (Louisburg) 30-12 (Fall 2:12)

215

Trace Eslinger (21-17) placed 6th and scored 6.0 team points.

• Quarterfinal – Cooper Stone (Ottawa) 10-6 won by fall over Trace Eslinger (Louisburg) 21-17 (Fall 3:05)
• Cons. Round 1 – Trace Eslinger (Louisburg) 21-17 won by fall over Branden Gregory (Eudora) 2-22 (Fall 2:19)
• Cons. Semi – Carson Martin (Paola) 4-2 won by fall over Trace Eslinger (Louisburg) 21-17 (Fall 0:58)
• 5th Place Match – Conner Murry (Baldwin) 24-12 won by fall over Trace Eslinger (Louisburg) 21-17 (Fall 0:50)

285

Elijah Eslinger (35-5) placed 1st and scored 24.0 team points.

• Quarterfinal – Elijah Eslinger (Louisburg) 35-5 received a bye () (Bye)
• Semifinal – Elijah Eslinger (Louisburg) 35-5 won by fall over Jonathan Wren (Baldwin) 14-18 (Fall 0:39)
• 1st Place Match – Elijah Eslinger (Louisburg) 35-5 won by fall over Gavin Rhoads (Tonganoxie) 17-14 (Fall 1:41)

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