McCaskill leads Wildcats with second place finish at league tourney

By Andy Brown
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Updated: February 12, 2024

Louisburg junior Jay McCaskill finished second at 157 pounds Wednesday during the Frontier League Invitational at Spring Hill High School.

SPRING HILL — The Frontier League Invitational is one of the tougher tournaments on Louisburg’s schedule, and the Wildcats had to go into Wednesday tournament under-manned.

Louisburg had two wrestlers out with injuries, but the Wildcats still had five that had a chance to bring home a medal in the final round.

Junior Jay McCaskill ended up being Louisburg’s lone medalist on the day as he finished second at 157 pounds. The Wildcats finished seventh in the team standings with 96 points, while Tonganoxie won the league title with 244.5 points.

“Every year, it seems like the Frontier League is getting tougher and tougher,” Louisburg coach Bobby Bovaird said. “Paola is ranked second in 4A, and Tonganoxie is right behind them in third. At various points in the season, Baldwin has been ranked in the top 10 as well. I think every team has had several kids ranked in their respective weight classes as well. We had some really tough matches, and this was the kind of tournament we needed to have right before regionals. It’s going to help us with some fine-tuning as we get ready for the next step in the postseason.”

McCaskill made quick work of his first two opponents as he pinned Bonner Springs’ Ty Marble and Paola’s Chevez Neely in the first period. That set up a championship match against Ottawa’s Dalton Evans.

The two wrestlers split matches with each other earlier in the season, but Evans got the best of this one as McCaskill lost a tough 3-2 match. An early call didn’t go McCaskill’s way that would have put him up big in the second period.

“It definitely could have gone either way,” Bovaird said. “Jay almost had a reversal midway through the second period that I feel was called wrong. It should have been a reversal with possible back points, but the officials called it a 2-point nearfall for his opponent and then loss of control going out of bounds, so instead of being up 4-0, Jay was down 2-1. But we can’t blame a loss on officiating; that’s just how it goes. Jay will be ready for the next match-up with that wrestler at regionals.”

Freshman Levi Cotter (106 pounds), junior Will Showalter (120), junior Logan Henry (132) and senior Traden Noll (150) each wrestled for third place for a shot at a league medal.

Unfortunately, each of them came up on the wrong side of their matches and all four finished in fourth place.

Cotter suffered an injury default in his third place match, while Showalter lost a 9-1 major decision to Spring Hill’s Carter Wilson in his final match after winning his first two.

Henry won a close 7-6 decision to Eudora’s Newt Schreiner in the consolation semifinals, but fell to Spring Hill’s James Sheldon in a 5-2 decision in this third place match.

***Louisburg’s Xander Lucas works for a pin Wednesday during his 285-pound match.***

As for Noll, he earned a pin over Ottawa’s Nathan Morgan in the consolation semifinals, but fell 5-0 to Bonner Springs’ Emiliano Martinez in his final bout of the night.

Louisburg was also without state-ranked wrestler Ashton Moore (190 pounds), along with senior Elias Pugh (175), who were both nursing injuries.

“Levi Cotter was in a tough match at 106 for third place, but he was fighting some sickness and ended up defaulting because of it,” Bovaird said. “Will showed a lot of guts at 120 to finish fourth, and Logan had some great matches that night at 132. Traden has been wrestling pretty solidly at 150 as we reach the end of the season, and he’s looking tougher and tougher every match.”

Senior J’Lee Collins (126), along with juniors Brayden Yoder (215) and Xander Lucas (285) each finished fifth overall.

The battle for a state spot begins Saturday as the Wildcats travel to the Class 4A regional tournament at Tonganoxie High School.

“I think the guys are pretty excited for the post-season,” Bovaird said. “We’ll have Elias and Ashton back on the mats — both of them were sitting out with injuries. Ashton tweaked his knee at the Baldwin Invitational a couple of weeks ago, and Elias was nursing a nasty cut on his foot. We just wanted to play it safe and give them both a chance to return to health.

“Our regional is going to be pretty solid, as we’ll have several state-ranked teams in Tonganoxie, as well as others who have been up there this season (Santa Fe Trail, Holton, and Baldwin). Depending on how seedings pan out, we’ve got excellent opportunities at a lot of weights.”

106

Levi Cotter (21-18) placed 4th and scored 12.0 team points.

Quarterfinal – Levi Cotter (Louisburg) 21-18 won by fall over Maddoc Johnston (Spring Hill) 13-11 (Fall 3:46)
Semifinal – Tyler Chrisp (Tonganoxie) 25-14 won by fall over Levi Cotter (Louisburg) 21-18 (Fall 2:30)
Cons. Semi – Levi Cotter (Louisburg) 21-18 won by decision over Hunter Warczakoski (Bonner Springs) 11-19 (Dec 5-4)
3rd Place Match – Caul Johns (Ottawa) 20-12 won by injury default over Levi Cotter (Louisburg) 21-18 (Inj. 4:01)

113

Canaan Clayton (22-15) placed 6th and scored 6.0 team points.

Quarterfinal – Brodie Starcher (Tonganoxie) 17-11 won by decision over Canaan Clayton (Louisburg) 22-15 (Dec 6-0)
Cons. Round 1 – Canaan Clayton (Louisburg) 22-15 won by fall over Blake Longacre (Eudora) 3-12 (Fall 0:48)
Cons. Semi – Brock Slimmer (Spring Hill) 29-7 won by major decision over Canaan Clayton (Louisburg) 22-15 (MD 14-0)
5th Place Match – Asher Englert (Baldwin) 9-11 won by decision over Canaan Clayton (Louisburg) 22-15 (Dec 6-1)

120

Will Showalter (15-22) placed 4th and scored 9.0 team points.

Quarterfinal – Jordan Bauswell (Tonganoxie) 14-17 won by decision over Will Showalter (Louisburg) 15-22 (Dec 6-1)
Cons. Round 1 – Will Showalter (Louisburg) 15-22 received a bye () (Bye)
Cons. Semi – Will Showalter (Louisburg) 15-22 won by decision over Carson Moore (Eudora) 15-16 (Dec 3-2)
3rd Place Match – Carter Wilson (Spring Hill) 15-13 won by major decision over Will Showalter (Louisburg) 15-22 (MD 9-1)

126

J`Lee Collins (23-15) placed 5th and scored 8.0 team points.

Quarterfinal – Frankie Garcia (Bonner Springs) 30-12 won by fall over J`Lee Collins (Louisburg) 23-15 (Fall 4:39)
Cons. Round 1 – J`Lee Collins (Louisburg) 23-15 won by forfeit over Ayedin Johnson (Baldwin) 16-11 (For.)
Cons. Semi – Ryan Pahl (Spring Hill) 26-15 won by fall over J`Lee Collins (Louisburg) 23-15 (Fall 4:16)
5th Place Match – J`Lee Collins (Louisburg) 23-15 won by decision over Hawken Andrews (Eudora) 21-15 (Dec 7-6)

132

Logan Henry (20-13) placed 4th and scored 11.0 team points.

Quarterfinal – Logan Henry (Louisburg) 20-13 won by major decision over James Williams (Bonner Springs) 14-18 (MD 12-1)
Semifinal – Blake Riedel (Tonganoxie) 18-13 won by fall over Logan Henry (Louisburg) 20-13 (Fall 2:52)
Cons. Semi – Logan Henry (Louisburg) 20-13 won by decision over Newt Schreiner (Eudora) 18-18 (Dec 7-6)
3rd Place Match – James Sheldon (Spring Hill) 23-14 won by decision over Logan Henry (Louisburg) 20-13 (Dec 5-2)

138

Mika McKitrick (17-21) place is unknown and scored 0.0 team points.

Quarterfinal – Dax Duffett (Tonganoxie) 16-9 won by fall over Mika McKitrick (Louisburg) 17-21 (Fall 1:05)
Cons. Round 1 – Austin Ross (Spring Hill) 19-12 won by decision over Mika McKitrick (Louisburg) 17-21 (Dec 7-4)

144

Blake Oliphant (5-10) place is unknown and scored 0.0 team points.

Quarterfinal – Chase Wilson (Spring Hill) 21-17 won by fall over Blake Oliphant (Louisburg) 5-10 (Fall 1:03)
Cons. Round 1 – Elijah Younger (Paola) 10-16 won by fall over Blake Oliphant (Louisburg) 5-10 (Fall 2:59)

150

Traden Noll (28-12) placed 4th and scored 13.0 team points.

Quarterfinal – Traden Noll (Louisburg) 28-12 won by major decision over Emiliano Martinez (Bonner Springs) 10-16 (MD 10-0)
Semifinal – Avery Bartek (Spring Hill) 32-8 won by fall over Traden Noll (Louisburg) 28-12 (Fall 2:30)
Cons. Semi – Traden Noll (Louisburg) 28-12 won by fall over Nathan Morgan (Ottawa) 10-14 (Fall 3:11)
3rd Place Match – Emiliano Martinez (Bonner Springs) 10-16 won by decision over Traden Noll (Louisburg) 28-12 (Dec 5-0)

157

Jay McCaskill (31-12) placed 2nd and scored 20.0 team points.

Quarterfinal – Jay McCaskill (Louisburg) 31-12 won by fall over Ty Marble (Bonner Springs) 7-10 (Fall 1:54)
Semifinal – Jay McCaskill (Louisburg) 31-12 won by fall over Chevez Neely (Paola) 12-8 (Fall 0:39)
1st Place Match – Dalton Evans (Ottawa) 26-9 won by decision over Jay McCaskill (Louisburg) 31-12 (Dec 3-2)

165

Bryce Thompson (17-12) place is unknown and scored 0.0 team points.

Quarterfinal – Dylan Williams (Baldwin) 20-10 won by tech fall over Bryce Thompson (Louisburg) 17-12 (TF-1.5 6:00 (15-0))
Cons. Round 1 – Daniel Loza (Bonner Springs) 12-13 won by major decision over Bryce Thompson (Louisburg) 17-12 (MD 9-1)

175

Vance Hahn (5-18) place is unknown and scored 0.0 team points.

Quarterfinal – Caden Bartek (Spring Hill) 19-8 won by fall over Vance Hahn (Louisburg) 5-18 (Fall 1:47)
Cons. Round 1 – Keldyn Cox (Baldwin) 11-16 won by fall over Vance Hahn (Louisburg) 5-18 (Fall 2:07)

215

Brayden Yoder (24-16) placed 5th and scored 10.0 team points.

Quarterfinal – Logan Alexander (Spring Hill) 25-14 won in sudden victory – 1 over Brayden Yoder (Louisburg) 24-16 (SV-1 3-1)
Cons. Round 1 – Brayden Yoder (Louisburg) 24-16 won by fall over Brayden Folsom (Tonganoxie) 6-9 (Fall 1:21)
Cons. Semi – Sam Harrigan-Hernandez (Bonner Springs) 26-13 won by decision over Brayden Yoder (Louisburg) 24-16 (Dec 4-2)
5th Place Match – Brayden Yoder (Louisburg) 24-16 won by fall over Reilly Neis (Eudora) 17-19 (Fall 1:46)

285

Xander Lucas (11-21) placed 5th and scored 7.0 team points.

Quarterfinal – Xander Lucas (Louisburg) 11-21 received a bye () (Bye)
Semifinal – Gavin Rhoads (Tonganoxie) 11-9 won by fall over Xander Lucas (Louisburg) 11-21 (Fall 3:57)
Cons. Semi – Tucker Wingerter (Spring Hill) 2-6 won by fall over Xander Lucas (Louisburg) 11-21 (Fall 0:56)
5th Place Match – Xander Lucas (Louisburg) 11-21 won by fall over Will McCombs (Ottawa) 1-6 (Fall 3:55)