Wildcats take third, medal five at Baldwin Invite

BALDWIN CITY — In what is one of the toughest tournaments on its schedule, the Louisburg boys wrestling team found a lot of success Saturday at the Baldwin Invitational Tournament. 

Not only did the Wildcats medal five, but found themselves in the top three of the team standings. Louisburg finished third overall with 152 points. Tonganoxie won the 19-team tournament with 231 points and Santa Fe Trail was second with 159.

“Once again, the Baldwin Invitational didn’t disappoint with how tough a tournament it ended up being,” Louisburg coach Bobby Bovaird said. “The thing I love about this tournament is the fact that we get to see so many teams we don’t typically see during the regular season — Wamego, Goodland, Buhler, and Rock Creek to name a few. We had a great run on the back side of the bracket, and in the finals we were able to hold off a very strong Holton team to keep us in third place. 

“We had Logan Henry out with a knee injury, and he’s a returning state qualifier. Also, Canaan Clayton hurt his shoulder in his first match, which was a big blow for us. He still battled in that match and went out for his next match, but you could tell he was hurting. He’s such a tough kid, though. Never complains.”

Louisburg put two wrestlers in the championship round in seniors Ashton Moore and Jay McCaskill. Moore went on to win his 215-pound bracket, while McCaskill was second at 165 pounds.

Moore finished 3-0 on the day with a pin over Tonganoxie’s Jaxon Dominic in the quarterfinals and then earned a 12-1 major decision over Baldwin’s Brenden O’Connor in the semis.

His biggest test came in the finals in a battle of state-ranked wresters. Moore, who is ranked No. 2 in Class 4A, squared off with No. 3 Taven Dick of Holton.

Moore found himself in a hole early as he was down 4-0, but battled back to eventually get a 10-6 decision and won his fourth tournament title in a month. He also improved his record to 28-2 on the season.

“That sort of mental toughness is something that everyone can benefit from watching,” Bovaird said of Moore. “Ashton kept his head and didn’t panic. He was focused and ready to score points, which is what we needed from him.”

McCaskill earned a spot in the championship round with a quarterfinal pin of Santa Fe Trail’s Dale Kirby and then pinned Chance Gray of Perry-Lecompton in the second period of the semifinals.

That victory earned McCaskill career win No. 100 in what was a memorable moment for the Louisburg senior. He battled in his championship match, but lost a 7-1 decision to Buhler’s Luke Kerns.

“The past two years especially, Jay has been laser-focused, both at practice and at competitions,” Bovaird said. “He’s really stepped up as a leader, too. He’ll work with all levels of kids at practice, and he’s more vocal this year than before. He’s also a leader by example and he’s tough as can be.

“Jay came up against a tough kid from Buhler in the finals. He really wrestled well, but his opponent was pretty slick and solid with his positioning, which helped him take advantage of any mistake Jay might have made.”

Sophomore Levi Cotter also had a solid day at 106 pounds for the Wildcats as he took third with a 3-1 record on the day. His lone loss came in the semifinals in a 12-10 decision to Holton’s Tyson Carlson.

Cotter responded to win two in the consolation bracket, including a technical fall over Labette County’s Gavin Myers to take third place.

Freshman Parker Showalter (113 pounds) and senior Brayden Yoder (190) both left Baldwin with medals as they finished fourth overall. 

Yoder battled in a tough 190-pound weight class. He opened with two wins before falling to the eventual champion, Holton’s Kyler Jackson, in the semifinals in an 8-3 decision.

He advanced to the third place match against Goodland’s Logan Franz, where he lost by pin. Yoder finished his day with a 3-2 record.

At 113 pounds, Showalter recorded his first varsity medal of the season after earning a spot in the third place match, but fell to Eudora’s Gabe Campbell in a 7-3 decision.

Seniors Will Showalter (125) and Mika McKitrick (132) each finished in fifth place and sophomore Spencer Mattison (144) was sixth. Sophomore Bryce Thompson (157) and junior Vance Hahn (175) took seventh overall.

Louisburg is back in action Saturday as the Wildcats travel to Ottawa for the Frontier League Invitational. 

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