Louisburg girls wrestling has historic day at league meet

OTTAWA — It was an historic outing for the Louisburg girls wrestling team Saturday at the Frontier League Invitational.

In the program’s short existence, the Wildcats recorded three medalists for the first time in school history and had their first wrestler make the league finals. It was a strong start to their postseason journey at Ottawa High School for a team that consists of only freshmen and sophomores.

“It was an emotional day with a lot of highs and lows,” coach Heather Eslinger said. “First of all it was rough having my girls split into two gyms and therefore I wasn’t able to watch all of their matches. Thank goodness (coaches) Bobby (Bovaird) and Shawn (Crossley) are so great. 

“I was thrilled with our showing at league from our three girls who placed. It’s great to see their confidence on the mat.”

Freshman Brooklyn DeWeese had a finish to remember as she became the first Wildcat to earn a spot in the league finals and did so at 115 pounds.

DeWeese (29-8) advanced to the semifinals where she pinned Bonner Springs’ Kyle Enriquez in the second period. In the finals, DeWeese faced off with the No. 3 ranked wrestler in the state — Tonganoxie’s Stella Bradley — and lost by pin the second period.

Another freshman, Brianna Caraway, also found her way to the medal stand as she put together a 3-1 day and finished third at 130 pounds.

Caraway (14-6) opened with a pin of Ottawa’s Kylea Brewing, but lost in the semifinals when she was pinned by Spring Hill’s Kendall Anderson.

On the back side of the bracket, Caraway pinned Baldwin’s Keziah Moses in the consolation semifinals and then pinned Paola’s Kylie Parke in the third place match.

Sophomore Maliya Collins earned her first league medal as she took fourth at 140 pounds. She finished the day with a 2-2 record.

Collins (22-13) earned a spot in the third place match with an overtime victory over Spring Hill’s Morgan Hinton in the consolation semifinals. In that third place match, Collins fell by pin to Paola’s Layla Anthony.

“Brooklyn is making quite a mark her freshman year and I’m excited to see what regionals holds for her,” Eslinger said. “Brianna has had a rough start to the season missing a lot of practices and I’m happy that she didn’t let that hold her back at league.”

Louisburg also suffered some injuries in the tournament as freshman Bella Pickman, Emma Duckworth and Allison Martin all had to exit the tournament early. Pickman and Duckworth saw their seasons come to a close.

Martin ended up finishing sixth at 135 pounds, while sophomore Leola Eslinger was fifth at 145 pounds.

“We had a lot of obstacles at league,” coach Eslinger said. “We had some injuries that ended the season for Emma and Bella. Emma suffered a concussion from an illegal mat return and Bella had a shoulder injury aggravated at league and was decided it was best to end her season rather than injure herself in a way that takes her out next season.

“Allison and Leola both struggled with some issues at league and didn’t have the showing I had hoped for, however I’m confident this week before regionals will be a time for rest and rejuvenation.”

This postseason does ramp up for the Wildcats on Friday as they take part in the 2-day regional tournament at Paola High School. Action begins at 1 p.m. and will continue into Saturday.

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