Louisburg wrestling takes third at Fort Scott to open season

Senior Kyle Allen works for a pin during Louisburg’s dual with Blue Valley Southwest on Saturday during the Fort Scott Dual Tournament. The Wildcats finished third overall.

FORT SCOTT – The Fort Scott Dual Tournament had all the signs of a season opener for the Louisburg High School wrestling team.

It had its fair share of highs and lows and it gave head coach Bobby Bovaird a good idea of what his team needed to work on. Still, the tournament gave Bovaird plenty to be excited about for the rest of the season.

Louisburg finished third overall with a 3-2 record and it had a chance to finish in tie for first going into its final dual. It was a performance the Wildcat wrestlers will look to build off of moving forward.

“For it being our first meet of the season, it wasn’t too bad,” Bovaird said. “I’m not satisfied, and the guys aren’t either. Several came up to me after the meet saying they felt like they needed more live conditioning. To be honest, they didn’t look that out-of-shape during their matches. For the most part, we kept our stances, our positioning, and looked relatively sharp. It’s great that they have that sort of self-criticism — they want to work harder, they want to push themselves. It’s not going to be me driving them, they can drive themselves.”

Along with the team success, the Wildcats had several individuals who put together a strong performance.

Senior Ryan Adams, who is currently ranked No. 1 in the state at 145 pounds, moved up to wrestle at 152 pounds and ended the day with a 5-0 record, including three by pin and another by technical fall.

Senior Ryan Adams gets some back points during his 152-pound match against Shawnee Mission West.

Junior Austin Moore followed suit at 195 pounds as he finished the day 5-0, four of which came by pin. Moore is currently ranked No. 6 in the state at 195 pounds.

“I’m excited for both of these guys and what they can do this season,” Bovaird said. “Ryan looks like he’s back on track after sitting out his sophomore year with his elbow surgery. Last year was a solid year, but he’s having a great start to this season. He’s even wrestling up a weight at 152 to start out the season. He’s back to his old confidence with his leg riding.

“Austin is a beast, and I think he’s going to make a great run for a state title this season. With his work ethic and strength, he’ll have his hand raised quite a bit this season. With Austin, you’ll see solid wrestling — level changes on his shots, pressure on top and a whole lot of strength behind everything he hits.”

Junior Hunter Bindi and freshman Cade Holtzen came in and split time between 113 and 120 pounds to help bolster the Wildcat lineup and they did their job. Both wrestlers finished with a 4-1 record and each had two pins. Bindi’s lone loss came against Paola’s Preston Martin, a defending state champion and No. 1-ranked wrestler at 113 pounds.

Blue Caplinger also finished with a 4-1 record at 160 pounds as the Louisburg junior’s lone loss came in overtime of a scoreless match. Caplinger also finished with two pins and a major decision.

Senior Tucker Batten (145 pounds) and junior Gabriel Bonham (132) also finished with 4-1 records, while seniors Thad Hendrix (106) and Kyle Allen (126) ended the day with a 3-2 mark.

Senior Austin Moore works for one of his four pins Saturday during the Fort Scott Dual Tournament.

“Our newcomers in Gabriel and Cade really had some good matches,” Bovaird said. “I think their losses were winnable matches, so with film analysis and purposeful practicing, they can make that happen. Blue lost a nail-biter in overtime against an Anderson County opponent. He had some great positioning in that match. It’s pretty rare to have a match go 0-0 into overtime.

“I’m seeing some great action from Thad on his feet — some of the best neutral wrestling I’ve seen from him. Kyle ran into a couple tough opponents, but he really only had a week of practice after getting his wisdom teeth out the first week of the season.

“Hunter had a strong return for us this season at 113 and 120. He and Cade were both certified at 113, so that gave us the option to switch them between 113 and 120 to give us a stronger lineup. His lone loss on the weekend was to the defending state champ from Paola. That match will have a different result next time out.”

Louisburg opened the tournament with a difficult 36-34 loss to Blue Valley Southwest, but responded nicely with three consecutive victories.

The Wildcats rolled Fort Scott, 72-9, and then followed that up with 60-18 and 51-27 victories over Shawnee Mission West and Anderson County, respectively.

That set up a final dual with rival Paola and victory would have put the Wildcats in a tie for first place with Paola and Blue Valley Southwest. After losing the first five matches of the dual, Louisburg battled back to win the next four, but came up short in a 46-27 loss.

“Paola is tough,” Bovaird said. “They really looked on-point this weekend, and I knew coming into this season that they would be contending for a league title. Later in the year, when we see them at league, it will be a different story. By that point, it will be a matter of who’s endured the toughness and adversities of this sport. Some of those matches that went against us will be key rematches. I’m not sure how the tie-breaker would have worked out if we had beaten Paola, though. I just know we got out-wrestled against BVSW and Paola.”

Louisburg returns to action this Friday when it travels to the December Duals tournament at Prairie View High School. The Wildcats will go up against Baldwin, Prairie View, Burlington, Independence and Royal Valley – all Class 4A schools. The tournament is set to begin at 4 p.m.

FORT SCOTT DUAL RESULTS

Louisburg defeated Fort Scott 72-9
106 – Thad Hendrix (Louisburg) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf
113 – Cade Holtzen (Louisburg) over Corbin Shelden (Fort Scott ) Fall 0:38
120 – Hunter Bindi (Louisburg) over Daevin Caldwell (Fort Scott ) Fall 1:22
126 – Kyle Montojo (Fort Scott ) over Kyle Allen (Louisburg) Dec 11-5
132 – Gabriel Bonham (Louisburg) over Will Wunderly (Fort Scott ) Fall 0:49
138 – Dalton Hilt (Louisburg) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf
145 – Tucker Batten (Louisburg) over Jon Daniels (Fort Scott ) Fall 1:16
152 – Ryan Adams (Louisburg) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf
160 – Blue Caplinger (Louisburg) over Logan Hall (Fort Scott ) Fall 3:37
170 – Jacob Cowell (Louisburg) over Nick Farrington (Fort Scott ) Fall 1:08
182 – Garrett Caldwell (Louisburg) over Kaden Primm (Fort Scott ) Fall 0:17
195 – Austin Moore (Louisburg) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf
220 – Sam Kratochvil (Louisburg) over Grayson Quick (Fort Scott ) Fall 2:22
285 – Ben Daniels (Fort Scott ) over Hunter Day (Louisburg) Fall 0:44

Louisburg defeated Shawnee Mission West 60-18
106 – Thad Hendrix (Louisburg) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf
113 – Cade Holtzen (Louisburg) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf
120 – Hunter Bindi (Louisburg) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf
126 – Kyle Allen (Louisburg) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf
132 – Gabriel Bonham (Louisburg) over Christian Wyatt (Shawnee Mission West) Dec 7-6
138 – Dalton Hilt (Louisburg) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf
145 – Tucker Batten (Louisburg) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf
152 – Ryan Adams (Louisburg) over Richard Waeltermann (Shawnee Mission West) TF 16-0
160 – Blue Caplinger (Louisburg) over Jacob Porrit (Shawnee Mission West) Maj 15-5
170 – Danny Sublette (Shawnee Mission West) over Jacob Cowell (Louisburg) Fall 0:58
182 – Aiden Deckert (Shawnee Mission West) over Garrett Caldwell (Louisburg) Fall 1:45
195 – Austin Moore (Louisburg) over Hunter Remigio (Shawnee Mission West) Fall 0:58
220 – Sam Kratochvil (Louisburg) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf
285 – Byron Sherwin (Shawnee Mission West) over Hunter Day (Louisburg) Fall 1:26

Louisburg defeated Anderson County 51-27
106 – Thad Hendrix (Louisburg) over Carter Sommer (Anderson County) Fall 0:15
113 – Cade Holtzen (Louisburg) over Ashton Miller (Anderson County) Fall 1:53
120 – Hunter Bindi (Louisburg) over Ryland Wright (Anderson County) Fall 0:49
126 – Kyle Allen (Louisburg) over Tyler Secrest (Anderson County) Fall 1:57
132 – Gabriel Bonham (Louisburg) over Dominic Ireland (Anderson County) Dec 10-3
138 – Gavin Wolken (Anderson County) over Dalton Hilt (Louisburg) Fall 1:36
145 – Tucker Batten (Louisburg) over Lane Freeman (Anderson County) Fall 1:00
152 – Ryan Adams (Louisburg) over Cole Denny (Anderson County) Fall 2:29
160 – Dalton Duke (Anderson County) over Blue Caplinger (Louisburg) SV-1 2-0
170 – Dominic Sutton (Anderson County) over Jacob Cowell (Louisburg) Fall 1:49
182 – Logan Allen (Anderson County) over Garrett Caldwell (Louisburg) Fall 1:24
195 – Austin Moore (Louisburg) over Isaiah Levy (Anderson County) Fall 0:22
220 – Dallas Higginbotham (Anderson County) over Sam Kratochvil (Louisburg) Fall 2:11
285 – Hunter Day (Louisburg) over Raven Maley (Anderson County) Fall 0:26

Blue Valley Southwest defeated Louisburg 36-34
106 – Daniel McMullen (Blue Valley Southwest) over Thad Hendrix (Louisburg) Fall 2:56
113 – Hunter Bindi (Louisburg) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf
120 – Cade Holtzen (Louisburg) over Wyatt Driskell (Blue Valley Southwest) SV-1 8-6
126 – Kyle Allen (Louisburg) over Luke Richardson (Blue Valley Southwest) Fall 2:29
132 – Gabriel Bonham (Louisburg) over Devin Williams (Blue Valley Southwest) Maj 13-3
138 – Keenan Wade (Blue Valley Southwest) over Dalton Hilt (Louisburg) Fall 0:33
145 – Jackson McCall (Blue Valley Southwest) over Tucker Batten (Louisburg) SV-1 10-8
152 – Ryan Adams (Louisburg) over Charles Vath (Blue Valley Southwest) Fall 1:03
160 – Blue Caplinger (Louisburg) over Drew Hill (Blue Valley Southwest) Dec 5-0
170 – Nick Arend (Blue Valley Southwest) over Jacob Cowell (Louisburg) Fall 1:27
182 – Aaron Campbell (Blue Valley Southwest) over Garrett Caldwell (Louisburg) Fall 1:32
195 – Austin Moore (Louisburg) over Jaren Williams (Blue Valley Southwest) Fall 4:28
220 – Evan Ludwig (Blue Valley Southwest) over Sam Kratochvil (Louisburg) Fall 0:47
285 – Kyle Murphy (Blue Valley Southwest) over Hunter Day (Louisburg) Dec 7-1

Paola defeated Louisburg 46-27
106 – Jordyn Knecht (Paola ) over Thad Hendrix (Louisburg) Maj 13-5
113 – Preston Martin (Paola ) over Hunter Bindi (Louisburg) Fall 4:48
120 – Noah Bowden (Paola ) over Cade Holtzen (Louisburg) Dec 5-2
126 – Michael Searcy (Paola ) over Kyle Allen (Louisburg) Dec 7-1
132 – Bre Douglas (Paola ) over Gabriel Bonham (Louisburg) Fall 0:57
138 – Dalton Hilt (Louisburg) over Corey Holub (Paola ) Fall 2:40
145 – Tucker Batten (Louisburg) over Brendan Ohlmeier (Paola ) Dec 8-7
152 – Ryan Adams (Louisburg) over Matthew Bevis (Paola ) Fall 0:32
160 – Blue Caplinger (Louisburg) over Dylan Newton (Paola ) Fall 0:33
170 – Aaron Maxwell (Paola ) over Jacob Cowell (Louisburg) Fall 2:40
182 – Mikey Stribling (Paola ) over Garrett Caldwell (Louisburg) Fall 1:31
195 – Austin Moore (Louisburg) over Jeffery Schartz (Paola ) Fall 0:47
220 – Blake Batchelder (Paola ) over Sam Kratochvil (Louisburg) Fall 0:29
285 – Jake Miller (Paola ) over Hunter Day (Louisburg) Fall 0:33

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