Junior Cade Holtzen returns to help lead the Wildcat wrestling program this season. Holtzen, along with juniors Ryan Owens, Ben Wiedenmann and sophomore Brandon Doles were all named team captains.

It was successful season for the
Louisburg wrestling program last year as the Wildcats sent six wrestlers to
state tournament and also brought home a medal.

The Wildcats are hoping for that
same type of success, if not more, this time around as they return three state
qualifiers to the mix for 2019-20 season. Those are just a few of the reasons
why head coach Bobby Bovaird is looking forward to seeing what his team can
accomplish.

“Practices
have been going smoothly, and I’m excited for the season to get underway,”
Bovaird said. “We had our annual scrimmage last night and it was great to see
the match-ups. The guys are anxious to get out there to compete, too. They keep
asking about going live all the time at practice. I like that — they’re chomping
at the bit to wrestle.

“We’ll
have a solid core of wrestlers. I don’t think we’ll have as much of a problem
this year with guys having to bump up to fill empty weight classes. We have
more kids who are new to the sport than we’ve had in previous years, but
they’re some solid athletes. They’ve been picking up pretty quickly.”

Juniors
Cade Holtzen and Ryan Owens, along with sophomore Brandon Doles, are returning
state qualifiers who will lead the Wildcats this season and were named team
captains along with junior Ben Wiedenmann.

Holtzen
earned a state medal his freshman season and was one win away from a second a
year ago. Doles was a regional champion a year ago as a freshman, while Owens
was also a state qualifier.

With
an early portion of their schedule that will be consisted of duals, Holtzen
will wrestle at 132 pounds to start the season and Owens will remain at 120
from a year ago. Doles moves up a class to a 160 pounds and Wiedenmann will
take the mat at 170.

“They’ve
been working hard in the off-season,” Bovaird said. “Last summer, Cade and
Brandon were on the mat quite a bit, and Ben was hitting the weight room pretty
hard. Ryan has been keeping active with working out at Louisburg Jiu Jitsu.
These four were voted team captains this season, and I’m excited to see their
leadership on and off the mat.”

Louisburg
will have two open weights to begin the season, 106 and 152, but Bovaird
believes they might be able to fill the 152 slot later in the season.

Freshman Kaven Bartlett will wrestle at 113 pounds, while Luke Kelly will start the year at 126. Senior Harrison Laney (138 pounds), junior A.J. Drew (145), sophomore Aiden Barker (182), senior Hugh Staver (195), senior Sam Kratochvil (220) and freshman Elijah Eslinger (285) will complete the Wildcats’ lineup.

Although he may be one of the youngest on the team, Bartlett provides a good deal of experience as he has wrestled in kids club for several years.

“Kaven
is another kid coming into the program who’s been wrestling since a young age,”
Bovaird said. “He’s a competitive kid and is really coachable. This past
summer, he’s been getting into different practice rooms, getting exposure to
new practice partners and coaches. He’s got the right mindset to have a very
successful high school career.”

The
Wildcats open their season at 3 p.m., Friday at the Fort Scott Dual Tournament.
As excited as Bovaird is for this season, he is just as optimistic about the
future of his Wildcat program.

“Our overall numbers are back up again this year,” Bovaird said. “Last year was a fluke with our low numbers, but we also had a very good retention rate. I’m looking to continue that retention and building our numbers back up to where they were a couple years ago. There’s the old saying ‘Iron sharpens Iron,’ and that’s true. With more numbers, we’ll find the program back on the growing track.

“In 2018-19, there were
over 100 kids in Louisburg (grades K through 8) who were involved in wrestling.
That includes the area clubs and the middle school program. There’s a wave of
strong wrestlers coming in the next few years, and I’m excited to see what this
group establishes as a foundation for the future.”

The Kansas State High School Activities Association released its classifications for the 2019-20 school year, along with the football classifications for the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons.

There were a few changes in both areas, but more so on the football side.

Football classifications are determined based on enrollment figures in ninth, 10th and 11th grade. Louisburg is still in 4A with 432 students and is toward the lower half of the classification.

Entering Class 4A beginning in the 2020 school year will be St. James Academy, Lansing and Great Bend, who have all moved down from Class 5A. Wamego also made the jump back in from Class 3A.

Goddard, Pittsburg and Spring Hill all saw their enrollment grow and will be moving up from 4A to 5A next year. Baldwin saw their enrollment decline and will move down to Class 3A in football the next two years.

In the rest of the sports, not much changed with regards to Class 4A for this year.

Enrollment figures for all grades in Louisburg this year is 573, which puts the school in the upper half of Class 4A. The biggest school is Buhler with 661 and Bishop Miege is the second biggest at 656 and Ottawa is third at 653.

Three schools will make the move up to Class 4A this year. Clay Center, Girard and Holton all saw their enrollment increase and will come back to 4A, while Osawatomie, Anderson County and Wichita-Trinity Academy will move out of 4A to 3A this year.

A big change to the Kansas High School
Activities Association (KSHSAA) postseason could be coming sooner rather than
later if a proposal, submitted by the Frontier League, passes the KSHSAA Board
of Directors and its member schools.

Last month the Frontier League,
led by Paola High School principal Jeff Hines and Louisburg superintendent Dr.
Brian Biermann, petitioned KSHSAA to separate public and private schools into
their own postseason competitions.

In order for it pass, the petition
must be signed by 20 percent of the 355 member schools according to KSHSAA
bi-laws. The Frontier League got the 71 needed petitions and have now submitted
this to appear in front of the KSHSAA Board of Directors for vote in their
Sept. 18 meeting.

The board of directors would then
have to pass it by simple majority of those in attendance to bring the proposal
to a vote from all the member schools.

“Kansas needs to catch up with
the rest of the country and get this competitive imbalance under control in our
state,” Hines said. “The longer we wait then more students will be negatively
impacted. We have a responsibility as educators to create the best
opportunities possible for our students. No one can honestly say we have
the best system possible right now. It can definitely be improved.”

The proposal submitted by the Frontier League is the same one the state of Texas uses that keeps the schools in their same classification, but only separates the schools come postseason.

Other options were discussed
before submitting the proposal, such as implementing a multiplier on all
private schools like Missouri currently does. In fact, it is the most popular
proposal among the schools that were surveyed by Hines last January.

They also talked about the “Oklahoma
model” where schools are bumped up a classification based on success for
competitive balance.

Seventy-four percent of the
schools said they would support a population multiplier, 64 percent would
support competitive balance factors and 51 percent would support separate
divisions.

However, KSHSAA would not be able
to make this change with a multiplier due to state statute K.S.A. 72-130 that
states a high school association “must establish a system of classification of
member high schools according to student attendance.”

KSHSAA would not be able to pass a
new bi-law that goes against state statute, and therefore, the Kansas State
Legislature would have reword the statue to allow the association to make those
changes.

The Frontier League believes the Texas model, or separate postseason divisions, does not deal with classifications. Also, this model had more support from 5A and 6A schools as neither classification would likely vote for a multiplier.

“We don’t view that as a classification decision as we are not affecting classification, but KSHSAA and their lawyers view that it is,” Biermann said. “5A and 6A schools that we talked to really wanted us to push for the Texas model because they don’t want to play them (private schools) either. The biggest thing for me is if 5 and 6A schools don’t want to play them, then why do we? As a superintendent, I am supposed to create opportunities for kids. We had four teams last year in both soccer teams, football and volleyball that all saw their season end to Bishop Miege. It is not right that we have kids and coaches that work their tails off and they don’t have the opportunity to win.

“Am I all about state
championships? Absolutely not. But we also know the reality of it in the
current system. Winning state championships is important for communities and is
always a goal. I am not ever going to give up on this idea and neither will the
Frontier League.”

The public versus private school
debate has been going on for the last several years and Hines has been leading
the charge since 2015 when he put together a study that displayed the disparity
of state championships won by private schools.

In 2018-19, private schools won 32
percent of the state championships in Classes 5A through 1A. There are currently
no private schools in 6A. Twenty-one of those 24 state titles were won by
private schools in Class 4A and 5A.

That is a high number considering
that out of the 355 member schools, only 27 of them are private.

The Frontier League wanted to see change, so Hines surveyed the 355 member schools late last year and presented his findings to KSHSAA in January. More than 88 percent of the schools responded, that included 22 private institutions, and 87 percent said they want the current system changed.

Although most schools said they
would support the multiplier model more, Hines and the rest of the league
schools, believe it is the best way to proceed at this time.

“Our
survey indicated that separate divisions was the least popular option among
member schools, however as a league we feel like it is the most appropriate
option,” Hines said. “A multiplier will pass through and will be our next
option if this does not go through.  A multiplier will impact many private
schools that are not quasi sports academies that are not very successful in athletics. The
separate divisions avoids this situation.”

If
the proposal does pass the board of directors, KSHSAA will then put it to a
vote with all 355 member schools and it must pass by a simple majority and by
four of the six classes.

From
there, KSHSAA executive director Bill Faflick would take it to the Kansas
Legislature before change could be implemented.

“We
know it won’t happen overnight,” Biermann said. “Even if this passes, nothing
will change this year and probably not the following year. It could be three
years out with the way football schedules take shape. We are honestly ok with
that if we knew that there was light at the end of the tunnel. If this would
not pass, we would turn right around and do the multiplier one.”

Despite what happens at the
upcoming board of directors meeting, Hines believes changes to the system will
happen sooner rather than later.

“I am now confident something will get done,” Hines said. “I
think it will ultimately take a multiplier to get something done. If the
separate divisions fails then we will propose a multiplier for the spring board
of directors meeting.”

 A lot of obstacles are still in the way for change to happen, whether it has to deal with state statues or member votes, but none of the schools in the nine-member Frontier League are going to stop until they see a more even playing field.

“I am very proud of the Frontier League, and even though we compete against each other, we are very unified on this,” Biermann said. “It is about fairness and equality and I am tired of having my kids at Louisburg High School not having the same opportunity as some others. The throttle is down and it is going to stay down.”

The Louisburg High School cross country team will have some company this season as Louisburg Middle School is offering cross country for the first time this year and the younger Wildcats will attend many of the same meets as the high school. LHS will also offer boys and girls swimming this year and have discussed girls wrestling for the future.

There are always changes with
every incoming school year, but Louisburg residents will see a couple major
ones for the 2019-20 school year on the activities side.

Late last spring, the USD 416 Board of Education approved to add three new activities to the Wildcat sports slate in middle school cross county and boys and girls swimming. All three will give students opportunities to try something different for the upcoming year.

Middle school cross country will
coincide with the high school season in the fall and those athletes will attend
many of the same meets in 2019. Louisburg will open its season on Sept. 5 at
the Anderson County Invitational in Garnett.

The Wildcats will then travel to Wellsville and Prairie View on Sept. 19 and 26, respectively, before wrapping its season on Oct. 10 in Eudora for the Frontier League meet.

There will be separate seventh and eighth-grade divisions for the meets and the middle school runners will run two miles, while the high school will continue to run its usual 5-kilometer course.

Current high school coach John
Reece will also serve as the middle school head coach, while Paul Restivo takes
over assistant coach duties. It is an exciting time for Reece and the Wildcat
program.

“Having a feeder program at the middle
school level feeding into the high school level is invaluable,” LHS activities
director Scott Hinkle said. “Having a feeder program is what builds and
sustains successful programs.”

Louisburg will also participate in
boys swimming, which takes place during the winter season, along with girls
swimming that competes in the spring. USD 416 approved to co-op with the
current Osawatomie-Paola team during the season, and if any swimmers should
qualify for the state meet, they will compete on their own for Louisburg.

USD 416 superintendent Dr. Brian
Biermann met with interested swim parents last year and worked with the Kansas
State High School Activities Association (KSHSAA) in getting the approval to join
the Osawatomie-Paola team for this school year.

Hinkle conducted interest meetings
late in the spring with current high school students and eighth-graders moving
up into high school.

“The students that attended the initial
organizational meeting were very excited and inquisitive,” Hinkle said. “We had
approximately 24 at the high school meeting – 12 boys and 12 girls. We probably
had 10 or 12 show up for the middle school meeting. Usually when you introduce
a new sport a lot of kids are interested in hearing about the new opportunity
and what options are available to them.”

Due to the possible increased numbers for the Osawatomie, Paola and Louisburg team, there was also a new hire made as Maddie Carrigan, who is in her first year as a para at LHS, will be the assistant coach and will help out current head coach Gerri Hart.

When the addition of swimming was
first announced, there was talk of how to get the swimmers to and from practice
every day at the Miami County YMCA in Osawatomie. If the numbers worked, the
parents were going to be allowed to take a school van and do a rotation
schedule to take the athletes to practice.

However, due to what could be
bigger numbers than anticipated, the district might have to come up with a
different option.

“We have explored many options in regard to transportation,” Hinkle said. “We may have gotten real lucky in hiring an assistant swim coach who could help with the transportation. If numbers dictate more than a van, then the district is committed to transport the swimmers in a district school bus. The logistics of all of those factors will have to be worked out.”

Another activity that the district considered
adding was girls wrestling. The sport was approved by KSHSAA as a sanctioned
sport last April and it became the 23^rd championship sport in
Kansas.

Although some schools will begin programs right away, Louisburg head wrestling coach Bobby Bovaird knows it might take a little time to get a team put together here.

“I’m pretty excited for girls wrestling to finally become a
sanctioned sport in Kansas,” Bovaird said. “I’m on the state board of directors
for USA Wrestling – Kansas, and we’ve been seeing huge numbers out for girls
wrestling at the youth level. Because of that, we’ve known for a while that it
was bound to happen at the high school level. Neighboring schools have been
seeing a big interest in girls wrestling, and I hope we’re able to see some of
that same interest here. 

“Last year, we had five girls join the Wildcat Wrestling Club,
and I think it was a great experience for them. As they get older and continue
with the sport, I hope to see them bringing their friends to try it out.”

Louisburg won’t be the only district in Kansas where girls
wrestling will take time to develop, but Bovaird has a plan in place for
current female athletes to begin their journey into wrestling.

“I plan on working with our AD (Hinkle) to set a plan in place
to accommodate interest in girls wrestling at the high school,” Bovaird said. “For
the next two seasons, if a tournament only offers a boys division, then girls
will be allowed to compete against male wrestlers. If there is a girls
division, then they will compete against females only. After the 2020-21
season, all competitions will be separated by gender. For the time being, we’re
going to operate as a single program — one practice, one coaching staff, one
team, regardless of gender. As numbers grow and we get closer to the 2021-22
season, we’ll need to restructure to accommodate the state’s requirement for
separation. 

“We have a history of solid female athletics in Louisburg, and I
think the timing is just right for us to expand our wrestling program to
include more females. Since I’ve been here, we’ve had girls join the team, but
never in big numbers. I hope to be able to build a foundation for a solid girls
program, especially since I have a 7-year-old daughter whom I’d love to see get
the benefits of the sport of wrestling.”

Blue Caplinger made history in a few different ways for Louisburg High School during the 2018-19 season.

Caplinger, along with fellow LHS student Alyse Moore, became the first Wildcat athlete in recent memory – if ever – to participate in two sports during the same season. All that led up to what was a spectacular finish to his senior year.

Caplinger helped the 4×400-meter
relay to a state championship in late May, which was the school’s first individual
track title since 2015. When all was said and done, Caplinger lettered in four
sports this past year.

These are just a couple of the
reasons why Caplinger was chosen as the 2019 Louisburg Sports Zone Male Athlete
of the Year.

The award, which is in its second
year, is to recognize an outstanding LHS student athlete. Louisburg Sports Zone
asked the head coaches at LHS to submit nominations and those nominations were
then organized and submitted back to the coaches for a vote.

The coaches then submitted their
top three choices and the number of votes were added up, which decided the
winner.

Caplinger was one of the leaders
of the Wildcat football team that reeled off 10 straight wins to start the season
and captured a regional championship before falling to eventual state champion
Bishop Miege.

He was an All-Frontier League player on both sides of the ball as he earned first team defensive honors from the safety spot with 31 tackles, two fumble recoveries and an interception.

Caplinger played a couple different positions offensively and earned second team all-league honors as a multi-purpose player. He had 310 yards rushing and four touchdowns to go along 234 yards receiving and two more scores.

He was also the lead blocker on a
lot of the big runs that teammate Austin Moore – who was a first-team
all-league and all-state running back – had during the season.

“Blue was the most all-purpose player we had,” Louisburg football coach Robert Ebenstein said. “He was the ideal teammate who put the team first all the time. He always did anything that was asked of him. He was a tough competitor and a great all-around person.”

During the wrestling season, Caplinger was a state-ranked
wrestler at 170 pounds for much of the year. He ended his season with a team-high
33-5 record and was a regional champion.

At the Class 4A state tournament, Caplinger finished one win shy of his first state medal. In all, Caplinger finished with a team high in wins and also holds the school record for most career reversals (72) and most career escapes (86). He ended his Wildcat career with a 111-57 record.

“Anyone who knows Blue understands what a great young man he
is,” Louisburg wrestling coach Bobby Bovaird said. “Blue embodies so much
about what wrestling is all about. I wanted him to get that state medal so
badly, and he came so close not once, but twice. With these sorts of setbacks,
Blue has demonstrated that he’s gained the resilience to be a champion in life.”

In the spring, Caplinger became a dual-sport athlete as he
participated in both baseball and track and field.

Although his focus was on track, Caplinger helped out the
Wildcat baseball team as a pinch-runner as he stole five bases in eight games.

However, Caplinger did a lot of his damage on the track as he was one of the Wildcats’ top sprinters. He joined Justin Collins, Ben Wiedenmann and Chris Williams to win the Class 4A state title in the 4×400-meter relay.

Caplinger, along with Charlie Koontz, Wiedenmann and Collins, also medaled fifth at state in the 4×100 relay. Both relays broke school records this past season in the Frontier League and regional meets.

Caplinger will continue his athletic career this fall as he plans to attend Benedictine College on a football scholarship.

For the past three years, Louisburg Sports Zone has given out Athlete of the Week awards during each of the three sports seasons. I do it to recognize special athletic achievements and to highlight the athletes.

For the second straight year, Louisburg Sports Zone will be handing out an Athlete of the Year honor to a male and female athlete at Louisburg High School. I wanted the opportunity to recognize those who exemplify what it means to be an “athlete.”

Although I am giving out the award, I wanted the process to be subjective, so I asked the head coaches at LHS to help me out. I asked each coach to send me nominations of who they thought exemplified the Athlete of the Year honor. They will then vote for their top 3 male and female athletes and then I will tabulate the results and determine the winner. In the next week, I will announce this year’s recipients.

Below are the nominees for this year’s award in alphabetical order by last name. Congrats to all those who were nominated and best of luck!

FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR NOMINEES

CARSON BUFFINGTON – SENIOR – BASKETBALL, SOCCER, VOLLEYBALL

Carson was a 3-time letter winner in her senior season and
was named as a team captain in volleyball, basketball and soccer.

In volleyball, Buffington earned second team All-Frontier
League honors as she helped lead the Lady Cats to a Class 4A state runner-up
performance. She also moved from her starting setter position to the outside
hitter spot and had a lot of success for the Lady Cats as she tallied 130 kills
in her new position. With all that success, Buffington was also selected to the
Greater Kansas City Volleyball Coaches Association Senior All-Star Match.

Buffington also wrapped up a strong career for the Louisburg
basketball team as she averaged eight points and seven rebounds to go along
with three steals a contest. She was named as a Frontier League honorable
mention this past season, and she also was selected as an all-state honorable
mention.

In girls soccer, Buffington was the starting goalie for Louisburg in all 20 games. She posted 13 shutouts, which is a school record and had a .952 goals against average, which is also a school record. Buffington had 90 saves on the season that ended as a Class 4-1A state runner up for the second consecutive year. For her efforts, she was also selected second team All-Frontier League. Buffington was also named first team all-state goalie and was named Goalkeeper of the Year.

ANNA DIXON – SENIOR – VOLLEYBALL

Anna wrapped up her fourth volleyball season as a varsity starter for the Lady Cats and guided Louisburg to its second consecutive Class 4A-state runner-up finish.

Dixon, who is currently with the Kansas State volleyball
team, ended her senior season with 584 kills and had a hitting percentage of
.260. She also added 325 digs, 50 aces and 42 blocks as she played all six
rotations. With those lofty numbers, Dixon earned several big time honors in
her final season.

She was selected as an All-Frontier League first team player
and was also named to the 4A State All-Tournament Team. Those honors continued
as she was named the Kansas Volleyball Coaches Association Class 4A Player of the
Year and earned a spot on KVA All-State First Team.

Following the season, Dixon was also named as an
Under-Armour All-American also earned MaxPreps/American Volleyball Coaches
Association Player of the Week honors.

ALYSE MOORE – SOPHOMORE – BASKETBALL, SOFTBALL, TRACK AND FIELD

Alyse is a 3-sport varsity letter-winner this past year as she earned letters for the basketball, softball and track and field teams. This past spring season, Moore went to state in two different sports and became the first Wildcat athlete in recent memory to do so.

In her first season in track and field, Moore threw the
javelin for the Lady Cats and went on to become regional champion as she
eclipsed her personal best throw by almost 25 feet in just her third
competition of the season. The following week, she medaled fourth at the Class
4A state tournament with a personal best throw of 131 feet and 9 inches.

Moore was also the starting shortstop for the Lady Cats as
she helped Louisburg to its first regional championship since 2014.

During the basketball season, Moore was a starter for the
Lady Cats and averaged six points, five rebounds and three steals a game.

TRINITY MOORE – JUNIOR – CROSS COUNTRY, SOCCER

Trinity is 2-sport letter-winner for Louisburg this past
year as she had state performances in both cross country and soccer.

During the fall, Moore was the top runner on the Louisburg girls cross country team as she helped the Lady Cats to a regional runner-up finish and qualified for state as a team for the first time in school history. Moore medaled fourth at the Class 4A state meet in Wamego and currently holds the school record for the fastest time in program history. She also earned first-team All-Frontier League honors for her third place finish at the league meet.

In soccer, Moore was a starter on the Wildcat team that recently finished as the Class 4-1A state runner-up for the second consecutive year. At the midfield spot, she finished the season with 12 goals and six assists and was also named to the All-Frontier League first team.

DELANEY WRIGHT – FRESHMAN – BASKETBALL, CROSS COUNTRY, TRACK AND FIELD

Delaney is a 3-sport letter-winner as she took part in cross country, basketball and track and field and competed at the state level in two of those.

Wright found most of her success in track and field as she
earned four medals at the Class 4A Kansas State Track and Field Championships
in Wichita this past month. She medaled in the long jump, 400-meter-dash,
200-meter dash and as a member of the 4×400-relay.

During the regional meet, Wright broke two school records
(long jump, 400 dash) and earned a regional and Frontier League title in the
long jump. She also earned a medal in the long jump at the Kansas Relays
earlier in the season.

In cross country, Wright was a member of the Louisburg team
that finished as a Class 4A regional runner-up and qualified for the state meet
as a team for the first time in school history. In basketball, Wright saw
playing time at the varsity level as a freshman at different points throughout
the season.

MALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR NOMINEES

BLUE CAPLINGER – SENIOR – BASEBALL, FOOTBALL, TRACK AND FIELD, WRESTLING

Blue is a 4-sport letter-winner in football, wrestling,
baseball and track and field and competed at the state level in two of the
sports.

In football, Caplinger was an All-Frontier League player on
both sides of the ball as he was named to the first team defense as a defensive
back and second team offense as a multi-purpose player. On defense, Caplinger,
who helped Louisburg to a 10-1 record and a regional championship, had 31
tackles from the safety spot and also had two tackles for a loss, two fumble
recoveries and an interception. Offensively, he had 544 total yards and six touchdowns.

On the wrestling mat, Caplinger was a regional champion at
170 pounds and finished his season with a 33-5 record. The Louisburg senior
fell one match short of state medal with a 2-2 record at the Class 4A state
tournament. He currently holds the school record for most career reversals (72)
and most career escapes (86). Following the season, he was also named to the
KWCA Academic All-State first team.

Caplinger split time between baseball and track and field in
the spring. Although he spent time as a reserve and pinch-runner on the
baseball team, Caplinger found a lot of success on the track.

He qualified for state as a member of two relays. Caplinger was a member of the 4×400 relay team that won the Class 4A state championship in 3 minutes and 25 seconds. Caplinger also helped the 4×100 relay to a fifth place finish and went on to garner two state medals.

Caplinger will join the Benedictine football team this fall.

AUSTIN MOORE – SENIOR – FOOTBALL, TRACK AND FIELD, WRESTLING

Austin is a 3-sport letter winner in football, wrestling and
track and field and was among the state’s best in two of the sports.

Moore thrived on the football field for the Wildcats as he helped Louisburg to a 10-1 record and a regional championship. Moore was a first team All-Frontier League player on both sides of the ball and was the league’s leading vote-getter. He went on to rack up all-state awards as the Louisburg senior earned Class 4A first team all-state honors as a running back from the Topeka Capital-Journal and the Kansas Football Coaches Association. Moore was also named as a Class 4A first team all-state linebacker from the Wichita Eagle.

When the season was all said and done, Moore tallied 1,554
total yards from the running back spot, including 1,428 yards on the ground,
and had 21 touchdowns before he broke his collarbone during the regional
championship game.

With those numbers, he was named the Kansas Small Class
Player of the Year by 810 Varsity and was All-Purpose Player of the Year by
Kpreps.com. Earlier this year, Moore was also named to the Kansas Shrine Bowl
roster.

On the wrestling mat, Moore missed more than half of the
season with his broken collarbone, but came back in a big way. Moore won his
first 14 matches when coming back at 220 pounds, which included a regional
championship. He went on to earn his first state medal as he finished fourth at
the Class 4A state tournament with a 3-2 record. He was also named to the KWCA
Academic All-State first team.

During the spring, he was a member of the Louisburg track and field team and threw the javelin for the Wildcats. He was also on the throwers relay that ranked Top 5 nationally at one point in the season.

Moore will join the Kansas State football team this fall.

KIEFER TUCKER – SENIOR – FOOTBALL, TRACK AND FIELD, WEIGHTLIFTING

Kiefer is a 2-sport letter winner in football and track and
field and also went to state competition in two activities.

Tucker was a presence on the line of scrimmage for the
Louisburg football team as he was a first team All-Frontier League player on
both sides of the ball and helped the Wildcats to a 10-1 record and a regional
championship.

The Louisburg senior was among on the leaders on the
offensive line as he helped pave the way for more than 3,500 yards of total
offense. On defense, Tucker recorded 55 tackles from the defensive end spot,
including three tackles for a loss, three forced fumbles, a fumble recovery and
a sack. Those numbers helped earn him honorable mention all-state honors and was
also named to the all-state team by the Kansas Football Coaches Association.
The honors kept coming for Tucker as he was recently selected to participate in
the Kansas Shrine Bowl.

During the winter, Tucker was a member of the Louisburg
powerlifting team and certainly made his mark there as well. Tucker won the Class
4A state championship in the 220-pound class and broke a 24-year-old record in
the bench press with a lift of 375 pounds.

In track and field, Tucker qualified for state for the first time in the discus. He finished as a regional runner-up and went on to take ninth at the Class 4A state meet in Wichita, just one spot away from earning a state medal.

Tucker will join the Emporia State football team this fall.

Louisburg athletic trainer Damon Dennis was honored last week with the Kansas Wrestling Coaches Association Support Personnel of the Year Award.

Damon Dennis knew something was up
when Louisburg head wrestling coach Bobby Bovaird asked him if he would attend
the team’s postseason awards banquet.

In his close to three decades as
serving as the USD 416 athletic trainer, Dennis (aka Doc D) had been to these
types of things before and enjoys getting to look back on the season with
athletes, coaches and parents. However, this time it wasn’t all about the wrestlers.

Bovaird announced at the banquet that Dennis had been awarded Support Personnel of the Year by the Kansas Coaches Wrestling Association (KWCA). Dennis, along with other KWCA winners, will be recognized in October during an awards banquet in Salina.

Along with that award, he was also
named as the 2019 Contributor of the Year by the LHS wrestling team.

“I was quite surprised,” Dennis
said. “I don’t do the things that I do to get awards, but it is nice to know
that you are appreciated.”

Dennis, who spends his afternoons and evenings helping to mend the bumps and bruises of the Wildcat athletes while also running his Louisburg Chiropractic business, went above and behind the call of duty this season according to Bovaird.

During the season, Dennis helped a
wrestler who suffered a serious concussion at practice and accompanied Bovaird
and another district administrator to the emergency room to visit the wrestler
and his family.

“It was an icy evening, and most people would let a phone call or text suffice, but Doc D took the extra step to show his support,” Bovaird said. “Should we ever have an injury during practice time, Doc D has always been a phone call or a text away. At various points of the years, he’s dropped everything at his chiropractic practice to rush to the school to attend to an injured athlete.”

Winter weather provided a lot of
obstacles for the Wildcats this past season and Dennis helped in that area as
well. During the inclement weather, he arranged with the Louisburg Athletic
Club for the varsity wrestlers to get in a good workout prior to the regional
tournament since they couldn’t practice at the school.

“He’s gotten to know the families
very well ever since he first came to Louisburg, more than 25 years ago,” said
Bovaird, who nominated Dennis for the award. “He has been here long enough that
he’s worked with multiple generations of LHS athletes. He knows the community
very well, he’s been extremely active in the community, and he truly has been
an integral part of all our sports teams’ successes.

“Doc D has become an extraordinary
part of our community, and his role is truly invaluable. These awards are the
least we can do to thank this outstanding man for all he’s done.”

As busy as Dennis was during this
wrestling season, he enjoys getting to know the athletes and their families. He
also is willing to do whatever is needed to help the wrestling, or any other
Wildcat athletic program, when problems arise.

“I am quite close with many of the wrestlers,” Dennis said. “I am
at the school every day after school to get the kids prepared for practice or
evaluate any injuries that they are concerned about. I also coordinated
the concussion testing and evaluate skin lesions as needed, which can be quite
often with wrestlers. It stands to reason that by the time the athletes are seniors,
I know them quite well. This year, we had one of the best classes we have
ever had. I mean that athletically, academically and character wise. We
had several injuries this year that were a bit of a challenge, from Austin
Moore’s broken collarbone to Blue Caplinger’s concussion and so on.

“It is the highlight of my day to go to
the high school every day and be around the coaches and athletes. I
appreciate them allowing me to be a part of the program in any capacity. I
am always ready to help.”

Louisburg senior Austin Moore (right) battles Wellington’s Kenny Fehrman during the third-place match at 220 pounds Saturday during the Class 4A Kansas State Wrestling Championships in Salina.

SALINA – Back in early November of
2018, Austin Moore was in a sling with a broken collarbone and he wondered why all
this was happening.

Moore suffered the injury during
the regional football playoffs and he didn’t get to finish his final high
school season. Not only that, his hopes of getting his first state wrestling
medal was in serious jeopardy.

 A little more than four months later, Moore
was on the medal stand with some of the state’s best wrestlers in his weight
class.

The Louisburg senior earned a
fourth-place medal at 220 pounds during the Class 4A Kansas State Wrestling
Championships last Saturday at the Tony’s Pizza Events Center in Salina. It was
his first high school state medal and it marked the end of a long journey for
Moore.

“It was pretty special for me to
get a state medal, especially because it has been a goal of mine ever since I
started wrestling,” Moore said. “Overall, I felt like I wrestled pretty well,
but I just wish I could’ve ended it on a win.”

Moore got out to a strong start in
the state tournament as he earned a spot in the semifinals. He opened tournament
action with a 30 second pin of Chanute’s Tuker Davis and then pulled out a 3-2
decision in overtime against Scott City’s Kyle Sherwood.

Unfortunately for Moore, he ran into eventual state champion Braden Morgan of El Dorado in the semifinals and was pinned.

Still, Moore was able to win
another match on the back side of the bracket with a 7-2 decision over Winfield’s
Zach Phillips and went up against Wellington’s Kenny Fehrman for third place.

Moore and Fehrman went into
overtime, but the Louisburg senior lost a 3-1 decision to give him the
fourth-place medal. The match was tied at 1-all in the third period, but Moore
couldn’t get the escape he needed to take the lead and Fehrman forced overtime,
where he was able to get a takedown.

Despite the loss, and shortened
season, Moore was happy with his year and he was able to accomplish his goal of
a state medal.

“It was definitely a quick season,
but I had a lot of fun with my teammates and coaches,” Moore said. “I wasn’t
even sure if I was going to be able to wrestle at all during most of the season
because of the injury, so at first I didn’t even know if it would be possible
for me to get a medal. I am very thankful that I got healed up and decided to wrestle
my senior year.

“I’m already missing it quite a
bit. It feels like I should have more matches left since I really only wrestled
half of the matches that most people usually do in one year. I was a little
disappointed with my last match, but I was also thankful that I even had the
opportunity to wrestle in the state tournament and earn a medal.”

Moore’s return to the team in late
January also helped the rest of the Wildcat squad as they geared up for their
stretch run.

“When you think about the fact that Austin missed nearly two-thirds of
the season because of the broken collarbone, he finished remarkably well,”
Louisburg coach Bobby Bovaird said. “He went out and wrestled with kids who had
30-plus matches this season, kids who have been to state before, and kids who
had been ranked throughout the season.

“Last season was a tough ending for him, losing a decision in the blood
round on a last-second takedown, and then there was the uncertainty for this
season. We missed having Austin in the practice room the first part of the
season, but once he got cleared, he never looked back and the team morale was
definitely boosted with his presence.”

Although Moore was the Wildcats’ lone medalist on the season, Louisburg
had two other wrestlers who were one win away from accomplishing that goal in
senior Blue Caplinger and sophomore Cade Holtzen.

Caplinger was on the verge on the earning a state medal on two different occasions, but in both instances, he was on the wrong end of a call in the final seconds of both matches.

The Louisburg 170-pounder began his state tournament with a 14-1 major
decision of Winfield’s Cole Finey and then met Smoky Valley’s Dax Hopp in the
quarterfinals.

Caplinger had a one point lead with less than five seconds left in the
match when the two wrestlers were scrambling and Hopp was able to get the
takedown as time expired. The lead official didn’t see the takedown and didn’t
award the points, but the second official went over after time was up and told
the lead official what he saw and gave Hopp the two points and the win in the
6-5 match.

Despite the disappointment, Caplinger (32-5) battled back to pin
Frontenac’s Storm Niegsch in 42 seconds and advanced to the blood round where
Caplinger met Prairie View’s Hunter Boone.

Caplinger, who had defeated Boone on a couple different occasions this
season, found himself in a close match with the Prairie View junior. The two
went into overtime, and Caplinger was able to get a takedown to take a 4-2
lead.

As time was running out in the third overtime, Boone was able to take
Caplinger down to the mat as time expired to tie the match again. Officials
confirmed with the table that time hadn’t expired and it went to an ultimate
tie-breaker.

Caplinger had to ride out Boone for 30 seconds to get the win, but
Boone was able to get the escape for the victory. The loss ended Caplinger’s
Wildcat career as he was trying for his first state medal.

“I think Blue’s state tournament is one that will stick with me the
rest of my career,” Bovaird said. “Anyone who knows Blue understands what a
great young man he is. Blue embodies so much about what wrestling is all
about. I wanted him to get that state medal so badly, and he came so close not
once, but twice. He’ll get over the pain of the loss, as will I. With these
sorts of setbacks, Blue has demonstrated that he’s gained the resilience to be
a champion in life.”

As for Holtzen, the Wildcat 113-pounder opened the tournament with a
pin of Augusta’s Collin Jackson and then met the state’s No. 1-ranked wrestler in
the quarterfinals in Abiliene’s William Stroda.

Holtzen and Stroda were in a low scoring match, but Stroda was able to
get a third-period escape and leave with a 1-0 decision.

That loss sent Holtzen (33-6) to the consolation side where he won a
4-2 decision over Russell’s Stephan Baldwin that sent him to the blood round.
It was there where he saw Rose Hill’s Kyle Sackett and lost a 4-0 decision that
dashed Holtzen’s hopes of earning his second consecutive state medal.

“That sophomore year is always tough when it follows such a successful
freshman season,” Bovaird said. “Cade made some huge strides this season with
his technique and his mindset approach to wrestling. Regardless of the
preparation and the focus we put on our wrestling mindset, there’s always going
to be that pressure in the back of the guys’ minds. It’s human nature to
remember past successes and for those things to be present.

“That’s the mark of a champion, to be able to overcome those voices of
doubt and questioning. And I think Cade did just that. He demonstrated it
throughout the season. He just fell in a tough part of the bracket.”

Freshman Brandon Doles (145 pounds) finished his first state tournament
with a 1-2 record after winning a regional title the week before, while senior
Gabe Bonham (138) and sophomore Ryan Owens (120) each finished the tournament
0-2.

“One of the toughest parts about coaching wrestling is when you have a
senior who has just wrestled his last match,” Bovaird said. “There’s not a lot you
can say to make it easier, and sometimes all you can do is pick him up and give
him a hug, let him know it’s going to be all right. Gabe wrestled phenomenally
for us this season, and he was a great addition to the program.

“Ryan and Brandon both had some great moments at state, and that’s
awesome experience for them down the road. Ryan overcame the fact that he’s
giving up so much weight and he still battled with some of the state’s
toughest. Brandon came out as a freshman in the middle weights — a weight
usually populated by seniors — and won a regional championship for us. At
state, he won a big match to make it to the second day.”

Senior Blue Caplinger is one of three state-ranked wrestlers from Louisburg High School that will compete in this weekend’s state tournament in Salina. The Wildcats qualified six wrestlers in all.

It has been a few years since
Louisburg has left the Class 4A state tournament with multiple state medals.

The Wildcats hope to reverse that
trend this weekend when their six qualifiers travel to the Kansas State
Wrestling Championships at Tony’s Pizza Events Center in Salina.

Louisburg features three state-ranked wrestlers going into this tournament with Austin Moore (No. 3, 220 pounds), Blue Caplinger (No. 4, 170) and Cade Holtzen (No. 6, 113). Added to that list is Brandon Doles, the 145-pound regional champion, and senior Gabe Bonham (138) and sophomore Ryan Owens (120) who qualified for state for the first time.

The road to a state medal won’t be easy for any of the six wrestlers, and Holtzen is the lone Wildcat to have earned a state medal in the past when he finished sixth last season.

“The way the
brackets were drawn and the regionals were matched up, it’ll be a tough road to
the finals for our guys,” Louisburg coach Bobby Bovaird said. “Every year, you
see crazy match-ups that happen before the state finals. Austin has the No. 1
ranked guy on his side of the bracket, so hopefully that will be our semifinals
match. If Cade wins his first match, he has the No. 1 wrestler in the
quarterfinals.

“Brandon is
getting a rematch with a Buhler kid who pinned him at Baldwin last month. Blue
has a tough quarterfinals match, but if he gets through that, he’s looking good
for a spot in the finals. Gabe and Ryan are both in great positions to win some
matches, too. You never know. It happens all the time that top-ranked kids get
upset early in the tournament. Kids who are ranked all year get beaten by
wrestlers who aren’t supposed to win. It’s all about the mindset and the
preparation.

“With all
we’ve done this season, I’m anxious to see the team’s hard work pay off,”
Bovaird continued. “They’ve bought in to the mentality we’ve been preaching this
season. Believe, compete, and do one more. These guys aren’t finished yet.
They’re already working hard at practice this week, getting ready to bring home
some hardware from state.”

Moore, who is currently 12-0 on the
season and won regionals last week, is among the favorites to earn a medal at
220 pounds but his path to the finals is a difficult one as he has the
defending state champion, Braden Morgan from El Dorado, in his half of the bracket.

He will open with Chanute’s Tucker Davis (17-25) in the first round, and if Moore were to advance, he will face the winner between Scott City’s Kyle Sherwood (30-8) and Santa Fe Trail’s Caleb Harmes (26-12).

Caplinger (30-3) also hopes to
bring home his first state medal as he earned a favorable first round matchup
after winning regionals last week. He will meet Winfield’s Cole Finey (5-14) in
the first round.

The Louisburg senior could have a
tough second round match-up at 170 pounds as he will meet the winner of Rose
Hill’s Grant Scheer (26-5) and Smoky Valley’s Dax Hopp (36-8). Scheer is
currently the No. 2-ranked wrestler in 4A.

At 113 pounds, Holtzen (31-4) is
ready to bring home another state medal as he will meet Augusta’s Collin
Jackson (20-12) in the first round. If he should advance, he will meet the
winner of Abilene’s William Stroda (39-3) and Towanda Circle’s Wyatt Wright
(32-12) in the quarterfinals. Stroda is currently the No. 1-ranked wrestler at
113 pounds.

Doles (28-9) will take part in his
first high school state tournament as the Louisburg freshman will square off
with Buhler’s Nick Elliott (34-8), while Doles lost to earlier in the season at
Baldwin. He will then meet the winner/loser of the other match between Chanute’s
Brady McDonald (33-11) and Abilene’s Austin Wuthnow (21-23).

After finishing third last week at
regionals at 138 pounds, Bonham (18-9) will meet Chanute’s Parker Winder (42-6)
in the first round and will face the winner/lose between Scott City’s Kaden
Wren (34-3) and Abilene’s Jackson Randles (24-14).

Owens (28-12), a sophomore, will
have a tough first round match as he will face Santa Fe Trail’s Christian Rowe
(39-3) in the first round. He would then meet the winner/loser between Winfield’s
Chris Ray (23-13) and Pratt’s Koda Dipman (32-9) in the next round.

Wrestling begins at 10 a.m., on Friday at the Tony’s Pizza Events Center and will wrestle through the semifinal round and one round of consolation. The rest of the consolation rounds and the finals will be held Saturday. All that action begins at 9 a.m.

To view all the state brackets and to follow along with all the action from the weekend, make sure to click here.

Louisburg senior Austin Moore works for a pin of Perry’s Hayden Robb during the 220-pound regional title match Saturday in Paola. Moore, along with teammates Blue Caplinger and Brandon Doles, won regional crowns.

PAOLA – It wasn’t easy, and nor is
it supposed to be, but the Louisburg wrestling team made it look that way at
times during Saturday’s Class 4A regional tournament at Paola High School.

The Wildcats qualified six
wrestlers for state, had three regional champions and took third place in the
team standings – all while not being able to field a full team.

Louisburg’s talent was certainly
on full display during the two-day tournament in Paola. Brandon Doles, Blue
Caplinger and Austin Moore won regional crowns, Cade Holtzen was a regional
runner-up, while Gabe Bonham and Ryan Owens also qualified for state by placing
third and fourth, respectively.

As a team, the Wildcats ended up
with 138.5 points and was just 2.5 points out of second place. Ottawa won the
regional with 149.5 points and Eudora was second at 141. It was the highest regional
team finish for Louisburg since 1998.

“The way these guys wrestled this weekend shows that the program has
been doing so many things right this season,” Louisburg coach Bobby Bovaird
said. “We’ve had the obstacle of low numbers, which hurt us in our duals, but
when it comes to tournament time, we have a bunch of guys who are placing high
and that gives us a lot of team points. Taking six to state feels pretty
encouraging, and finishing third at regionals is an awesome statement for this
team.

“If a few things had gone the other way, we would have been in second
as a team. On paper, we weren’t supposed to be in the race for a regional
plaque. Almost all of our guys stepped up and scored huge team points for us.”

Moore was certainly one of those
wrestlers for Louisburg as he recovered from a broken collarbone before the
season started and eventually turned that into a regional title at 220 pounds
and a 12-0 record.

The Louisburg senior advanced to
the championship with a 7-2 decision over Anderson County’s Dallas Higginbotham
in the semifinals and then responded with a second period pin of Perry-Lecompton’s
Hayden Robb in the finals.

Moore did have to come from behind against Robb as he found himself down 2-0 in the second period, but got a little extra motivation to help get the job done.

“I knew after I gave up that takedown, I had to come back, stay smart and try not to get all the points back at once,” he said. “I tried to circle a little bit better and not get too heavy on my toes. He kind of egged me on a little bit and I was able to put him on his back. Once I got on him on his back, I didn’t want to let him up.

“I am really happy to win
regionals because when I broke my collarbone, I didn’t even know if I was going
to be able to wrestle or not. I’m just excited because this is the first time I
have won regionals and I know this will help me a lot out at state and put me
in a good place in the brackets.”

Caplinger marched through his
170-pound bracket much of the same way. He pinned his way to the finals, including
a third period pin of Prairie View’s Hunter Boone in the semis.

In the championship match,
Caplinger squared off Piper’s Branden Martin, and after getting a close win
against Martin earlier in the year, Caplinger controlled the match from the
start and won by an 8-3 decision.

“Last year I got fourth at
regionals, and this year there was a lot of pressure coming in with the No. 1
seed, but I was able to come in and do what I needed to get the job done,”
Caplinger said. “I am just happy going into state and we will see how
everything plays out.

“I feel I did pretty well. I could
have done better, honestly. I had some matches where I got a little too tired,
but just coming off a concussion that is to be expected.”

As a freshman, Doles had the
regional debut he had hoped for as he went out and won the 145-pound title to
secure his first trip to the state tournament.

On Friday, Doles started out with
a 2-0 decision over Prairie View’s Damien Kline and then followed that up with a
tough 4-2 decision over Eudora’s Holden Andrews in the semifinals to cement his
state bid.

In the finals on Saturday, Doles
squared off with Fort Scott’s Jon Daniels and controlled the match for an 8-4
decision.

“It is crazy,” Doles said of
getting a regional title. “I didn’t think I was going to do that well this year
since I was a freshman and cutting some weight that I did. I wasn’t sure how
strong I was going to be. I just did a lot of work in practice to get to where
I am right now.

“After the first period in the
finals match I was a little gassed, but I had to stay with it. I just started
shooting in on him, would get the shot and work through that and kept him on
that mat.”

Holtzen also earned a spot in the
regional championship at 113 pounds. The returning Wildcat state medalist
advanced to the finals with a tough 11-7 decision over Prairie View’s Bodi
Isenhower.

That set up a rematch between
Holtzen and Osawatomie’s Chance Mitzner, the No. 2-ranked wrestler in the
state, as they both squared off earlier in the year in Baldwin, with Mitzner
winning in overtime.

Mitzner also took round two on
Saturday when he downed Holtzen in an 11-2 major decision in the finals.

“I really wasn’t wrestling my
match in the first period,” Holtzen said. “I was kind of tense and not taking
shots. I think I just got off my game plan and he got his game plan going and
it went his way from there.

“It is still a pretty good feeling
to be able to go back again. Hopefully I can place a little higher than I did
last year, but it is a pretty awesome feeling.”

Bonham put a nice stamp on his
senior season as he qualified for state for the first time. The Louisburg
138-pounder finished the tournament with four pins and his only loss came in
the semifinals on a 6-3 decision to Perry-Lecompton’s Thad Metcalfe.

He bounced back from that loss
nicely with a pin of Paola’ Caden Marcum in the consolation semifinal to
qualify for state. Bonham then recorded a first period pin of Fort Scott’s
Silas Taylor in the third-place match.

“It means a lot to be able to
qualify for state,” Bonham said. “It has been a long time coming. I should have
probably qualified a couple other times, but I was in my head too much. This
time, I just went out and wrestled my match.

“I am really proud of all the
guys. We have all busted our butts in practice and we get overlooked a lot in
duals and tournaments. To be able to take third with only 11 guys is
impressive.”

Owens, a sophomore who is in his
first year as a full-time varsity wrestler, moved up to 120 pounds to start the
season and hasn’t looked back as he also qualified for state for the first
time.

He opened the tournament with a
5-3 decision over Baldwin’s Lucas Hopper before getting pinned by Anderson
County’s Ryland Wright in the semifinals.

Owens bounced back Saturday with a
10-6 decision over Eudora’s Larry Gulley in the consolation semifinals, before falling
to Atchison’s Jake Rebant in the third-place match.

“It feels really good because I
wasn’t expecting to be where I am at right now, bumping up to 120,” Owens said.
“I have learned how to handle to kids who are taller and bigger than me and I
feel it has improved how I work in practice. I have to work harder to beat good
kids.”

Sophomore Ben Wiedenmann finished one win shy of a state berth at 182 pounds. Wiedenmann met Paola’s Mikey Stribling in the consolation semifinals, but couldn’t get the one last win he needed in a 9-1 loss to Stribling. Wiedenmann finished his day with a 3-2 record.

Senior Brian Houck saw his Wildcat career come to a close with a 1-2 record at 195 pounds and sophomore Jacob Briley was also 1-2 at 160 pounds. Freshman Nathan Hamilton was 0-3 at 132 pounds.

Louisburg will try for state
medals this weekend when it travels to Salina for the Class 4A Kansas State
Wrestling Championships. Friday’s opening action begins at 10 a.m. with matches
continuing into Saturday.