Hood, Ewy dominate Tonganoxie tournament

Written by Andy Brown

Wednesday, 24 December 2008 08:00

Louisburg heavyweight Tyler Ewy pins an opponent during one of his matches Saturday at the Randy Starcher Memorial Invitational in Tonganoxie. (Photo by Andy Brown)

TONGANOXIE — Illness and injury continue to plague the Louisburg wrestling team, but Saturday Austin Hood and Tyler Ewy were feeling just fine.

Hood and Ewy combined for a 9-0 record and each captured titles in their respective weight class at the Randy Starcher Memorial Wrestling Invitational in Tonganoxie. Hood won the crown at 103 pounds and Ewy won the heavyweight title.

However, Ewy and Hood weren’t the only Wildcats to experience success. Luke Hudgins (152) and Mason Whaley (160) each made it to the championship round, but fell in the final match.

In the process, the Wildcats recorded 209.5 points and finished fifth without veteran wrestlers Bryce Hood, Michael Kircher and Marcus Kasitz out with either illness or an injury. Tonganoxie won its own tournament with 296 points and Rock Port, Mo., took second with 258.5 points.

“I feel the kids we took did compete well and with numbers we had, fifth place was about what I expected,” Louisburg wrestling coach Greg Darrington said.

Austin Hood, a freshman, didn’t look like one for most of the day and finished with a 4-0 record. Hood pinned Tonganoxie’s Adam Thomas in the second period.

“Austin had a tough kid and had trouble taking him down in the first period,” Darrington said. “In the second period he hit a low single leg. Once he had him on the mat he worked him over pretty good.”

Louisburg freshman Austin Hood works his way to a pin during a match on Saturday at the Randy Starcher Memorial Invitational in Tonganoxie. (Photo by Andy Brown)

Louisburg freshman Austin Hood works his way to a pin during a match on Saturday at the Randy Starcher Memorial Invitational in Tonganoxie. (Photo by Andy Brown)

Ewy, on the other hand, put together an impressive performance after his fourth place finish at Eudora a week ago. Ewy rolled to a 5-0 mark and pinned Rock Port’s Devon Perry in the second period.

“Tyler grew up Saturday and wrestled well all day,” Darrington said. “He went into the tournament as the fourth seed and beat a couple of good heavyweights.”

Hudgins was on the cusp of giving the Wildcats another title and had the lead on Blue Valley West’s Alex Meyer going into the third period. But Hudgins gave up a reversal and back points late in the match.
Whaley had a hard time with Tonganoxie’s Jeremy Elliott in the title match at 160 pounds, but lost a 5-1 decision. Whaley and Hudgins both finished 3-1 on the day.

“I was very pleased with Whaley and Hudgins making it into the championship match as well,” Darrington said. “They both wrestled very aggressive all day. I felt they both wrestled well in the finals but made a couple of mistakes that can be corrected to become better wrestlers.”

Derek Symes (171) and Brock Elliott (215) both made it to the third-place match of their brackets, but both finished fourth. Symes went 1-4 on the day and fell to Blue Valley West’s Dylan Nofsinger, while Elliott went 2-2 on the day and lost to Piper’s Airen Maxwell.

Jacob Herbert (125) and Brett Herbert (135) each recorded a win and finished sixth overall.
As the Wildcats head into the holiday break, Darrington has gotten the chance to get a good look at his team together. Louisburg has had to wrestle with several open weight classes due to health problems and Darrington hopes his team can come together soon.

“I will be happy when we get all the wrestlers back and healthy,” he said. “I am a little disappointed with the overall commitment of the team as a whole. We have to fill some key weight classes to compete for the league title. We are making progress but need the kids to start thinking about the team and taking care of themselves outside of the wrestling room.”

The Wildcats return to action Jan. 8 when they travel to Prairie View for a double dual .
with Adrian and Butler, Mo. Louisburg hosts its annual wrestling tournament on Jan. 10 and matches are set to begin at 9 a.m.

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