Louisburg makes strides at home invitational

Written by Andy Brown

Wednesday, 14 January 2009 08:00

Coming into the season, Greg Darrington wasn’t sure where to start in rebuilding the Louisburg wrestling program.

Freshman Austin Hood locks arms with an opponent that left an Olathe Northwest wrestler with nowhere to go. Hood eventually pinned the Raven grappler and finished the day 4-0 at 103 pounds. Hood and the Wildcats finished sixth in the dual tournament. (Photo by Andy Brown)

Freshman Austin Hood locks arms with an opponent that left an Olathe Northwest wrestler with nowhere to go. Hood eventually pinned the Raven grappler and finished the day 4-0 at 103 pounds. Hood and the Wildcats finished sixth in the dual tournament. (Photo by Andy Brown)

The Wildcats had seen their fair share of coaches, and the program has lacked stability in recent years. However, after Saturday’s Louisburg Invitational was over, Darrington finally found the cornerstones of his team.

Junior Bryce Hood, sophomore Tyler Ewy and freshman Austin Hood showed the foundation is starting to come together for Louisburg. The Hood brothers each went 4-0 on the day and Ewy finished with a 3-1 mark to help the Wildcats to a sixth-place finish in the dual tournament.

“I was very pleased with the Hoods and Ewy,” Darrington said. “We expect them to win, and they keep going out there and doing just that. They are becoming the anchors of our team.”

Although sixth place doesn’t sound that impressive, it is if you consider the competition.

The 12-team tournament featured Class 5A teams Lansing and Gardner-Edgerton, which are both state-ranked, along with Blue Valley Northwest, a power in Class 6A. Even those schools didn’t win the top honor.

That honor went to Platte County (Mo.), which edged Lansing in the championship dual, 42-39.

“The sixth-place finish was good for the team,” Darrington said. “We are very young, and when you look at the top five teams, you realize how well we did. We did beat a couple of good teams, and I am very pleased with that. As a team, we really need to get more confidence and learn to win the close matches against the tougher opponents.”

Louisburg opened tournament action with a 44-29 victory over Olathe Northwest and then faced a tough Blue Valley Northwest team. The Wildcats fell 51-25 but rebounded for a 39-34 victory over Tonganoxie.

Down by four points with two matches remaining, the Wildcats got a big lift from 215-pounder Brock Elliott to cut the lead to one before Ewy pinned his opponent in less than 30 seconds.

Louisburg’s Michael Kircher tries to lift a Tonganoxie wrestler during Saturday’s Louisburg Invitational. Kircher and the Wildcats took sixth overall. (Photo by Andy Brown)

Louisburg’s Michael Kircher tries to lift a Tonganoxie wrestler during Saturday’s Louisburg Invitational. Kircher and the Wildcats took sixth overall. (Photo by Andy Brown)

The Wildcats ended the tournament with a 52-28 loss to Frontier League foe Gardner.

“I believe we did a good job this weekend as a team,” Darrington said. “We wrestled very hard at times and showed some toughness.

“I saw a couple of kids that on the team mature a lot on Saturday. I am very excited about the second half. We do have a lot of wrestling things to work on, and I feel the kids will put the time in, and we will see dividends down the road. I still believe our goal to place in the top three at league can be accomplished.”

Jacob Herbert (125) provided Louisburg with a strong showing with a 2-2 record, as did Derek Mathia (145), Luke Hudgins (152), Derek Symes (171) and Elliott. However, it was senior Michael Kircher who had the toughest road.

Kircher, who went 1-3 at 140 pounds, went against two state-ranked opponents and more than held his own. Trevor LaPlant (119), Austin Caskey (130), Mason Whaley (160) and Alex Gentges (189) each won a match.

“Jacob had a good weekend. He wrestled hard in all his matches and showed me he is ready to wrestle at the varsity level,” Darrington said. “He does have a lot of work to do on his defense, but (assistant coach) Kellen (Baysinger) will have him ready by the league tournament.

“The two young guys, Trevor and Austin, showed me they have a lot of heart and wrestled very tough and never gave up. They both won a match and earned some very valuable mat time and team points. We could not have won the Tonganoxie dual without them. I was pleased with Michael as well. He wrestled two kids that are ranked in the top five in their class in Kansas. If he wrestles that hard the rest of the year, Michael will be tough to beat.”
The Wildcats have a week off before returning to action Jan. 24, when they compete at the Eureka Tournament.

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