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First-ever wrestling league takes off at THS

By Eric Sorrentino - | Jun 6, 2007

The high school wrestling season doesn’t begin until November, but to Jeremy Goebel, grappling on the mats in June has tremendous upside.

“If you look statewide at some of the kids who are having outstanding prep careers, it’s due to their summer wrestling habits,” the Tonganoxie High wrestling coach said. “It’s tough to be competitive and only wrestle three months out of the year.”

In an attempt to make wrestling more of a year-around sport in Tonganoxie, Goebel started the Unlimited Fitness Wrestling League.

The league will meet at 6 p.m. every Thursday in June in the wrestling room at Tonganoxie High School. Each session will last approximately two to three hours, depending on the length of the matches.

The cost to participate in the league is $29.

“We’re just going to wrestle live matches,” Goebel said. “It’s like a tournament every week, except you don’t get a medal at the end.”

Goebel will split wrestlers into teams of five, as chosen by the wrestlers, who will range from incoming freshman to seniors. No down-and-backs or endless running drills — just wrestling.

Typical wrestling rules will apply: a pin is worth six points, defeating an opponent by at least 15 points is worth five, defeating an opponent by at least eight points is worth four, and winning by eight points or fewer is worth three.

The team with the most points at the end of the four months will win a shirt that reads “Champion.”

“It’s just a way to get kids in there wrestling,” Goebel said. “I hope it continues to grow. My goal is to get all my high school kids in there.”

The Chieftains had three wrestlers advance to the Class 4A state tournament this past winter: seniors Wyatt Coffin and Cameron Adcox, and junior Matt Brock.

Summer extra

Tonganoxie boys basketball coach David Walker is running a camp through Friday for high school freshmen through seniors. The camp, which runs from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. at THS, started Tuesday. Anyone is admitted.

Girls basketball coach Randy Kraft will conduct a camp for high school freshmen through seniors June 11-14. The cost is $20. The camp will be from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

There’s also a free summer conditioning and weights program at THS for any athlete interested. Members of the girls basketball team, volleyball team and cheerleading squad have been showing up to the sessions, which take place every Monday, Wednesday and Friday throughout the summer. The first session lasts from 7:30 a.m. to 8:45 a.m., while the second session lasts from 8:30 a.m. to 9:45 a.m.

Volleyball coach Tiffany Parker will conduct a volleyball camp July 23-27 at THS. The camp, which will run from 9 a.m. to noon, then 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., will work on fundamentals and simulate in-game situations. The cost is $35 per participant.