Tonganoxie Junior High’s wrestling team squeaked past Louisburg, 46-42, and Baldwin, 55-47, before falling in another close match, 56-48 to Spring Hill.

“It was probably the funnest tournament I’ve been to at the junior high level because it was a dual and it wasn’t so much based on individuals,” TJHS coach Jeremy Goebel said. “And the kids were in the concept of how important it was to fight off your back because that allows us to stay close in the dual due to the point system.”

A pin is worth six points, but outscoring by points are worth three points or five, depending on the margin of victory.

“The key was for them to have fun and I think they had a blast and as a coach, I did,” Goebel said. “Those kids are so enthusiastic.”

Before Saturday’s competition, Tonganoxie had two home meets, including one last Wednesday against Patton and Warren middle schools from Leavenworth and Monticello Trails from Shawnee and Lexington Trails from De Soto.

Another home meet brought Oskaloosa, Holton, Lexington Trails and Monticello Trails.

TJHS also wrestled on the road earlier in the month at Perry against Pleasant Ridge, Lansing and Perry-Lecompton.

Before the Baldwin tournament, the Warriors individually had won 99 matches and lost 99 matches. In those 198 matches, the Warriors pinned 84 opponents. They also were pinned 53 times.

Bo Pursel is Tonganoxie’s top wrestler. He’s undefeated at 10-0 with nine pins. Through four meets, Caleb Himpel has put together an impressive record as well. He is 12-1 with 11 of those wins coming after pins.

Other top TJHS wrestlers include Matt Soetaert, who is 4-1 with two pins; Justin Soetaert at 3-4 with three pins and Jeff Sims at 6-1 with four pins.

Danielle Mann sports a 6-4 record with four pins, while Vinnie Angell is 8-3. All of those eight wins came via pins.

Jake Willis checks in with a 7-2 record with four pins, while Patrick Rachford is 8-2 with six pins. Tyler Newman sports a 9-2 record with six pins.

Ian McClellan is 8-3 with eight pins and Shane Starcher is 6-5 with five pins.

“These kids are full of energy and enthusiasm and they all absorb the knowledge pretty well,” Goebel said. “They’re eager to learn more, which makes it fun. It’s fun working with those kids and it’s fun to see when we have four practices to prepare for our first meet and how much they improve over time.”

Tonganoxie’s next competition will be Saturday at Lansing.

Here are Tonganoxie’s individual records. Pins are in parentheses.
Reed Bartels 0-10
Bo Pursel 10-0 (9)
Anthony Baker 3-4 (2)
Nick Meador 4-6 (3)
Matt Soetaert 4-1 (2)
Justin Soetaert 3-4 (3)
Jeff Sims 6-1 (4)
Joel Lewallen 0-1
Caleb Himpel 12-1 (11)
Danielle Mann 6-4 (5)
Michael Christiansen 0-5
Brett Bailes 4-4 (4)
Vinnie Angell 8-3 (8)
Derrick Wright 1-3 (1)
Jake Willis 7-2 (4)
Alvin Cox 2-7 (2)
Patrick Rachford 8-2 (6)
Tyler Newman 9-2 (6)
Tyler Hand 4-3 (4)
Ian McClellan 8-3 (8)
Tyler Gonser 7-5 (6)
Shane Starcher 6-5 (5)
Chance Hopkins 2-10 (1)
Matt Chisolm 2-8 (2)
Tucker Hollingsworth 3-1 (3)
Jonas Meyers 3-5 (1)
Hank Sommers 2-6
Gage Gardner 5-5 (3)
Heath Moore 7-7 (7)