Tonganoxie High wrestling finishes 14th at Baldwin invite

By Shawn Linenberger - | Feb 5, 2015

Justin Nutter

Former Tonganoxie High wrestling standout Ross Starcher has taken the reins of the Chieftain program after spending the last six years as an assistant coach.

The Baldwin Invitational Tournament was a bit of an experiment for the Tonganoxie High wrestling team.

Some wrestlers competed at new weights as the team looked to compete against a solid field.

In the process, the Chieftains lost one wrestler for the year.

Sophomore Trevor Burns wrestled at 120 in his first varsity tournament, but suffered a season-ending injury during the competition. He dislocated his elbow at the Baldwin meet.

It’s another case of the injury bug biting the team, senior Asher Huseman, who placed second at state last year, has been out since before the Holton Invitational last weekend with a knee injury. THS coach Ross Starcher said Huseman would learn in the coming days the prognosis on his knee and whether he can continue with the season.

THS finished 14th out of 17 teams at the Baldwin Invitational. Abilene won the tournament with 215.5 points, while Baldwin placed second with 185 and Smoky Valley third at 141.5. Basehor-Linwood placed sixth.

“Young guys were stepping into varsity for the first time,” Starcher said, noting that his veterans wrestled well.

Patterson Starcher, in the 113-pound division, had Tonganoxie’s highest individual finish, as did Dalton Tavis at 145.

Starcher placed third after defeating Eudora’s Elijah Kenedy, 8-5. The THS freshman improved to 27-9 with the victory.

Tavis (19-6) defeated Royal Valley’s Noah Hart (25-6) by a 12-10 decision.

Gad Huseman placed fourth at 126 after losing, 3-0, to Abilene senior Zane Balugh, who improved to 26-3. Huseman now is 23-9.

Also placing were Aidan McClellan (seventh) at 106 and Garrett Martin (eighth) at 138. McClellan now is 13-12 as a freshman, while Martin is 22-14 in his senior campaign.

Tonganoxie competes at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Bonner Springs in a dual against the state-ranked Braves. The team has a weekend off before hosting the Kaw Valley League tournament on Valentine’s Day in the THS gymnasium. The team then will compete Feb. 20 and 21 at regionals and then state Feb. 27 and 28.

“They all are pretty tough here on out,” Ross Starcher said about the remaining competitions.

TEAM RESULTS

Abilene, 215.5; 2. Baldwin, 185; 3. Smoky Valley, 141.5; 4. Wamego, 132.5; 5. Santa Fe Trail, 128; 6. Basehor-Linwood, 127.5; 7. Holton, 126; 8. Goodland, 121; 9. Spring Hill, 112.5; 10. Louisburg, 110; 11. Prairie View, 83; 12. De Soto, 81.5; 13. Osawatomie, 79; 14. Tonganoxie, 75; 15. Rock Creek, 58.5; 16. Eudora, 39; 17. Royal Valley, 28.

: Former Tonganoxie High wrestling standout Ross Starcher has taken the reins of the Chieftain program after spending the last six years as an assistant coach.