THS had its highest team finish in program history and got its first plaque with a third-place finish at state.

The Chieftains will have to replace some state placers in Branden martin, who won silver in the 195-pound division and Derek Duffett, who won bronze at 145.

But Tongnaoixe also returns Grayson Sonntag, whose back for his senior year after placing third a year ago at 126. He also won state as a sophomore and took bronze for the first time his freshman year. And then there’s fellow senior Gabe Bailey, who won silver last season in Salina. Braeden Moore is back for his sophomore year after taking bronze as a freshman at 113.

“We’re hitting the ground running with expectations for doing well,” THS coach Brett Delich said. “Each day we do a little bit better. They’re going to do that and I think we’ll see great results when February comes around.

“We are returning a big group of that core from last season. They’re still fairly young and we had some guys sitting behind some of those key guys last year who now are ready and eager to fill those spots.”

Noah Bailey also returns this year as a state qualifier. The sophomore had two hard-fought matches at state as a freshman, but lost both.

Delich also beefed up the schedule this season by adding a few new tournaments. The team will be in Jenks, Okla., for a meet Jan. 7 and 8 and on Jan. 21 and 22 will be in Ida Grove, Iowa, for another tourney.

“We’ll see some of the best kids in the Midwest,” Delich explained.

Tonganoxie also has a big meet this Saturday at Gardner-Edgerton, which the THS coach said also is one of the tougher meets in the region. That meet has brought in teams from Oklahoma, Kentucky and Iowa through the years.

“This year we built the schedule to have these boys ready for the state tournament,” Delich said. “They will be tested. They will be sharp. They will be ready to go.”

The season starts today at Bonner Springs with a dual at 5:30 p.m.

Saturday’s meet at GEHS begins at 9 a.m. in Gardner.

GIRLS TEAM TO COMPETE IN MORE MEETS THIS YEAR

Tonganoxie High girls wrestling is nine members strong this year and again will be feature a returning state medalist.

Junior Holly Colvert in the 191-pound division is back for the Chieftains after placing second a year ago at state. She also placed fourth as a freshman, becoming the school’s first state medalist in girls wrestling in 2020.

That marked the first year of girls wrestling as a varsity sport.

THS coach Brett Delich has five wrestlers returning and three freshmen out for the sport for the first time.

“They’re progressing well and starting to get into the groove,” Delich said. “They’re understanding what to do. I think we’ll have a great season.

Taylor Lux is the team’s lone senior in the 115-pound division. Lux nearly reached state a year ago.

Others on the roster are junior Madsion Daniels (101), freshman Abagail Starcher (109), sophomore Sydney Shephard (143), freshmen Grace Stean and Kendall Smart (170) and Anna Trochtop (191).

A plus this year will be the team having a full schedule. Delich noted that the team will wrestle every Saturday, which wasn’t always the case the past two seasons.

“It will be great for them understanding how a tournament goes and just the number of matches they get to wrestle,” he said. “It will be huge for them.”

THS opens the season at 5:30 p.m. today at Bonner Springs. The girls also have their first tournament Saturday at Spring Hill. It starts at 10 a.m.