Rank and smile: No. 1 rated Tonganoxie High boys wrestling wins Baldwin Invitational
Tonganoxie High boys wrestling team members celebrate a monumental championship Saturday at the Baldwin Invitational. THS, ranked No. 1 in Class 4A, won its first BIT title in a decade and possibly first ever.
The Tonganoxie High boys wrestling team came into the 21st annual Baldwin Invitational with its newly bestowed No. 1 ranking in Class 4A.
The Chieftains left with what may have been the their first title in program history at the longtime tournament.
THS placed first with 252 points, while Holton, ranked No. 5 in 4A, finished second with 173.5. Goodland, ranked No. 10 in 4A, tied for fifth with Buhler with 122.5 points. Fellow Frontier League teams Ottawa (173.5) and Baldwin (136) also finished among the leaders in third and fourth, respectively.
Tonganoxie won the invitational on the heels of four first-place finishes and two third-place finishes.
Braeden Moore (25-4) won the 126-pound division crown, while Noah Bailey (22-8) won at 132, Grayson Sonntag (29-1) at 138 and Tyler Pankey (18-4) at 170.
Colton Brusven (27-8) placed third at 160 and Hunter Benedict (16-10) third at 220.
Jordan Bauswell (12-17) took fourth at 106, as did Wyatt Harris (11-7) at 195 and Cooper Jones (13-12) at 285.
Connor Bruch (19-14) took fifth at 152, while Connor Cole (2-3) placed sixth at 220. Pressley Herrig (7-16) seventh at 113, while Grant Kelly (13-11) also took seventh at 145.
Tonganoxie won a team title for the second time this season. THS also won its home invitational, the Randy Starcher Memorial Invitational, on Dec. 18.
Thought a complete history of the Baldwin Invitational wasn’t available, records dating back to 2010 showed that this was THS’ first team title in that span. The Chieftains took third in 2020 and 2012 and second in 2018 and 2013.
Next up for Tonganoxie is the Frontier League meet in a week. The meet starts at 3 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 9 at Eudora. It will be the final tune-up before the postseason, as regionals are Feb. 18 and 19 at Paola.
Girls wrestling team finishes 20th at Washburn Rural
Tonganoxie High girls wrestling competed Saturday at the Washburn Rural Invitational.
THS placed 20th out of 30 teams.
The Chieftains recorded three first-place finishes, as Abigail Starcher (4-17) went 2-0 at 109B, Kendall Smart (6-13) 3-0 at 170B and Grace Stean (9-13) at 170C.
Madison Daniels (10-7) placed sixth in the 101 championship bracket after going 3-2, while Taylor Lux (17-7) finished fifth in the 109 championship bracket after going 3-1. Another top finisher was Ana Tochtrop (4-13), who placed fourth at 191B after going 2-2.
Washburn Rural won its own meet with 37 wrestlers scoring 293 points.
Next up, weather permitting, is the Frontier League Meet at 4:30 p.m. today at Eudora.
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- Tonganoxie High boys wrestling team members celebrate a monumental championship Saturday at the Baldwin Invitational. THS, ranked No. 1 in Class 4A, won its first BIT title in a decade and possibly first ever.