THS boys wrestling won this year’s Randy Starcher Memorial Invitational on Saturday with 251.5 points.

The Chieftains finished ahead of second-place Clay Center. The Tigers had 225 points.

Savannah (Mo.) finished third with 176 and Louisburg fourth with 174.5.

It was a tight race in the middle as 3 points separated four teams. Independence placed fifth with 173.5 and Frontenac sixth with 173.

Lansing placed seventh with 125.5, while Eudora was eighth with 104.5. JC Harmon took ninth (56), Highland Park 10th (19) and Kansas City East 11th (12).

Shawn F. Linenberger

Tonganoxie won the tournament thanks in part to three first-place finishes and two second-place finishes and four third-place finishes.

Brady Martin (12-2) won gold at 144, as did Noah Bailey at 150 (11-1). Hunter Benedict (8-2) snagged Tonganoxie’s third gold with a 3-1 decision against Lansing’s Caden Baragaray at 215.

It was a big moment in front of the home crowd when Benedict got the victory, as he handed Baragary his first loss of the season.

Brodie Starcher (4-5) placed second at 106. Undefeated Mason Gibbons of Independence (11-0) pinned early in the third period (4:37).

Jordan Bauswell (5-6) placed fourth at 113, while Clayton Crookham (7-5) nabbed third at 120 with a pin at the 5:39 mark against JC Harmon’s Raymond Ladd (10-4).

Dax Duett (3-2) also won bronze at 126. Teammate Owen Leffert (5-11) placed sixth at 126.

Payton Coleman (2-9) placed sixth at 132, as did Grant Kelly at 138 (5-7).

Brady Martin handed Lansing’s Justin Shields his first loss of the season (15-1) with 14-2 major decision at 144. Todd Brown also placed ninth at that weight class.

At 150, Bailey won by fall (2:40) against teammate Tommy Messersmith (13-2) in the championship.

Jack Messersmith (6-7) placed fifth at 157 after pinning Frontenac’s McCoy Jones (5-8) late in the first period (1:51).

At 165, Colton Brusven (7-2) won bronze.

Rocco Gehring nabbed silver at 190. The senior is now 9-3 on the season. He was pinned in the championship by Savannah sophomore Cooper Burnsides (11-2).

As was mentioned previously, Benedict won the 215 finals.

And at 285, Tonganoxie’s Gavin Rhoads (7-4) placed third.

The THS boys team is off until Jan. 6 when the squad heads south to suburban Tulsa, Okla., for a two-day tournament at Jenks High School.

Tonganoxie was ranked No. 5 in Class 4A in the latest Kansas Wrestling Coaches Association poll. Andale is No. 1, Augusta No. 2, Paola No. 3 and Rose Hill no. 4.

The rest of the Top 10 after Tonganoxie is No. 6 Clay Center, No. 7 Chanute, No. 8 Concordia, No. 9 Abilene and No. 10 Independence.

Individual THS wrestlers in the rankings are No. 1 Braeden Moore at 132, No. 3 Noah Bailey at 150, No. 6 Brady Martin at 144, No. 4 Colton Brusven at 165, No. 5 Wyatt Harris at 175 and No. 4 Hunter Benedict at 215.

Moore also is ranked No. 1 overall for all classes at 132. Brady Martin is No. 9 overall at 144, Noah Bailey No. 4 at 150 and Colton Brusven No. 5 at 165.