Tonganoxie High boys wrestling wins Frontier League crown at Spring Hill; regionals Saturday at Chieftain Arena
Tonganoxie High boys wrestling is king of the Frontier League once again.
THS won the meet Wednesday at Spring Hill with 244.5 points.
Paola placed second with 225 and Spring Hill third with 183.
THS and Paola have been battling for league supremacy often in recent years.
The Chieftains won the conference crown in 2022, while the Panthers placed second. Last year, PHS won the league title, while THS placed second.
Tonganoxie won four individual titles at SHHS this year.
Freshman Tyler Chrisp (110), sophomore Dax Duffett (138), and seniors Braeden Moore (144) and Noah Bailey (150) all won individual titles. Tonganoxie also had five second-place finishes, two third-place finishes and a fourth- and fifth-place finish.
Chrisp (25-14) defeated Paola senior Bradyn Rockers (18-8) by major decision, 13-3, in the 110 title match.
Duffett (16-9) won by sudden victory, 6-4), against Bonner Springs senior Trenton Marquez (25-14) in the 138 title match.
Moore (28-5) breezed to his gold medal after defeating Bonner Springs sophomore Lane Vogel (32-10) by fall 28 seconds into the match, while Bailey (33-3) also won the 150 title bout by fall in the first period. He defeated Spring Hill junior Avery Bartek (32-8) with 17 seconds left in the first period (1:43).
Sophomore Jordan Bauswell (14-17) placed second at 120 after losing to Paola junior Kaiden Powell (29-6) by fall (1:17), while freshman Blake Riedel (18-13) lost by fall to Paola junior Hagen Blanck (25-1) in about the same time (1:17) in the 132 title match.
Sophomore Brady Martin (34-6) won silver at 165 after a losing a hard-fought title bout, 7-4, to Paola senior Clayton Younger (33-3), while senior Colton Brusven (20-5) lost, 5-2, to Baldwin senior Jack Harvey (28-1) at 190. Sophomore Gavin Rhoads )11-9) placed second at 285 after losing to Bonner Springs senior Symon Susuico (14-17) by fall (2:00) in the 285 title bout.
Placing third for the Chieftains at the Frontier League Meet were sophomore Clayton Crookham at 126 and junior Cael Dye at 175.
Crookham (23-12) defeated Spring Hill senior Ryan Paul (26-15) by an 11-7 decision in the 126 consolation final, while Dye (12-16) defeated Eudora senior Thomas Romero (11-11) by fall (4:18) in the 175 consolation final.
Others placing at league were sophomore Brodie Starcher at 113 and junior Emmett Crookham at 157. Starcher placed fourth after losing close match, 15-11, to Spring Hill freshman Brock Slimmer (29-7), while Emmett Crookham (14-17) placed fifth after defeating Baldwin sophomore Brayden Hirschmann (11-16) by fall (2:47).
Tonganoxie wrestlers now will turn their attention to the postseason. THS will host a 4A regional Feb. 17. The top four placers in each weight class will then advance to the state championships the next week at Tony’s Pizza Events Center in Salina.