Wrestling

Royal Valley's Marshall Stewart (shown above, top) works on pinning his opponent to the mat in one of the team's home duals last Thursday. Stewart and the RVHS wrestlers had a lot of success on the night, sweeping their home quad with Pleasant Ridge, Atchison and Perry-Lecompton.

Panther wrestlers roll at home to start competition in 2016

Starting competition in 2016, the Royal Valley wrestling team had a clear-cut goal. After starting the season strong, coach Jason Puderbaugh noted he didn’t want his team to let up and it seemed the Panthers took that message to heart in a trio of duals in Hoyt on Thursday night. “I thought our...

Wildcat Lawson Henry (shown above, at right) grapples with an opponent from Tonganoxie during a dual earlier this season. Henry is one of several young wrestlers who keep coming along for the HHS wrestling team this winter.

Young Wildcat wrestlers continue to progress through busy early schedule

The young Wildcat wrestlers have been busy on the mat and had their third stand-alone dual of the season last Thursday, making the trip north to take on Big Seven League foe Sabetha. It was a tightly contested match-up between the last two league champions, but the Blue Jays came out slightly...

HHS wrestler Ethan Brownell (shown above, at left) tries to reverse out of a pin attempt by teammate Damon Ruckman as the young Wildcats fine-tuned their technique during the team camp held recently. Brownell and Ruckman are part of a young class that could be crucial to Holton’s success next winter after the departure of another strong group of senior wrestlers.

Offseason work paying dividends for Holton wrestlers once again

While it would be easy for a team with as much recent success as the Holton High School wrestling squad to rest on its laurels, the Wildcats have done anything but that the past few summers. After earning trophies (two firsts and a third in 2015) at the Class 4A state tournament the past three...

Royal Valley High School's Karsen Smith (shown above, left) and Washburn Rural High School's Dominic Holthaus (right) hit the mat during practice at the fourth-annual Royal Valley Medalist Wrestling Camp.

Royal Valley wrestlers benefit from team camp experiences

Even when things are supposed to be more laid back, the Royal Valley wrestling team can’t seem to catch a break. After dealing with their fair share of injuries this past winter, the Panthers saw three more varsity wrestlers (Blake Garrison, Noah Hart and Zack Lux) sidelined through the offseason...

HHS senior Lucas Lovvorn (shown above, at left) looks for his shot in the 4A 160-lb. championship match. Lovvorn went on to win by 12-5 decision over Chanute's Brady Vogel to claim his second straight individual state title.

Holton wrestlers claim third straight state trophy

While a third straight team championship might not have been in the cards for the Holton wrestling team at the 4A state tournament in Salina over the weekend, what the Holton wrestlers did on Friday and Saturday may have been equally as impressive. For the third straight year, the Wildcats...

4A 160-lb. state title match (Lovvorn vs. Vogel)

4A state wrestling highlights 2015

Holton senior Lucas Lovvorn (shown above, on top) works on pinning his opponent in regional competition last weekend. After a dominant showing in Baldwin, Lovvorn is eyeing a second straight individual state title in Salina this weekend.

Wrestling runs deep in Lovvorn's blood

Champions aren’t born, they’re made, though when it comes to Holton High School senior wrestler Lucas Lovvorn, the son of Mike and Kim Lovvorn of Holton, the case could be made for both schools of thought. Already a 15-year veteran of the sport, Lovvorn seemingly had little choice whether he...

Royal Valley's Jacob Box (shown above, back left) works to get his opponent from ACCHS pinned to the mat late in the match in recent dual competition. Box and the rest of the Panthers have continued to compile some positive results, despite the roster taking hit after hit over the course of the season.

RV wrestlers continue to roll with the punches

If a team’s size is proportionately linked to its chances of success in the postseason, than the Royal Valley wrestling team is smack dab in the middle of the fast lane on the way to being an underdog by the time the regional and state tournaments roll around. The Panthers were probably well on...

Wildcat Spencer Baum (shown above, back) cradles his opponent in an early round at the Sadowski Invitational tournament this past Saturday in an attempt to get a pin. Baum was one of seven Holton wrestlers to make the finals, helping the team to a second-place finish overall.

HHS wrestlers have big day at home tournament, despite small numbers

In the middle of the long high school wrestling season, teams are sure to deal with some bumps and bruises that will lead to personnel hiccups at different times. Holton is not immune, as the Wildcat wrestlers are currently dealing with some illness and injury that limited the team to entering...