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| LHS qualifies three for state |
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| Sports - Louisburg | |||
| Written by Andy Brown | |||
| Wednesday, 25 February 2009 09:00 | |||
Bryce Hood pinned Paola’s Mitch Mosley in just more than a minute during the Class 4A regional finals and cemented his place in the state wrestling tournament for the second straight year. He made it look easy — torn meniscus and all.The road to a regional title was a pretty smooth one for the Louisburg junior Friday and Saturday in Spring Hill, but he almost didn’t get to make the trip. Two weeks ago, Hood tore his meniscus during the team’s final regular season tournament and had to miss the Frontier League Tournament. The Wildcat coaches didn’t even know if he would wrestle until the Wednesday before regionals. Even with the injury, Hood made things look easy in the 135-pound bracket with the 3-0 record. “I felt I wrestled pretty good,” Bryce said. “(Friday) I was a little iffy, and I should have wrestled better in the semis, but other than that it was a good weekend. “Actually I felt pretty good, but I only practiced twice last week and I didn’t practice at all the week before. But I think this week I am going to be ready to go. When I am wrestling, it doesn’t bother me, but afterwards it does a little bit and I just ice it up and it is ready to go again.” Louisburg made its presence known all weekend as Michael Kircher and Austin Hood will join Bryce this weekend at the state tourney in Salina. Kircher advanced to the regional finals before falling and Austin finished third overall. Two years ago, the Wildcats failed to qualify a single wrestler. Last season, they sent two to the state tournament, so the three this season was a big boost to the program and for coach Greg Darrington. “I thought those three guys wrestled to their potential,” Darrington said. “I thought Austin should have been in the finals, but he finished where he had to finish. He is at the state tournament and he can still make his goal. Bryce came in hurt and took care of business.  “For Michael to get to the championship match and wrestle hard, I was proud of him. He did a good job. He has done a good job this year, but he finally lived up to his potential.”Kircher picked the best time to wrestle his best matches of the season, especially during Friday’s action at 140 pounds. Kircher opened with a 27-12 technical fall of Piper’s Phillip Lewis and followed that up with a tough 3-2 decision over Basehor-Linwood’s Garret Kahle in the quarterfinals. The Louisburg senior then ousted top-seed Dakota Hunke of Osawatomie in a 6-4 decision in the semifinals. Although Kircher lost to Prairie View’s Ty Page in a 4-2 decision in the regional final Saturday, the smile never left his face. “It was real tough,” Kircher said of Friday’s matches. “Those kids were really good. They were tough kids, and I just wanted to go to state in my last year, and I think that is what got me through those matches. I am really excited. I wrestled the best I have all year on Friday, and it was just a drive for me to get to the finals.” Austin was on a path for a regional title as a freshman before he was derailed in the semifinals. The 103-pounder defeated Prairie View’s Jace Roy in an 8-5 decision in the quarterfinals but fell to Spring Hill’s Michael Nemer in a close 3-2 decision in the semifinals. His season was far from over, however. Austin rallied to pin St. James’ Nick Mancuso in the consolation semifinals and defeated Baldwin’s Andrew Morgan 8-3 in the third place match. “I am just really excited about going to state,” Austin said. “I am just a freshman, and I have a pretty good chance at doing well up there. A lot of people expect me to go up there and win state, so I have to be ready.”  The Wildcats had a chance to qualify more but went through a tough stretch in the consolation quarterfinals. Mason Whaley (160), Derek Symes (171) and Tyler Ewy (285) lost close matches Saturday that ended their season.Whaley and Symes were both pinned after building good leads, while Ewy lost a tough match in triple overtime. “That 20 minutes definitely hurt, and it took the wind out of some our sails,” Darrington said. “Tyler is young, and he will learn from this. He knows nothing is a given and Mason knows that as well. I think Derek got the shaft a little bit and had his kid pinned but the referee didn’t really see it that way and he let one slip away. But they all have positive futures ahead of them.” The focus now is on the state tournament. Brackets were released early Sunday morning, and each wrestler has a tough path to a state medal. Bryce, who placed third last year, has two undefeated wrestlers in his bracket, including a two-time state champion in Columbus’s C.J. Napier. Bryce (32-2) opens up with El Dorado’s Seth Hadley (15-7) and hopes it will be a start of something special. “I know I can make it to the finals,” Bryce said. “But I just really have to turn my game on and wrestle the best I have all year so I can do well.” Kircher (20-14) will open against Augusta’s Cain McEwen (29-10) Friday, while Austin (29-4) drew Russell’s Jacob Boxberger (25-9) in the first round.
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