Heartland Duals Recap This past weekend Kansas sent 3 high school teams (2 boys teams & 1 girls team) to Council Bluffs, Iowa to compete in the Heartland Duals tournament. The boy's teams placed 1st and 3rd & the women's team placed 2nd, losing to a tough Iowa team in their final dual of the day. Nine wrestlers went undefeated throughout the tournament. Ezekiel Witt(Manhattan) - 6-0 - 4 falls Easton Broxterman(Washburn Rural) - 6-0 - 5 falls Kaden Allen(STA) - 6-0 - 4 falls Owen Eck(Andale) - 6-0 - 4 falls Colin McAlister(Mill Valley) - 6-0 - 5 falls Ronan Wunsch(Maize) - 6-0 - 2 falls Luke Fischer(Larned) - 6-0 - 3 falls Holly Thacher(Oskaloosa) - 6-0 - 3 falls Kiley Dillow(Chanute) - 6-0 - 4 falls The 2 boys’ teams consisted of 16 state champions and & 9 #1 all-class ranked wrestlers. Team Kansas Pythons went 6-0 and placed 1st. Duals Results: Kansas Pythons over Nebraska: 79-0 Kansas Pythons over Kansas Rattlers: 51-3 Kansas Pythons over Nebraska: 72-3 Kansas Pythons over Iowa: 62-3 Kansas Pythons over Oklahoma: 54-13 Kansas Pythons over South Dakota: 53-15 Team Kansas Rattlers went 4-2 and placed 3rd. Duals Results: Kansas Pythons over Kansas Rattlers: 3-51 Kansas Ratters over Oklahoma: 35-25 South Dakota over Kansas Rattlers: 20-34 Kansas Rattlers over Nebraska: 46-15 Kansas Rattlers over Iowa: 37-22 Kansas Rattlers over Nebraska: 44-15 Additionally, Easton Broxterman of Washburn Rural was named the most outstanding wrestler for the high school division. Moving onto the girl's team which was mostly 12 state champions, went 5-1 and placed 2nd. Duals Results: Kansas Pink Gecko over South Dakota Lightning: 40-24 Kansas Pink Gecko over Nebraska Red: 66-12 Kansas Pink Gecko over Nebraska Blue: 47-22 Kansas Pink Gecko over Kentucky: 54-12 Kansas Pink Gecko over Oregon Girls: 69-12 Team Iowa over Kansas Pink Gecko: 53-18 In conclusion, the performances of both the boys' teams, finishing 10-2, and the girls' teams, finishing 5-1 record, exemplify the strength, skill, and dedication displayed by all wrestlers in the Heartland duals tournament. ...

Kansas native Wyatt Hendrickson finishes 3rd at the NCAA Division 1 Tournament Written by Rylee Hackmann/RH Sports Media Former Newton wrestler Wyatt Hendrickson finishes out his collegiate wrestling career with a 3rd place finish at the NCAA Division 1 wrestling tournament in Kansas City, Missouri this past weekend. Hendrickson was 2x State Champion, and 3x State Finalist for Newton before he moved on to wrestle collegiately for the Air Force Academy. Going into the tournament Hendrickson was the #3 seed in the HWT division and he went 5-1 with 2 decisions, 2 major decisions, and 1 fall earning himself all-American status and on the podium for third place. He was also named NCAA’s wrestler with the most falls in a season for the third straight year and for the second straight year he was named NCAA’s most dominant wrestler. Hendrickson finished the season with a record of 27-2 and an overall collegiate career record of 103-11 and a total of 58 career falls. Throughout Hendrickson’s college wrestling career, he finished second at the Big 12 Championships this season. In his Junior year, he finished in third place at the NCAA Division 1 Championships and first place at the Big 12 Championships ending the season with a 31-2 record. In his Sophomore year he DNP at the NCAA Championships but he placed first at the Big 12 Championships and had a season record of 26-2. To open up Hendrickson’s collegiate wrestling career he placed third at the Big 12 Championships and had an incredible championship tournament going 3-2 with one win shy of becoming an All-American status as a freshman. Additionally, Kansas natives Jared Simma (University of Northern Iowa) & Jace Koelzer (University of Oklahoma) also competed at the NCAA Division 1 Wrestling tournament but came up short of placing. Jared Simma wrestled for Saint Thomas Aquinas HS where he was a 4x high school state finalist winning state in 2020 & 2021 and was runner up in 2018 & 2019. He finished his high school career with a record of 174-13 with 125 of his wins being falls. Simma also broke Kansas's high school wrestling records with the most team points & total season wins with 52 wins in 2019. Simma went 2-2 at the championship with his 2 wins by decisions knocking out the #5 seed & the #21 seed in the tournament but he fell short of receiving All-American Status as he lost in the blood round of the tournament. He finished his sophomore year at UNI with a record of 17-11. Jace Koelzer wrestled for Olathe South HS. He was a 2x High School State Champion for Olathe South in 2017 & 2018. Before transferring to the University of Oklahoma he wrestled for the University of Northern Colorado for 4 years. Koelzer finished his freshman year as a starter at 125 lbs for Northern Colorado at the Big 12 Championships. In his Sophomore year, he finished in eighth place at the Big 12 Championships, and as a Redshirt Junior for Northern Colorado, he qualified for the NCAA championships where he placed sixth and finished the season with a record of 14-11. Competing for the University of Oklahoma this season, Koelzer received an at-large bid to compete in this year's NCAA tournament, unfortunately, he went 0-2 in the championships. While we have three Kansas wrestlers who had the opportunity to compete in the tournament, two Kansas natives had the opportunity to coach and guide a combined total of five wrestlers to All-American status this past weekend. Former wrestler for Goddard High School & KWCA Hall of Famer, Tyler Caldwell is an assistant coach at Oklahoma State. He helped lead Oklahoma State to two NCAA finalists, and one fifth-place finisher this past weekend. Caldwell has been with the Cowboys for the last eight seasons and served as the program’s recruiting coordinator for the last seven seasons and this was his first season as an assistant coach. A De Soto Native, Neil Erisman helped start the wrestling program at the University of Arkansas-Little Rock, a little over five years ago. This past weekend the team had a historical run at the NCAA Division 1 tournament as they received for the first time in program history two All-Americans. Nasir Bailey (133 lbs) placed fourth and Stephen Little (197) placed seventh. Before coming to Little Rock, Erisman was a graduate assistant for Oklahoma State for two years, and an assistant coach at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill for four years before moving to be the head coach at the University of Arkansas-Little Rock back in 2018. Erisman was voted on by his peers at the tournament for NWCA Coach of the Year & Coach of the Tournament. The future is bright for the Kansas wrestlers competing in the NCAA Division 1 tournament. Six wrestlers signed to compete at the Division 1 level including one female wrestler. - Dillion Cooper of Mill Valley: University of Arkansas- Little Rock - Colin McAlister of Mill Valley: University of Nebraska - Ezekiel Witt of Manhattan: North Dakota State University - Tucker Cell of Abilene: Gardner Webb University - Owen Eck of Andale: University of Oklahoma - Nicole Redmond of Olathe South: Lindenwood University We can’t wait to see where these wrestlers take them in their collegiate careers. ...

2024 KWCA Kansas Shrine Duals Recap By: Rylee Hackmann/RH Sports Media The first-ever KWCA Kansas Shrine Duals took place this past week at Newman University. The KWCA Kansas Shrine Bowl is a nonprofit charity that produces annual events and activities, with net proceeds benefiting Shriners Children's. Each of the teams was comprised of all-star male and female wrestlers from the East & West sides of Kansas. Below are the men’s and women's dual results. Men’s Dual Results: 118- Ezekiel Witt (East) over Chase Johnson (West) by fall 125- Kaeden McCarty (West) over Mason Gibbons (East) by a major decision of 15-2 133- Carson Ochs (West) over Evan Coble (East) by a major decision of 15-7 133- Tucker Wark (West) over Cullen Wikle (East) by a tech fall of 17-1 141- Kohen Wright (East) over Gregery Martinez (West) by a tech fall of 20-3 149- Harley Zimmerman (West) over Colin Menold (East) by fall 149- Wyatt Gardner (West) over Kasen Smith (East) by a decision of 8-1 157- Noah Bailey (East) over Rhett Briggs (West) by a decision of 10-6 165- Zach Wessley (West) over Colin McAlister (East) by a tech fall of 15-0 174- Jayden Ford (West) over Griffin Bohanan (East) by a decision of 15-8 197- Caleb Sharp (East) over Micah Cauthers (West) by fall 197- S`ron Hill (East) over Ronan Wunsch (West) by a decision of 6-3 285- Sebastian Lopez (West) over Kainen White (East) by fall “Going into the match for the shrine duel I knew this guy was really good and also a lot heavier than me. I weighed in 10 pounds lighter than what I usually weigh in but weight is just a number and I knew how to get her done and to have fun!” - Harley Zimmerman Women’s Dual Results: 101- Sheena Kaye Gocela (West) over Ellie Ayres (East) by Sudden victory of 9-6 109- Amara Ehsa (West) over Emma Hall (East) by fall 116- Keera Lacock (East) over Kinzie Rogers (West) by fall 123- Kendra Hurla (East) over Jill High (West) by fall 123- Zoey Kessler (East) over Adrian Wynn (West) by fall 130- Amanda Jaeger (West) over Gracie Oppeau (East) by a tech fall of 18-2 136- Leighanna Patz (East) over Alexis Burton (West) by a decision of 10-5 136- Laiken Clark (East) over Isabella Keesee (West) by sudden victory of 12-9 143- Hailee Crosland (East) over Jaycee Tyler (West) by fall 143- ??Kaydawn Haag (West) over Brooklyn Lima (East) by fall 155- Hailey Horton (East) over Myah Mattheyer (West) by fall 155- Haley Flores (East) over Dylann Hoffman (West) by fall 170- Taylor Plumley (East) over Karla Martinez (West) by a major decision of 11-3 191- Morgan Miller (East) over Aubrey Hunt (West) by a decision of 8-1 191- Karla Martinez (West) over Kara Pope (East) by fall “The shrine dual was a really great experience to not only continue the sport I love but to continue it for a greater cause. Getting to meet the kids, hear their stories, and truly see another side to what Shriners have done for them and what they do on a daily basis for tons of kids is amazing. The whole experience was just memorable for years to come.” - Kendra Hurla The dual came down to the last 6 matches. The eastern team won 5 of the 6 matches and ultimately the eastern defeated the western team 72-62. Thank you seniors for taking part in this historical event and Kansas Shriners ...

Congratulations to all the individual and team academic award winners as well as our end of season state awards winners! Special thanks to Nutrien Ag Solutions of Beloit & Clay Center! for sponsoring our Academic Award Program! Team Academic State Champions 321A Boys - Hoxie High School 4A Boys - Chanute High School 5A Boys - Great Bend High School 6A Boys - Blue Valley West High School 4-1A Girls - Chanute High School 5-6A Girls - Great Bend High School For full team results, individual results, and the rest of the end of season award winners, check out our awards drop down at the top of our page! ...

On March 5th, 2024 was the 31st annual KC Metro Classic Dual at Avila University. The Metro Classic is an all-star dual showcasing the top senior wrestlers within the KC Metro from Kansas and Missouri that takes place 10 days after the state tournaments. The first ever KC Metro classic was held in 1992. Many of the athletes that are chosen to wrestle in the metro classic move on to move on to wrestle in college or this is the last time they step on the mat. 14 Kansas wrestlers took part in the Metro Classic. 7 wrestlers placed 1st at the state tournaments and 4 runner-ups at the state tournaments. Metro Classic Results: 113- Ezekiel Witt (Manhattan) over Zach Pruitt (Lee’s Summit West) by fall in the second period. 120- Noah Lovell (Lone Jack) over Gabe Sherrell (Olathe Northwest) by a decision of 6-4 126- Charlie Dykes (Lee’s Summit North) over Mikha’el Muldrow (Blue Valley Northwest) by fall in the second period 132- Dillon Cooper (Mill Valley) over James Lovelady (Liberty North) by a decision of 8-1 138- Braeden Moore (Tonganoxie) over Rylan Mansfiled (Fort Osage) by a major decision of 17-5 144- Gavin Linsman (Liberty) over Noah Bailey (Tonganoxie) by a major decision of 13-3 150- Lane Synder (Pleasant Hill) over Brady Mason (Mill Valley) by a tech fall of 17-5 157- Alex Hutchcraft (Smithville) over Deavon McWashington (Sumner Academy) by fall in the second period 165- Colin McAlister (Mill Valley) over Jackson Jones (Lee’s Summit) by a decision of 9-3 175- Parker Guge (Ottawa) over Lucas Estes (St. Michael) by a decision 9-6 190- Brayden Bush (Pleasant Hill) over Caleb Sharp (Olathe Northwest) by tech fall of 17-3 215- Jake Fernandez (Platte County) over Michael Costello (Olathe East) by a decision of 6-1 285- Coner Tindle (Blue Springs) over Jayden Berry (Olathe South) decision in overtime of 2-1 285- Brett Carroll (Olathe East) over Callen Smithpeter (Blue Springs South) by a decision of 3-1 The final score of the KC Metro dual was 37-22 Missouri. Witt, Cooper, Moore, McAlister, Guge, and Carroll all picked up a win at the dual. Even though this was the last time some of these wrestlers stepped on the mat if they aren't wrestling at the next level, Ezekiel Witt, Noah Bailey, Colin McAlister and Caleb Sharp have been selected to wrestle at the KWCA Kansas Shrine Duals on March 17th at Newman University. Link to the Full Album of pictures taken- https://adobe.ly/4caV30L ...

Kansas Shrine Bowl and KWCA Announce New Joint All-Star Wrestling Event KWCA Kansas Shrine Duals to debut on March 17, 2024 Kansas- The Kansas Shrine Bowl Board of Directors is excited to announce the addition of a new East vs. West senior all-star wrestling event in conjunction with the Kansas Wrestling Coaches Association. The KWCA Kansas Shrine Duals is scheduled to take place on Sunday, March 17th, 2024 at Fugate Gymnasium on the campus of Newman University in Wichita, Kansas. The event will feature around 60 of the state’s top wrestlers, both girls and boys, competing in an East vs. West team dual format. All net proceeds from the KWCA Kansas Shrine Duals will benefit Shriners Children’s, previously known as Shriners Hospitals for Children. “We’re thrilled for this opportunity to partner with the KWCA to showcase some of the best athletes in Kansas and increase the impact our organization can have for Shriners Children’s,” said Brice Kesler of the Kansas Shrine Bowl. “The opportunity to share the reasons behind our cause with the outstanding wrestling community throughout Kansas is going to be a great benefit for everyone involved.” The KWCA Kansas Shrine Duals will continue the traditions of East vs. West all-star competition that has led to 50 years of success with the Kansas Shrine Bowl, generating more than $3.8M in donations to Shriners Children’s. The partnership with the KWCA will help bring a new philanthropic aspect to the KWCA’s mission of promoting and recognizing outstanding contributions and accomplishments in wrestling throughout the state of Kansas. The athletes who are selected to participate in the KWCA Kansas Shrine Duals will have the opportunity, through fundraising initiatives and competition, to make a lasting impact on the lives of children while displaying their talents on a premier all-star stage. “The KWCA is excited to partner with the Shriners to bring back the Senior All-Star Classic,” said Nathan Broeckelman, KWCA President. “This event will be a great showcase for our senior athletes across the state for one last go representing their respective high schools.” Additional event details, along with complete qualification criteria for wrestlers, and more will be coming soon. Visit www.KansasShrineDuals.com or www.KansasWrestling.org to stay up to date on the latest news and updates regarding the KWCA Kansas Shrine Duals. All Kansas Shrine All-Star Events are produced and presented to benefit Shriners Children’s. It is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charity that produces annual events and related activities, with net proceeds benefiting Shriners Children’s. Shriners Children’s is a health care system of 22 hospitals dedicated to improving the lives of children by providing pediatric specialty care, innovative research, and outstanding teaching programs for medical professionals. Children up to the age of 18 are eligible for care and receive all services in a family centered environment, regardless of the patients' ability to pay. Contact Kansas Shrine All-Star Events PO Box 53, Spring Hill, KS 66083 (913) 602-8656 director@KansasShrineBowl.com assistant@KansasShrineBowl.com events@KansasShrineBowl.com Contact the Kansas Wrestling Coaches Association 325 Point Dr, Great Bend, KS 67530 (785) 871-7981 President – Nathan Broeckelman BroeckelmanN@bartonccc.edu...