USAW-Kansas is proud of every wrestler
with the courage to step on the mat.
Every wrestler who improves his or her skill is a winner,
but some have achieved more than most.

The following represent some of the high achievements
by Kansas wrestlers during the 2004/2005 season.

 

 

For several years there have been Kansas natives active in the elite levels of wrestling.  This past season was no exception, as Zach Roberson, fresh from his 2004 NCAA Division I national championship, placed third at the National Wrestling Championships at 132 lbs.  In the U.S. World Team Trials, Eric Akin placed second at 121 lbs. and Zach Roberson finished third at 132 lbs.

 

Kansas also left its mark in the Senior Women’s Wrestling National Championships, where Brooke Bogren placed 5th at 59 kg.

 

 

At the national collegiate level, Kansas wrestlers continued to excel.

 

Seven wrestlers from the Sunflower State qualified for the NCAA Division I Championship, and three of them earned All-American status.  Shawn Bunch (Leavenworth / Edinboro) ended the season as the national runner-up at 133 lbs., a feat duplicated by Joe Johnston (Shawnee Mission East / Iowa), who placed second at 157 lbs.  Scott Coleman (Manhattan / Iowa State) earned his second All-American honor with a 7th place finish at 285 lbs.

 

Joining their fellow Kansas natives at the Division I Championships were qualifiers Matt Murray (Colby), Jake Kriegbaum (Abilene / Air Force), Jacob Klein (Kapaun-Mt. Carmel / Nebraska) and Justin Dyer (Olathe South / Oklahoma).

 

 

In the Women's National Collegiate Championships, Brooke Bogren (Santa Fe Trail / Missouri Valley) provided a repeat performance, as she won her second consecutive national title at 130 lbs.

 

 

Kansans also made their presence known at the NCAA II National Championships, where three of our young men made their way to the medal stand.  Dustin Tovar (Abilene / Nebraska-Omaha) finished his season in the 3rd place spot at 125 lbs.  Also finishing in 3rd place was Adam Keiswetter (Dodge City / Nebraska-Kearney), who wrestled in the 133 lb. weight class. Bryce Abbey (Goodland / Nebraska-Kearney) rounded out the Division II Kansas All-American class, ending in 5th place at 125 lbs.

 

 

Four Kansas wrestlers, two of them representing Kansas’ newest collegiate wrestling program at Kansas Newman University, brought home All-American honors from the NAIA Nationals.  Two Kansans finished in 3rd place: Mark Dugan (Wichita-Carroll / Kansas Newman) at 141 lbs and Darion Terry (Topeka West / Missouri Valley College) at 157 lbs.  J.D. Johnson (Wichita-Carroll / Kansas Newman) finished 6th at 174 lbs., while James Bunch (Leavenworth / Lindenwood) ended in the 7th place spot at 174 lbs.

 

 

One area in which Kansas always seems to excel is in the Junior College division.  Labette Community College brought the title back to our state, winning the 2004/05 National Championships.  Colby Community College came in strong in the 7th place spot, while Neosho County Community College finished in a respectable 16th place.

 

Two individual national championships were earned by Kansas wrestlers: Earl Jones (Coffeyville / Labette CC) won at 133 lbs, while Eric Luedke (Colby / Colby CC) took the 165 lb title.  This was a second national title for both of these Kansans.  Other Kansas All-Americans included Matt Schippers (Hoxie / Colby CC) – 5th at 149 lbs, Zach Luedke (Colby / Colby CC) – 5th at 174 lbs, and Daniel Prater (Pratt / Colby CC) – 7th at 133 lbs.

 

 

Kansas added to its list of national champions through the efforts of Matt Pyle (Sabetha / Luther College), who won the 149 lb division in the NCAA Division III National Championships.

 

 

Both Kansas State University and the University of Kansas maintain club teams which compete in the National Collegiate Wrestling Association National Championships.  Two Kansans made it to medal stand: Beau Tillman (Pratt / Kansas State) 4th at 133 lbs and Marc Doering (Mulvane / Kansas State) 5th at 174  lbs.

 

 

FILA Junior National Championships

 

Greco-Roman:

  Name

Hometown

Wt

Place

Eric Luedke

Colby

163.0

5th

Jake Kriegbaum

Abilene

145.5

7th

 

Freestyle:

  Name

Hometown

Wt 

Place

Tanner Gardner

Berryton

121.0

4th

 

 

National High School Senior Championships

To earn the right to compete in this tournament, you must be a graduating senior and a finalist in your state.  There were more than 800 entries from 47 states at this year’s event.  As a team, Kansas finished in 6th place, behind New York, Ohio, California, New Jersey and Iowa.

 

Five Kansas wrestlers earned All-American status at the tournament:

  Name

High School

Wt

Place

Josh Baldridge

Haysville-Campus

140

3rd

Joseph Cornejo

Haysville-Campus

145

4th

Ross Taplin

Abilene

160

4th

Michael Sprigg

Norton Community

275

4th

Jacob Marrs

Clay Center

215

5th

 

 

National Duals Teams

Kansas sent teams to the Schoolboy (13 & 14), Cadet (15 & 16), Junior (enrolled in high school) and Women's Team Duals, and were very competitive at every level.  In only their second year at this competition, the Schoolboy Freestyle team finished in the 8th spot.  The Cadet Dual Team earned a 5th place finish in Greco Roman competition, and the Junior Duals team placed 4th in Freestyle and 8th in Greco Roman, despite having open weights throughout the event.  The Kansas Women's Junior Freestyle team earned an 8th place finish in the inaugural Women's Duals.

 

 

University Freestyle National Championships

  Name

Hometown

Wt

Place

Tanner Gardner

Berryton

121.0

4th

Chris McCormick

Leawood

145.5

4th

Jacob Klein

Valley Center

163.0

6th

 

 

Kansas State Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame

The Hall of Fame Board of Governors selected the following men for induction into the Kansas State Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame & Museum.  They were presented with a plaque and their names are permanently displayed in the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in recognition of their service to our great sport. The award recipients are Lawrence G. Alley (Douglass), Antoine N. Bontz III (Wichita), Thomas F. Faust (Derby), Gus Garcia (Augusta / Atwood), C. Dee Gard (Wichita), Francis J. "Doc" Hagan (Wichita), C. Duwane Miller (Wichita), Patrick W. Miller (Valley Center), Lyle W. Neville (Hutchinson) and Bill P. Stanhope (Colwich).

 

 

Junior/Cadet/Womens National Team

Despite a few disappointments and missed opportunities, this still turned out to be another great year for Team Kansas, with a total of 14 All-American honors earned.  We brought home four freestyle All-Americans, nine Greco Roman All-Americans, and our first All-American in the Women’s division.  Cadets are wrestlers who were 15 or 16 as of December 31, 2005, while Juniors are wrestlers who attended high school during the 2004/05 school year.  The team coaches were:

Mike Garcia, Junior Director

Russ Hermreck

Tom Peterman, Cadet Director

Jacob Marquardt

Ed Edison, Womens Director

Jarrod Ogden

Jason Blanding

Jason Ogden

Brooke Bogren

Chad Parks

Shawn Bunch

Scott Rieck

Dennis Charbonneau

Kenny Taylor, Jr.

Austin DeVoe

Chas Thompson

Richard Fergola

Beau Vest

 

Junior National Freestyle All-Americans:

  Name

Hometown

Wt

Place

Nick Shumate

Overland Park

112

5th

Donny Altman

Derby

112

6th

Joe Cornejo

Wichita

145

3rd

Neil Erisman

Olathe

160

7th

 

Cadet National Freestyle All-Americans:

  Name

Hometown

Wt 

Place

Nathan Furches

Derby

98

5th

Aaron Ely

Leavenworth

112

5th

 

Cadet National Greco-Roman All-Americans:

  Name

Hometown

Wt 

Place

Nathan Furches

Derby

98

2nd

Aaron Ely

Leavenworth

112

5th

Aldon Isenberg

Gardner

130

5th

Derek Koehn

Pittsburg

135

8th

Romero Cotton

Hutchinson

152

3rd

Atticus Disney

Andover

215

8th

Stephen Andrus

Manhattan

275

7th

 

Women’s Freestyle All-Americans:

  Name

Hometown

Wt 

Place

Libby Bowser

Mayetta

175

8th

 

 

Kids National Folkstyle Championships

 

Midget (born 1995-1996)

  Name

  Club

Wt 

Place

Cullen Hood

Louisburg

60

1st

Bryce Shoemaker

Baldwin City

60

2nd

Jack Mitchell

Baldwin City

65

5th

Dalton Rodd

Haysville

75

2nd

Andrew Beck

Hiawatha

75

8th

 

Novice (born 1993-1994)

  Name

  Club

Wt 

Place

 

Austin Hood

Louisburg

60

2nd

Ben Kazimir

Brawlers

65

2nd

Ky Biddle

Central

75

7th

Tyler McMichael

Central

80

8th

Dylan Penka

Derby

85

7th

Tyler Henness

Paola

95

7th

Tyler Baughman

Pleasant Ridge

100

2nd

Shawn Marlatt

Derby

120

4th

Zach Lanning

MAC

130

2nd

 

Schoolboy (born 1991-1992)

  Name

  Club

Wt 

Place

 

Sharky Slyter

Paola

75

1st

Jake Krazimir

 

75

3rd

Alan Callahan

Baldwin City

100

5th

Kyle Detmer

Maize

120

3rd

Jordan Brown

Pittsburg Kids Gorilla

145

2nd

Matthew Klingsporn

Wichita East

250

2nd

 

Cadet (born 1989-1990)

  Name

  Club

Wt 

Place

 

Dennis Wood III

Leavenworth

84

5th

C.J. Napier

Columbus

130

5th

Spenser Daniels

Ft. Scott

160

5th

 

 

Kids National Greco-Roman Championships

 

Midget (born 1995-1996)

  Name

  Club

Wt 

Place

Cullen Hood

Louisburg

65

2nd

 

Novice (born 1993-1994)

  Name

  Club

Wt 

Place

 

Austin Hood

Louisburg

60

3rd

Dylan Penka

Derby

90

4th

 

Schoolboy (born 1991-1992)

  Name

  Club

Wt 

Place

 

Sharky Slyter

Paola

80

4th

Ryne Cokeley

Paola

80

7th

Parker Madl

Paola

90

6th

Bryce Hood

Louisburg

95

8th

 

 

Kids National Freestyle Championships

 

Midget (born 1995-1996)

  Name

  Club

Wt 

Place

Cullen Hood

Louisburg

65

3rd

 

Novice (born 1993-1994)

  Name

  Club

Wt 

Place

 

Dylan Penka

Derby

90

1st

 

Schoolboy (born 1991-1992)

  Name

  Club

Wt 

Place

 

Sharky Slyter

Paola

80

3rd

Ryne Cokeley

Paola

80

6th

 

 

Junior Regionals (1st Place)

 

Tournament

  Style

  Name

Hometown

Wt 

Southern Plains

Freestyle

Donnie Altman

Derby

112

Southern Plains

Freestyle

Neil Erisman

Olathe

160

Southern Plains

Greco

Donnie Altman

Derby

112

Southern Plains

Greco

Tim Elliott

Haysville

130

Southern Plains

Greco

Matthew Bailes

Turner

160