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 2005/2006 season.

There was lots of activity on the collegiate wrestling level for Kansas, highlighted by the addition of another new program. Pratt Community College announced that they would launch their new program effective with the 2006-07 season, and named Parsons native Chas Thompson as the first head coach for their new program. Chas wrestled at Labette Community College where he placed 4th nationally, and at Fort Hays State University, where he also worked as assistant coach. Chas is the son of Jody Thompson, the former Labette CC coach and member of the Kansas Wrestling Hall of Fame.

Nebraska also benefited from our Kansas talent, as two programs looked to Kansas natives to lead their programs. Richard Fergola (Topeka) was promoted from head assistant to head wrestling coach for the 2006 NAIA National Champion Dana College Vikings. Meanwhile, Jordan Nichols (Garden City) was named as head coach for the York College Panthers.

As we saw Kansas coaches move into leadership roles at the collegiate level, we were also treated to outstanding performances on the mats by our Kansas wrestlers, beginning with nine NCAA Division I national qualifiers and six All-Americans. Shawn Bunch (Edinboro / Leavenworth) lead the pack with a 3rd place finish at 133 lbs. Joe Johnston (Iowa / Shawnee Mission East), came in 5th at 157 lbs, followed by Tyler McCormick (Missouri / Blue Valley North) at 133 lbs and Jacob Klein (Nebraska / Kapaun-Mt. Carmel) at 174 lbs, both of whom finished 7th. Also earning All-American status were 8th place finishers Tanner Gardner (Stanford / Shawnee Heights) at 125 lbs and Eric Luedke (Iowa / Colby) at 165 lbs.

Joining their fellow Kansans at the Division I Championships were qualifiers Austin DeVoe (Missouri / Columbus), Jake Kriegbaum (Air Force / Abilene) and Justin Dyer (Oklahoma / Olathe South).

Our wrestlers excelled in the classroom as well as on the mat. Kansas had 4 wrestlers in the top 20 NCAA Academic All Americans as reported by the National Wrestling Coaches Association. Justin Dyer was tied for 1st place, with a 4.0 GPA in Pub. Admin & Political Science. Tyler McCormick was 3rd with a 3.95 GPA in Business and Eric Luedke was 17th, carrying a 3.74 GPA in Health & Sport Studies. Tanner Gardner finished in 20th place with a 3.69 GPA in Study Public Policy.

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. Cody Garcia (Nebraska Omaha / Hutchinson) finished his season by becoming the national champion at 125 lbs. Finishing in 3rd place were Earl Jones (Central Oklahoma / Coffeyville), who wrestled in the 133 lb weight class and Ross Taplin (Nebraska Omaha / Abilene) at 165 lbs. Trevor Charbonneau (Nebraska Kearney / Clay Center) at 125 lbs and Aaron Meister (FHSU / Holton) at 174 lbs rounded out the Division II Kansas All-American class with a pair of 5th place finishes.

Fort Hays State University nearly broke into the top 10 programs in the nation, finishing in 11th place at the NCAA II National Championships.

Three Kansas wrestlers brought home All-American honors from the NAIA Nationals, including a national championship. Curtis Chenoweth (Kansas Newman / Clearwater) took top honors at 174 lbs. Darion Terry (Topeka West / Missouri Valley College) won the 3rd place match at 157 lbs while Greg Smith (York Nebraska / Concordia High School) ended in the 5th place spot at 125 lbs.

One area in which Kansas always seems to excel is in the Junior College division. All three of our community colleges finished well in the top 10. Labette Community College was the top Kansas team, finishing 3rd overall. Colby Community College came in strong in the 6th place spot, with Neosho County Community College just a little behind them in 8th place.

An individual national championship was earned by Daniel Prater (Colby CC / Pratt) at 141 lbs. Other Kansas All-Americans included Mat Gilliland (Colby CC / Hoxie) – 3rd at 149 lbs, Josh Baldridge (Labette CC / Haysville-Campus) – 4th at 133 lbs, Tim Elliott (Labette CC / Haysville-Campus) – 5th at 125 lbs, Matt Schippers (Colby CC / Hoxie) – 6th at 157 lbs, Levi Younkin (Colby CC / Oakley) – 6th at 133 lbs, and Josh Barr (Neosho CC / Eudora) – 8th at 197 lbs.

Both Kansas State University and the University of Kansas maintain club teams which compete in the National Collegiate Wrestling Association National Championships. The Kansas State team finished 10th in the overall standings, with Steven Kern (Kansas State / Wamego) placing second in the nation at 184 lbs.

A pair of Kansans wrestled well at the FILA Junior, Senior & Veterans National Championships. Zach Roberson (Overland Park) won the Senior Freestyle Championships at 132 lbs, while Brooke Bogren (Carbondale) finished 7th at 130 lbs in the Senior Women's Freestyle Championships.

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 9th place.

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

Name	High School	Wt	Place
Tristen DeShazer	Wichita West	130	4th
Dante Rogers	Wichita Northwest	103	5th
Cole Garcia	Colby	140	8th
Jesse Strawn	Holton	189	7th

National Duals Teams

Kansas sent teams to the Schoolboy (13 & 14), Cadet (15 & 16) and Junior (enrolled in high school) Team Duals, and were very competitive at every level. The Cadet Dual Team earned a 5th place finish in Greco Roman competition.

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 were James L. Beltch (Lawrence), R. Ben Bennett (Junction City), Chas (Chuck) & Cherie Elvin (Lenexa), Fritz G. Knorr (Manhattan), Larry R. Tilton (Effingham), Gary D. Ulmer (Olathe), Donald W. Vest (Topeka) and C. Lee Woodford (Manhattan).

Junior/Cadet/Womens National Team

Team Kansas had a great showing at the 2006 Freestyle and Greco-Roman Championships in Fargo, with Kansas wrestlers making a total of 22 trips to the medal stand, including three Freestyle Cadet National Champions, one Greco-Roman Cadet National Champion and one Greco-Roman Junior National Champion. Romero Cotton became only the third double national champion in Kansas history by winning the Cadet National Championship in both Freestyle and Greco-Roman at 171 lbs. Cadets are wrestlers who were 15 or 16 as of December 31, 2006, while Juniors are wrestlers who attended high school during the 2005/06 school year. The team coaches were:

Mike Garcia, Junior Director	Cody Garcia
Tom Peterman, Cadet Director	Russ Hermreck
Ed Edison, Womens Director	Jason Ogden
Jason Blanding	Chad Parks
Brooke Bogren	Scott Rieck
Dennis Charbonneau	Chas Thompson
Lance Engel	Beau Vest
Richard Fergola

Junior National Freestyle All-Americans:

Name	Hometown		Wt	Place
Nathan Furches		Derby	98	3rd

Junior National Greco-Roman All-Americans:

Name	Hometown	Wt	Place
Nathan Furches	Derby	98	1st
Brandon Goodwin	Lawrence	98	7th
Larry Perez	Topeka	119	2nd
Tyler Caldwell	Wichita	125	8th

Cadet National Freestyle All-Americans:

Name	Hometown	Wt	Place
Jeff Vesta	Manhattan	84	7th
Sharky Slyter	Paola	94	2nd
Jake Tanenbaum	Leawood	119	6th
CJ Napier	Columbus	135	1st
Tyler Koehn	Pittsburg	140	7th
Romero Cotton	Hutchinson	171	1st
Atticus Disney	Andover	215	2nd
Stephen Andrus	Manhattan	275	1st

Cadet National Greco-Roman All-Americans:

Name	Hometown	Wt	Place
Jeff Vesta	Manhattan	84	2nd
Tyler Koehn	Pittsburg	140	5th
Cameron Riojas	Arkansas City	152	6th
Romero Cotton	Hutchinson	171	1st
Atticus Disney	Andover	215	2nd
Stephen Andrus	Manhattan	275	7th
Bobby Doxon	Goodland	275	8th

Women’s Freestyle All-Americans:

Name	Hometown	Wt	Place
Randi Beltz	Wellington	128	3rd
Beth Johnson	Garden City	128	4th

Kids National Folkstyle Championships

Midget (born 1996-1997)

Name

Club

Place

Tanner Madl	Paola	55	3rd
Hunter Roberts	Doniphan Co. Grizzlies	55	4th
Zak Hensley	Pittsburg	60	7th
Dalton Rodd	Haysville	75	2nd
Isaac Dulgarian	Paola	75	5th

Novice (born 1994-1995)
Name	Club	Wt	Place

Austin Hood	Paola	60	3rd
Cullen Hood	Paola	65	1st
Bo Pursel	Leavenworth Co.	75	7th
Aaron Puckett	Bonner Springs	80	8th
Hunter Stalford	Caney	85	4th
Jake Beecher	So. Central Strykers	95	4th
Laine Herl	Goodland	130	2nd
James Contreras	Scott City	Hwt	8th

Schoolboy (born 1992-1993)
Name	Club	Wt	Place

Zach Hoehn	Wellsville	80	7th
Ryne Cokeley	Paola	90	1st
Parker Madl	Paola	95	7th
Bryce Hood	Paola	110	6th
Sean Gaither	NW Jr. Grizzlies	130	3rd
Trey Page	NW Jr. Grizzlies	205	1st

Cadet (born 1990-1991)
Name	Club	Wt	Place

Jeremiah Breen	Wellsville	84	2nd
Sharky Slyter	Paola	91	1st
C.J. Napier	Columbus	135	3rd
Evan Johnson	Greater Gold	145	2nd

Kids National Greco-Roman Championships

Midget (born 1996-1997)

Name

Club

Place

Zak Hensley	Pittsburg	65	4th
Jared Langley	Newton	95	1st

Novice (born 1994-1995)
Name	Club	Wt	Place

Zac Gentzler	Wichita (WWC)	60	5th
Austin Hood	Paola	65	7th
Cullen Hood	Paola	70	5th

Schoolboy (born 1992-1993)
Name	Club	Wt	Place

Ryne Cokeley	Paola	90	3rd
Bryce Hood	Paola	110	4th

Kids National Freestyle Championships

Midget (born 1996-1997)

Name

Club

Place

Hunter Roberts	Doniphan Co. Grizzlies	55	5th
Zak Hensley	Pittsburg	65	7th
Jared Langley	Newton	95	7th

Novice (born 1994-1995)
Name	Club	Wt	Place

Zac Gentzler	Wichita (WWC)	60	4th
Austin Hood	Paola	65	2nd
Cullen Hood	Paola	70	6th

Schoolboy (born 1992-1993)
Name	Club	Wt	Place

Ryne Cokeley	Paola	90	4th
Bryce Hood	Paola	110	3rd

Junior Regionals (1st Place)

Tournament	Style	Name	Hometown	Wt
Southern Plains	Freestyle	Brandon Goodwin	Lawrence	98
Southern Plains	Freestyle	Nathan Furches	Derby	105
Southern Plains	Freestyle	Donny Altman	Derby	119
Southern Plains	Freestyle	Sean Flynn	Lansing	152
Southern Plains	Freestyle	Neil Erisman	Olathe	171
Southern Plains	Freestyle	Jarrett Edison	Wichita	215
Southern Plains	Freestyle	Alex Thomas	McDonald	275
Southern Plains	Greco