wow been a while since i have been on here due to moving and getting my kids enrolled and also the fact that we haven't had internet
yes i accepted a job in kansas city ,mo with better pay and more room for advancement
for everyone that is interseted my first inquiry was with coach eaenesty from park hill but after talking it over with eric we decided it was not the place for him and one of the reasons was due the the fact he still wanted to compete for team kansas during the summer. the reason we chose sta was simple last yrs class had 100% graduation rate and the vast majority went on to college with accademic an/or athletic scholarships
anyone that thinks i am doing something for any other reason then what is best for me and my kids doesnt know me at all.

john mason 620 719-8054

Well said John!

Not that I think either place did anything wrong but how come there was not 2-3 pages of people questioning the move-ins to Andover Central? Both were legit. I am glad for both of them but why does STA get all the scrutiny, and Andover Central not a word was said? Just a thought.

More power to the Bontz's, the Mason's or anyone else who works for the betterment of thier kids. We don't know their situation and it's none of our business. Good luck to all this year. Let's wrestle.

Very well Stated John!

Best of luck to you and the family!
We will miss you matching up with the Cardinal Wrestlers!

I'm glad Eric decided to stay with Kansas! It's been fun seeing Eric grow and mature into a much improved wrestler!

My son wrestled for the STA Kids Wrestling program for five years. We were fortunate to be a part of such a wonderful group of individuals. Their club is, without a doubt, a model of what the Kansas Kids Wrestling Federation would want their clubs to be. I am positive that their high school program carries the same standards of excellence that their club program does. If my family were to move to the KC area, we wouldn't hesitate to enroll in their high school. Good luck wrestling for STA Eric. Your family has made an excellent choice.

John:

My son just graduated last year from Aquinas. I think you made an excellent choice for both the academic and wrestling program.

Welcome to the Aquinas wrestling community!

Old prejudices die hard. Used to be we could hate STA, BC, SJA or any private school because they were the only ones who could cross district or state lines to find students.

Those days are over. A student in Olathe can attend any school in Olathe. Then you get the students who are doing on line school and only taking one class at the brick and mortar school.

I still enjoy it when a public school beats a private school. (Gardner/Edgerton 49-7 over STA)
But the lines are blurred these days.

fo

Watch him place this year. I predict a finals appearance!

fo

I can understand why individuals are attracted to Aquinas with a 99% graduation into college rate. ( One wrestler entered the Marines directly a few years back.) Plus a high percentage of their wrestlers go on to wrestle at all levels in college: Nowak, Henes, Mc Carthy, Hurla, Scott, the Markeys, Mamie,the Cispers,and Conaghan. I'm sure there are a few more accidentally not include. Not to mention, the two team state championships in the last five years. Everyone knows that the secret to building the high school team is through the kids club's success. Other STA kids club wrestlers at other schools currently ranked are Zach Tanenbaum, Ross Whitmore, and Trip Hiller. STA/Aquinas wrestling is a family, no matter what high school you attend.

Some of the best STA Wrestlers were developed in the East Kansas Wrestling Club. For years the East Kansas Wrestling Club was a magnet for elite level competitors. Coach Klemm and his staff (Tom Budd and others) continually developed kids into top notch competitors. Coach John Akin started this club and the tradition continued until it was interrupted by Coach Klemm's departure for Stanford University. Eric Akin and Travis Phippen have resurrected the East Kansas Club as the last few carry overs are about to graduate (Parker Madl, Zach Tanenbaum, Ryne Cokeley, and few others). Since Kevin Klemm's departure there has been a void. The single site grind room for those who are hard core and want to sharpen steel with steel. Eric & Travis hope to recreate this environment with a year round training regime at one of the BEST wreslting facilities in the state. They now offer the full gamet of training opportunities (novice, intermediate, elite, freestyle, and Greco). Come to St. James Academy nearly any night of the week where you will find former Division 1 wrestlers molding our youths into Kansas' future champions.

There have been a lot of inquiries regarding the wrestling club. We will begin practice the Monday after Thanksgiving, 6:30 to 8:00. We will also practice at the same time on Wednesday and Thursday of that week. After that week, we will break into Novice and Open practice.

I have started a new website, still a work in progress. But there you can find the STA flyer as well as medical waiver forms. It would help greatly if these are completed prior to the first practice. Here is the link http://www.eteamz.com/stawrestlingclub/

Sharon Henes
STA Wrestling

Thanks for that wealth of info cokeley

"Other STA kids club wrestlers at other schools currently ranked are Zach Tanenbaum, Ross Whitmore, and Trip Hiller. STA/Aquinas wrestling is a family, no matter what high school you attend."

KC Sportsmom,

You are right on point, STA is a family. I really enjoyed watching Zach and Ross go at it in practice. It was like watching two interlocked tumbleweeds rolling across the plains of Kansas. Although I will remember these two quality wrestlers pushing each other to the limits of their abilities, the thing that I will remember most is how much class they showed off the mat. Best of luck to both of you this season and in the years ahead.

I don't post on here often. But I do feel the need to post specifically in the name of the STA kids club. I just want to say that STA Kids Wrestling has changed my life. I along with all of my brothers, were (and still feel as though we are) part of the the STA family that has been created through the kids club. Sean McCarthy has been a LIFELONG inspiration to me and nothing but a class act role model in every way that you could imagine. I graduated from Shawnee Mission NW, and now I coach at SM West. If i get the opportunity to get an STA kids wrestler, I would love it. Thats all I have to say.

I appreciate all the positive comments about our wrestling club...you don't know how much I needed to see/hear it right now.

And for all those families/wrestlers that have helped our club throughout the years, regardless of their high school or club affiliation THANK YOU! You know who you are!

Can't wait to rejoin the Aquinas family next year...I miss high school wrestling.

no, not juiced, just a good young wrestler.

Will, I agree with you that the East Kansas Wrestling Club led by Kevin Klemm was an incredible club that developed some of our area's top wrestling talent many who went on to distinguish themselves with stellar NCAA Division I careers. I also agree with you that a new opportunity for that type of development is becoming available with the resurrected club led by Eric and Travis at St. James Academy. So I definitely agree with the majority of what you posted above.

However, what I am going to take some exception to is your opening sentence that I believe can leave an incorrect impression.



I only know of two Aquinas wrestlers who did a significant amount of their non high school wrestling with the old East Kansas Club. The only two who I think did wrestle primarily with East Kansas were Gabe Conaghan and RJ Nill.

The only reason I am bringing this up is that Joe Cisper, Sean McCarthy, Sharon Henes and several other of the the dedicated STA coaches worked very hard since the STA club was established years ago and they definitely deserve the bulk of the recognition for the contribution that kids club wrestling has made to the success of the Aquinas high school program. Of course Head High School Coach Lorne Parks and his staff also deserve a lion's share of the credit for the success of the St. Thomas High School Wrestling program over the last ten years or so. Coach Parks runs a very successful program that gets these high school wrestlers in shape to battle.

Getting back to the STA Kids club contribution to the high school team's success your comment made me look at the historic records on the Aquinas website. There are lists of accomplishments like 100 career wins, 40 Wins in a Season Club, 30 Wins in a Season Club, Individual State Champions and Runners Up. When you look at any of these categories a very large majority of the wrestlers wrestled the majority of their kids club wrestling with the STA Wrestling Club. There is one senior on the team Jake Walker who after this year will enter the 100 career win club list and should rank near the top of it. Jake Walker was an STA Kids club wrestler. The hard work of Joe Cisper, Sean McCarthy, Sharon Henes, and the other dedicated STA volunteer coaches over the years has prepared some of these standout Aquinas High School wrestlers very well over the years.

Sean McCarthy, Sharon Henes and the current other STA coaches continue to work hard to develop another generation of future standout high school wrestlers some who will eventually wrestle at Aquinas and many will wrestle at other schools in the area. The STA club with Sean McCarthy and Clint Slyter leading the way has recently added spring and summer freestyle/greco wrestling. Several of the STA freestyle/greco wrestlers did very well last summer. The STA club now offers another good option for off season wrestling that many of the Johnson County wrestlers took advantage of last year.