Full 52nd Newton Tournament of Champions Results -- click here

The two-time defending Class 4A wrestling champs the Holton Wildcats took to the mats on Friday and Saturday as part of one of the toughest wrestling tournaments in the State of Kansas the Newton Tournament of Champions.

Competing with 25 other teams at the 52nd annual Newton Tournament of Champions the Holton Wildcats wrestled their way to 103 total points and a 10th place team finish, only five and a half points out of ninth place. Garden City took home first place with 191.5 total points, while Grand Island and Ark City placed second and third as teams.

Holton Wildcat sophomore, Tyler Price who ranks sixth at 138lbs put together a huge weekend on the mats as he paced Holton on the mats wrestling his way to the individual championship at 138lbs. Price opened up the tournament with a pinfall win in 1:56 and followed that up with a 5-2 decision win to advance to the Quarterfinals. In the Quarterfinals and Semifinals Price posted two more pinfall wins, winning in 49 seconds and 1:07, moving into the Championship match. Tyler continued to dominate the competition taking first place with his fourth pinfall win at the tournament (3:02).

Lucas Lovvorn who ranks number one at 160lbs in Class 4A, put together a strong showing in Newton placing second on the day with a 4-1 record. Lovvorn a pair of technical fall wins (17-2 & 17-1), while also winning by decision (5-0) and pinfall (5:31). In the Championship bout Lovvorn lost a tight decision to a grappler from Maize high school, falling by a 3-1 decision to finish second.

Two other ranked grapplers for Holton registered top notch performances in Newton also as Justin Rieschick (145lbs) and Mason Baum (170lbs) finished third and fourth, respectively at their weight classes. Rieschick posted a 5-1 record with his lone loss coming in the Semifinals of the tournament but he responded and won his final two matches of the tourney to take third. On the day Rieschick had a major decision win, three decision victories and a pinfall win. For Baum he picked up three pinfall wins and a win via injury, going 4-2 on the day to place fourth.

Both Justin Pool (132lbs) and Trey Haverkamp (152lbs) each posted one win at the Newton Tournament of Champions, while Brandon Lehnherr (195lbs), Nathan Shields (220lbs) and Kegan Meister (285lbs) all competed also in Newton. 

The Wildcats will hit the mats again at home on Saturday, January 24th as they host an Invitational for many area teams and a few others.