Holton senior state wrestlers 2015

Mason Baum helps Holton's huge Saturday rally to finish his senior season with a 5th Place win

Holton 3rd Placers, Justin Rieschick and Justin Pool Celebrate with Coach Cully Jackson

Having won the previous two state team championships in Class 4A; Holton returned to Salina with just seven qualifiers in 2015.  After an impressive 5-2 start in the opening round on Friday, the Wildcats hit a skid and lost six consecutive matches while having a pair of senior (first time qualifiers) eliminated and only getting one grappler to the championship bouts.  

However, on Saturday, the Wildcats came storming back as they won six straight elimination matches and guaranteed five state medals while going 9-0 to leap back into the top 10 of the team standings. Holton finished the day 13-2 and moved into 3rd place as senior, Lucas Lovvorn defended his state title and won the 160 championship to cap the super Saturday in Salina.  

Lovvorn won his state matches 6-0, 9-3 and 3-1 on Friday and trailed by a point a couple times early in his title bout rematch with Brody Vogel of Chunute before taking a 9-5 advantage into the final period and winning a 12-5 decision to finish his season with a 44-1 record.  He is the first and only Holton wrestler to win back-to-back titles since Jesse Strawn in 2005-2006.  

Justin Rieschick won his first two state matches (1:16 pin and 8-0) but lost a heart-breaking 5-4 decision in his semifinal on Friday night.  The junior bounced back with an 8-3 win Saturday and then placed third with a 7-3 decision in his 3rd place match to finish 44-3 on the season.  

It was Justin Pool, Tyler Price and Mason Baum that rallied for Holton on Saturday morning, after the trio lost their final matches on Friday, including a controversial tough 9-7 overtime defeat for Price. The wins were far from easy, but late heriocs and a steam of momentum allowed the guys to feed off each other and capture the excitement and respect of everyone in the Bi-Cenntenial Center.   

Facing elimination, Pool won a 2-0 match with a reversal in the final :05 and then won 6-1 to get into the medal round.  He then rallied for another last seconds 5-4 comeback victory in the consolation semifinals and capped his impressive Saturday with a 5-4 overtime victory to claim 3rd place in his third state season.  Pool won four straight matches Saturday to finish 5-1 at state and 33-11 for the season.  

Price got three straight pins to start his day Saturday including a fall when he was trailing 4-0 in his semifinal.  Price ended his sophomore and second state campaign with a 6-1 loss to take 4th place state honors and a 4-2 mark at state left his record at 36-10 on the year.  

Baum used his marquee cradle move to pin his first two foes on Saturday and keep momentum rolling for Holton.  After losing by techinical fall in the semifinal, Baum bounced back with a dominating 8-0 victory in his 5th place match to cap his senior season with a victory and repeat 5th place state medal. Baum also went 4-2 at state and ended with a 38-10 record for the year.  

The Wildcats also had strong leadership at with state appearance for Nathan Shields and Kegan Meister, who finished with 23 and 24 wins respectively on the season and broke through to the state competition.  

The only other local wrestler at Class 4A in Salina to win more than one match was Jacob Box of Royal Valley who went 2-2 in his sophomore state appearance.   

State Wrestling Videos --

Watch the archives of 2015 State Wrestling here -- click here

State Wrestling Interviews --

Holton Head Coach, Cullen Jackson - click here

Holton grappler, Justin Pool - click here

Holton grappler Justin Rieschick - click here

Holton grappler Lucas Lovvorm - click here