Five Jayhawk wrestlers set sights on gold at state meet

The Jayhawk-Linn wrestling team heading to state on Friday includes, from left, head coach Brett Kramer, Denton White, Landon Higgins, Tanner Holt, Layne Goodison, Brady Felt, and assistant coach Jared Avery. (Submitted photo)

By Roger Sims, Journal staff

linncountyjournal@icloud.com

Jayhawk-Linn will send five wrestlers to the boys Kansas State Class 3-1A Wrestling Championships tournament at Fort Hays State University on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 27–28. The ‘Hawks’ grapplers picked up three regional championships plus a second- and a third-place medal to take third place as a team at the regional tournament on Feb. 21 in Eureka.

Landon Higgins, Tanner Holt and Denton White were champions in their weight class. Brady Felt took second place and Layne Goodison was third in his bracket.

In the 117-pound bracket, Higgins (32 wins and 2 losses this year) was one of only seven competitors. A bye in the first round was followed by rapid pins in rounds two and championship round three – 29 seconds in his second match and just under a minute in the championship round three to win the division. To add a sweet note to his win, Higgins notched his 100th career win at the regional. Last year he was runner-up champion in the 3-1A state tournament.

Holt (34-8 ) in the 120-pound division, had only five opponents. After a first-round bye, though, he won his match with a fall before pinning his opponent in the championship round at 2:53. Holt placed sixth in last year’s state competition.

Landon Higgins, along with his coaches, celebrates a milestone victory at the regional meet. (Submitted photo)

The 138-pound division had 11 competitors. White (38-2) won his first match by a fall at 38 seconds. His subsequent opponents fared only a little better. White won by falls at 1:23 and 1:33 in his second and third matches respectively. However, his championship opponent was pinned in less than a minute. White placed fourth at the 2025 state tournament.

With a record of 26-11, Felt worked through his bracket in the 165-pound class, pinning all three of his opponents leading up to the first-place match in less than a minute. But in the round for the championship title, Felt was finally pinned at 5:36 into match and had to settle for regional runner-up.

In the 144-pound bracket, Goodison received a first-round bye. In the quarterfinal, he won by a fall in 1:22 but was pinned in the semifinal match. In the consolation bracket, though, he won by a technical fall at 4:45, qualifying him for a shot at third place. His final match went the distance, but he won by a major decision, 12-1.

Jayhawks who made a good run and earned team points but didn’t advance to state included Brayden Robertson (15-12, 150 pounds) who made it to the semifinal in the consolation bracket and scored 8 team points; Kollyn Malinowsky (11-14, 157 pounds), who also made it to the semifinal in the consolation bracket; Paul John Haen (10-15, 190 pounds), who contributed 10 team points by making it to the semifinal in the consolation bracket; and Josiah Haen (17-12, 215 pounds), who made it to the semifinal in the consolation bracket and contributed 3 team points.

Isa Muhanned, 106 pounds, and Max Lawson, 132 pounds; also competed at the regional.