BaldwinCity.com

Although the Baldwin High School wrestling squad proved any preseason rankings wrong, coach Kit Harris is excited about the possibilities next year.

In 2009, the Bulldogs finished 22nd as a team at the state tournament. They returned only three state points from that team this season. Needlesss to say, the Bulldogs weren’t ranked as one of the top Class 4A teams heading into the winter.

“It was a really fun and exciting season,” Harris said. “I knew that these guys were going to be good. Last year, they held their own and most of them were competing on varsity for the first time. Then we had a really good off season and became closer as a team. We got on a roll late in the year and had a great team performance at regionals and state.”

After the state tournament finished nearly two weeks ago, the Bulldogs finished ninth as a team. Six of the seven state wrestlers won at least one match. Two Bulldogs placed in the top three, with freshman Bryce Shoemaker winning a state championship.

“We improved a lot this year,” Shoemaker said. “Last year, the team got 22nd at state and this year we got ninth. I thought we improved a lot as a team.”

Shoemaker and senior Josh Hanson led the Bulldogs all season. Each won more than 40 matches, which had only been accomplished by five previous BHS wrestlers.

Shoemaker, along with winning the 103-pound state title, set two BHS records as a freshman. He set the new mark for falls in a season at 30. Those falls (pins) also helped him beat the team points record, which is now at 335.

“He had a lot of bonus-point wins,” Harris said. “He only had about eight wins that weren’t bonus-point wins. He was a huge point scorer for us. He scored really big in our large tournaments.”

Hanson doesn’t own any school records, but he was the only wrestler during Harris’ 11 years as the BHS coach to never miss a practice all four years. Hanson also moved on to the BHS all-time wins list. He is ranked fifth with 126 career wins.

“Josh definitely left his legacy on the program,” Harris said. “It’s not only just about his wins, but he was a great leader and upperclassman for the younger kids to look up to. He worked hard and always did things the right way.”

Hanson was one of two seniors, along with Heath Parmley, on the Bulldogs’ roster this season. Both qualified for state and will be missed, but Harris and Shoemaker are confident about next year’s potential.

“We return almost all of the team next year,” Harris said. “We could have 10 guys that win 30 or 35 matches next year. That could be a strong team, which is exciting to think about for the future.”

The Bulldogs will also have several freshmen who have competed for years. Harris said Tucker Clark and Riley Thomas, both eighth graders this year, have a chance to make an impact as freshmen. Shoemaker agreed.

“We’re going to have a pretty solid lineup again next year,” Shoemaker said. “We will have Tucker Clark and Riley Thomas coming in and they’ll be pretty good. They will both help us. Everyone else will get better, too.”

The state champion even said the Bulldogs will place higher as a team next year in Salina.

“We’re hoping to improve on our team finish at state next year,” Shoemaker said. “Hopefully, we’ll win more of those backside matches and close matches. We lost a lot of close matches this year and I think we can win those next year.”

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