Even before Kolton Greathouse donned the blue and gold for Iola High’s football team, his coaches had a hunch they had someone special on their hands.
“I remember Kolton as a freshman, he was one of the first ones to show up when weights started,” Mustang head coach David Daugharthy recalled. “He was working hard all through it, one of the few kids doing that.”
As the years progressed, Greathouse continued the trend, putting the work in himself, and encouraging his teammates to do the same.
Fast forward four years and Greathoue became an invaluable cog for the Mustang football team, which tied for a Class 3A district championship — even though a back injury threatened to derail Greathouse’s season before it started.
Daugharthy suspects Greathouse’s recovery was aided by his commitment in the weight room, which in turn led to second-team Pioneer League honors as a defensive lineman.
“He’s been a hard worker, a staple of what a program is expected to be,” Daugharthy said. “He shows up consistently, he’s there early, encouraging others, working as hard as he possibly can to help the program improve. Kolton had a really good season.”
That success culminated Wednesday when Greathouse, son of Felicia Greathouse, signed a letter of intent to play at Friends University in Wichita next fall.
Greathouse picked the Falcons over a half dozen other schools across the region.
“It wasn’t a difficult decision,” Greathouse said. “They were one of the first teams to reach out to me. And when I went on my visit, they were very welcoming. The players were very nice. It felt like a family there.”
Greathouse, who also is an honor student, plans to study physical education at Friends, and is interested in getting into coaching.
Friends has been a program on the rise in the KCAC standings, increasing its win total from two in 2021, four in 2022 and going 9-2 in 2023.
“They’ve kept their interest in me the whole time,” Greathouse said. “It’s a pretty good situation.”
Greathouse was a cog for Iola on both the offensive and defensive lines, racking up 34 tackles, five for loss, with a forced fumble in 2023.
He also has been a member of Iola High’s highly ranked powerlifting team.
He spoke warmly of his years at IHS.
