BURLINGTON — Two middle-schoolers from Iola and three from Humboldt opened the 2024 wrestling season in fine fashion Tuesday, winning their respective weight classes at Burlington’s Cat Classic Wrestling Tournament.
Iola’s Milo Franklin swept his way to three victories, all by pin, in the 115-123 pound weight class. None of his three matches lasted longer than 33 seconds.
The Mustangs’ Hunter McDaniel was equally dominant at 131-141 pounds, pinning each of his three opponents in 30 seconds or less.
“Milo, obviously, stood out,” Mustang head coach John Taylor said. “He’d done club wrestling, but hadn’t been a part of the club the last couple of years. It looked like he never left.
“Hunter’s improved a ton,” Taylor continued. “It took him two or three matches last season before he got his first win, but you can see the work he’s put into getting better.”
Taylor also pointed to the efforts of newcomers like Axtin Christensen and Parker Pfaff, who each took second in their respective weight groups.
He also said Lucas Boeken, who took third in his weight class, was likely placed in the toughest weight bracket of the entire tournament.
“If you’re just looking at results, getting third doesn’t look like a good day, but I was excited to see how well he did,” Taylor said.
THE DAY was not without tragedy, however.
Iola’s Jimmie Maloney, an eighth-grader, was seriously injured in a match against Josh Highbarger of Bluestem in the 103-111 pound weight class.
In an effort to escape the grasp of Highbarger, the two landed awkwardly on the mat, pinning Maloney’s arm underneath. The exchange broke Maloney’s forearm in two places.
Medical crews were summoned immediately to transport Maloney to a Topeka hospital.
“The injury was devastating,” Taylor said. “I’ve been coaching for 27 years, and this is just the second time I’ve seen an injury like that.”
Taylor said losing Maloney is also a blow “because we were so excited to see how his season would progress. It was exciting to see how much he had improved and how fast he did it. He has outworked probably everybody on the team.”
Taylor said he’d received a message from Maloney’s family Wednesday morning, checking on the Bluestem athlete’s emotional welfare in the wake of the traumatic event.
