Maize junior Everett Joyce’s No. 3 seed in the Newton Tournament of Champions last weekend told him all he needed to know about the opportunities that awaited.
 
The undefeated and reigning Class 6A 190-pound champion faced not one but two fellow unbeatens on his march through the tournament bracket.
 
Joyce passed both tests with flying colors, scoring a 16-4 major decision in the semifinals over Jace Renfro of Seneca (Mo.). Then under the spotlight of Saturday’s championship round, Joyce pinned top-seeded Tad Forsyth of Blue Valley Southwest in the opening minute of the second period, handing last year’s Class 5A 175-pound champion his first loss in 31 matches this season.
 
“It was super cool,” said Joyce, who was selected as the tournament’s most outstanding wrestler after leading the Eagles to a second-place team finish, two points behind Washburn Rural. “I got that third seed and wrestled another really good kid in the semifinals, which was nice.
 
“That’s what I was here to do. I was excited to get that.”
 
Joyce, No. 1 at 190 in the Kansas Wrestling Coaches Association’s all-class rankings, pushed his season record to 28-0 Thursday with five victories in the Ark Valley-Chisholm Trail Division I league duals in Hutchinson. He entered the season with a 56-4 career mark after finishing second in 6A at 165 pounds as a freshman and winning last year’s 190-pound state title with a major decision over Gardner Edgerton’s Ty Hammers.
 
After avoiding a takedown attempt by Forsyth at the end of the opening period Saturday, Joyce seized his moment from the up position early in the second, catching Forsyth with a cradle hold.
 
“Right before we had a false start and he posted that leg up,” Joyce said. “He’d done it a couple times before and I thought, ‘Why not go for it?’ It ended up working.”
 
Joyce joined 138-pound teammate Vincent Rosas as individual TOC winners for Maize. Rosas, an Air Force commit who missed the first month of the regular season, pinned previously unbeaten Eli Manley of Seneca midway through the third period to move to 8-0.

 

MAIZE SOUTH’S KERR SNAPS MISSOURI CHAMP’S WINNING STREAK
 
Revenge wasn’t the operative word for Maize South junior Josh Kerr at the Newton Tournament of Champions.
 
But Kerr’s TOC finals rematch against reigning Missouri Class 2 champion Brant Laughlin of Seneca was nonetheless a significant measuring stick.
 
Kerr, who dropped a 10-7 decision to Laughlin in last year’s 138-pound final, snapped the junior’s 74-match winning streak with an 8-6 decision in the TOC’s 144-pound title match that concluded Saturday’s championship round.
 
Much like their 2025 meeting, which Laughlin rallied to win after Kerr got off to a good start, the Seneca standout made his charge after entering the third period with a 6-2 deficit. But this time, Kerr fended off Laughlin, who went 52-0 a year ago and entered the final at 22-0.
 
Kerr, who went on to win the Class 5A 138-pound title last winter with a 47-2 record, pushed his 2025-26 season mark to 27-0 with the Newton TOC title.
 
“I don’t really view it like that,” Kerr said when asked if there was a revenge factor. “It was just a check on whether I’ve improved or not. I won, so I know I’ve improved, but I also know I’m better than that.
 
“There’s still a lot of work to do in the room.”
 
Kerr, who is No. 1 in 5A at 144 pounds and No. 2 for all classes behind Paola’s Brock Johnson, improved to 33-0 on Thursday with six technical-fall victories at the AVCTL I duals meet in Hutchinson. He and his twin brother, Max, hold the top spots in their respective weight classes in 5A.
 
Max missed the Newton TOC due to illness. But his brother built momentum for the season’s homestretch.
 
“It’s been going pretty good,” Kerr said. “I’ve got some good wins, had some good matches. There’s still half of it to go so I’m excited for that.”
 

 

OTHER BOYS WRESTLING STANDOUTS

• Reigning Class 5A champion Goddard produced three individual champions in its fourth-place finish at the Newton Tournament of Champions. Junior Oscar Gauna, last year’s state 106-pound champion, won his third TOC title with a 19-4 technical fall victory over Maize’s Cooper Smith. It was one of two TOC weight-class finals that matched the No. 1- and No. 2-ranked wrestlers in the KWCA all-class rankings. The Lions scored two other victories in the lower weight classes, as Walker Vieyra outlasted Maize’s Zyion Martin 12-10 at 106 pounds, while Harrison Glover pinned Manhattan’s Jack Hutchinson 40 seconds into the first period to win at 126.
• Wichita East produced a pair of champions at the Newton tournament as Donald Jackson opened the championship session with a 4-0 victory over Bishop Carroll’s Campbell Denton at 157 pounds. Jordan Noble improved to 26-1 by defeating Caden Groom of Seneca (Mo.) 6-3 at 132.
• Andale went 2-0 in the Newton TOC championship round, as Tristen Cox defeated Washburn Rural’s Brodye Kocher-Munoz 7-2 to claim the 150-pound title, while Ethan Eck, last year’s 165-pound champion in Class 4A, blanked reigning 5A 165-pound champ Abram Owings of Salina Central 9-0 for the 175-pound championship.
• Salina Central senior Cooper Reves stayed unbeaten with a 4-0 victory over Washburn Rural’s Jadyn Baum in the Newton TOC finals on Saturday. Reves, No. 1 in all classes at 215 pounds, scored a late takedown to seal the victory and improve to 22-0. Reves is a two-time state champion and reigning 5A title holder at 190 pounds.
• Nickerson senior Kristopher Monroe joined the career 100-victory club Friday at the Panthers’ home invitational. Monroe is ranked sixth in Class 4A at 165 pounds.
• Cherryvale senior Cooper Smith posted his 100^th career victory. Smith is ranked sixth in Class 3-2-1A at 285 pounds.

 

GIRLS WRESTLING STANDOUTS

• Derby’s girls edged Campus 41-40 and finished 6-0 in the Ark Valley-Chisholm Trail I league duals tournament on Thursday in Hutchinson. It was the fifth consecutive league title for the Panthers, who have not lost a dual in program history. Freshman Presley Beard is ranked No. 1 in all classes at 120 pounds for the Panthers. Senior Brooke Downs posted her 100^th career victory prior to the holiday break.
• Kapaun Mt. Carmel’s Courtney Nye and Bella Green won individual titles to lead the Crusaders to a fourth-place finish at the Newton Tournament of Champions. Nye scored a 16-1 technical fall over Garden City’s Marina Loera in the finals, while Green pinned Garden’s Aria Cordes in the closing seconds for the victory at 145.
• Campus senior Tiana Murphy became the first girl in the program’s history to reach 100 career victories. Murphy, ranked sixth in Class 6A at 110 pounds, helped the Colts win the Clearwater Invitational as one of three individual champions along with Madi Jones (170 pounds) and Elayna Evans (190).
• Larned senior Mia Munden recorded a pin for her 100^th career victory last weekend at the Scott City Invitational. Munden, the tournament’s runner-up at 145 pounds, is ranked fifth in Class 4A.