Stick with the nickname

Lawrence High senior “Baba” Diallo has found it much easier to go by his nickname during his athletic career with the Lions.

Born Abdourahmane Diallo, his mother, of French descent, quickly shortened the name to “Babouish” when Diallo was a young boy.

Sometime around the age of 8, Diallo outgrew that nickname, which is a term of endearment for a mother’s young son. From there, the name transformed to Baba, and he has stuck with it ever sense.

“It’s just much easier for people to say,” Diallo said. “And I like it. It’s who I am and who I’ve been for a long time.”

Baba, a starter, is without question a fan favorite at LHS, not only for his unusual name but also for his relentless effort when he’s on the floor.

¢ Get ready to rumble

This weekend in Basehor, a handful of area wrestling teams will take part in what many have called the toughest wrestling tournament in the region: Basehor-Linwood High’s Bobcat Classic.

Free State, Baldwin, Eudora and Santa Fe Trail all will take part in the meet, which features top talent from Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and even Iowa. The biggest reason many have called it “tougher than the state tournament” is because it attracts the best of the best from all classes.

In all, 31 teams will attend, and many will field defending state champions and wrestlers who boast national rankings.

Wrestling will begin at noon on Friday on six mats and will conclude that night with the semifinals. The action will continue at 10 a.m. Saturday on four mats, with the finals scheduled to begin at 5 p.m.

In the past, BLHS has gone all-out for the finals, providing fog machines, laser shows and arena introductions for those wrestlers who reach the event’s title matches.

¢ Not much has changed

With one week of post-winter-break wrestling in the bag, not much has changed in terms of area wrestling rankings.

A few wrestlers moved up and few others moved out, but for the most part, things stayed the same. Santa Fe Trail (4th in 4A), Baldwin (7th in 4A) and Wellsville (6th in 3A-1A) remained in the team rankings.