The Carthage Wrestling Tigers announced their presence with authority Tuesday night in their home opener against the Carl Junction Bulldogs. The 61-12 victory highlighted not only the Tigers’ solid lineup, but enthusiasm in getting back on the mat. While it was easy to observe the logistical changes COVID-19 has necessitated through social distancing and lack of unnecessary contact, wrestlers from both teams were eager to resume the sport they love.
The evening began with the junior varsity team taking home victories in eleven of the thirteen matches they competed in, including senior, James Chuta’s, pin over his Carl Junction opponent. Varsity continued the streak, winning 12 of 14 matches on the evening. Four varsity seniors, Carlos Reyes, Dagan Sappington, Brayden Benefiel and Alexis Vasquez accounted for four of those wins.
Head Coach, Kenny Brown chatted with us about Tuesday’s win, this year’s challenges and what he looks for from his team in the upcoming months.
Carthage News Online: What goals have you and the team set for this season?
Coach Brown: Our goals this season are the same as every season. We want to continue to improve throughout the course of the season to give us the best opportunity to challenge for a District championship and set ourselves up for a run during the State tournament.
CNO: Tuesday night’s dual against Carl Junction was the first competition since February. How do you feel the kids have handled the extended time off?
CB: I felt that our kids wrestled very well. The extended time off honestly wasn’t too bad. We still had kids coming in over the summer lifting and wrestling and we also were able to host our local camp and had good numbers there. Having a little more time with the football boys this year allowed them to be more prepared going into the season.
CNO: Where do you feel your strengths lie with this year’s team?
CB: Our strength this year is going to have to be our depth. With the uncertainties presented by COVID-19, it is going to be an asset to have boys we can shift into the varsity lineup at the last minute. Not only that, but we are having some tight competitions for not just the varsity spots, but the JV spots as well. Kids aren’t getting varsity spots just because they are the only one at that weight. The boys are going to have to continually improve over the course of the season or their backup is going to step up and take the role from them.
CNO: You have nine seniors this year – what part do they play on the team?
CB: The seniors are your natural leaders of the team. They have been there, done that, and it is their job to show the younger wrestlers what it means to be a part of the Carthage Wrestling Program.
CNO: In light of the pandemic, what changes with wrestling do you foresee being implemented?
CB: This is going to definitely be a year of firsts for us in wrestling. With some schools not participating or not being allowed to participate there could be some shakeups in the classes, but I believe Carthage will remain in the largest class. Add to that the implementation of the success formula being used by MSHSAA for classification of private schools, there are going to be some schools competing sometimes two classes above where they have always been. Perennial Class 1 champion Whitfield will most likely be bumping up to Class 3. I’m also guessing that the State tournament will be different this year. Columbia has hosted every State Wrestling Tournament since 1975. I believe that with the COVID-19 restrictions this year in the urban areas that have the large arenas, we will see the State Wrestling Tournament hosted at 5 different locations, possibly large high schools. At this point, I’m just happy that the boys are able to have a season and get to wrestle. Fingers are crossed that we will be able to complete it, especially for our seniors.
CNO: Carl Junction coach, Mike Frizzell, is a good friend of yours. With the wrestling community being so tight knit, is it difficult when you face off against his team or others in similar situations?
CB: It honestly isn’t difficult. A lot of these coaches were either wrestling at the same time in high school that I was or were wrestling in high school while I have been coaching. You approach every dual the same, regardless of who the opposing coach is. Just with your friends, you tend to want to get the W so you’ve got the ability to needle them a little when you get together outside of the season socially. It is a tight knit community, but that is one of the things that make it an enjoyable profession.
CNO: What do you consider your biggest challenge this wrestling season?
CB: It is definitely going to be dealing with COVID-19 measures and keeping the boys focused on what they can control. COVID-19 is really going to hit our JV squad hard. We are at least three deep at all 14 weight classes and finding JV matches for everyone is going to be difficult. Our JV has already lost one tournament because they are not allowing out-of-state teams. Other JV tournaments will be limiting entries to 1 wrestler per weight class.
CNO: As you begin your nineteenth season in Carthage, reflect on how things have changed from 2002 and your first year as a head coach.
CB: It is night and day. My first year we only had 17 wrestlers on the team, four who I recruited from the YouTurn (Alternative School). Now, I routinely have over 70 sign-up interested in coming out. This season we have 66 on the team. There are a couple of reasons for this. First, our junior high coaches (Canfield, Collier, Jones, and Enyart) have done an amazing job of combing the hallways for wrestlers. Second, our high school wrestling facility is one of the best in the state.
The high school has also exploded. When I first started, I think that the high school had around 1100 students. Now we are hitting 1500. The team’s demographics have also shifted. My first season, I had one wrestler who was half Hispanic the rest were Caucasian. This year, we have thirty-four Hispanic wrestlers. My first season, I had two assistant coaches (Nathan Patrick and Ryan Bravo). My second season, I was forced to cut one of my assistants because of the low numbers the previous season. Now, I have four assistants (Nate Kelly, John Petticrew, Clint Spencer, and Kellen Bounous) who all placed in the State tournament while in high school. Of those placements, eight times were State Finals appearances.
CNO: What’s the best advice you would give the young men on your team?
CB: The biggest thing is to realize that the season is a marathon, not a sprint. Just because they are successful early in the season does not guarantee that they will be successful at the end when it really matters. They need to go into practice every day with a game plan on how they want to get better. They need to challenge their weaknesses and turn them into strengths.
CNO: What are the things your team will be working on following this first dual?
CB: We are stressing the importance to the team of doing just a little bit more. Do what it takes to push from the decision to the major decision, the major to the tech. Don’t be content with just winning the match, do a little bit more and help out the team.
Here are the Carthage Wrestling results from the dual with Carl Junction on 2/01/20. Carthage is now 1-0 on the season. Carthage JV next wrestles at the Ray-Pec JV Scramble on 12/05/20. The varsity will next wrestle in a double dual with Cassville and Miami in Cassville on 12/08/20 starting at 5:00.
Carthage 61
Carl Junction 12
Weight—Name—Grade—Record
106—Joshua Griffith—9—(1-0)
Won by forfeit
113—Bradyn Tate—9—(1-0)
Won by decision 6-0 over Lukas Walker
120—Carlos Reyes—12—(1-0)
Won by forfeit
126—Kip Castor—10—(1-0)
Won by fall in 4:00 over Dylan Frazier
132—Dagan Sappington—12—(1-0)
Won by fall in 3:01 over Sam Cory
138—Brayden Benefiel—12—(1-0)
Won by fall in 1:15 over Chris Zbranek
145—Eli Sneed—11—(1-0)
Won by fall in 3:23 over Mekhi McGarry
152—Davion King—10—(1-0)
Won by fall in 1:52 over Lucas Watkins
160—Braxdon Tate—11—(1-0)
Won by decision 4-2 over Cole Stewart
170—Brett Rockers—11—(1-0)
Won by fall in 0:59 over Chance Benford
182—Luke Gall—10—(1-0)
Won by major decision 11-1 over Javon White
195—Obed Gonzalez—12—(0-1)
Lost by fall in 1:32 to Jesse Cassatt
220—Alexis Vasquez—12—(1-0)
Won by decision 7-4 over Reese Bonjour
285—Kanen Vogt—11—(0-1)
Lost by fall in 2:58 to Brennan Carey
Junior Varsity Results
113—Antoni Sales—9—(1-0)
Won by decision 13-8 over Drake Richardson
113—Christofer Gonzalez—9—(1-0)
Won by decision 8-4 over Drake Richardson
126—Mason Rustad—10—(1-0)
Won by decision 10-5 over Keaton Colburn
126—Christian Brown—11—(1-0)
Won by fall in 3:32 over Keaton Colburn
145—Byron Lopez—11—(1-0)
Won by fall in 3:32 over Arlen Wakefield
145—Trey Nye—10—(0-1)
Lost by fall in 1:25 to Arlen Wakefield
170—Jose Huinac—10—(0-1)
Lost by fall in 3:36 to Blaine Jeffers
170—Lucas Lund—10—(1-0)
Won by fall in 0:38 over Blaine Jeffers
182—James Chuta—12—(1-0)
Won by fall in 4:58 over Nevan Challenger
220—Cristian Salas—11—(1-0)
Won by fall in 1:56 over Jagger Booth
220—Anthony Salas—10—(1-0)
Won by fall in 1:28 over Jagger Booth
285—Malachi Housh—9—(1-0)
Won by fall in 0:23 over Blake Smith
285—Garrett Lilienkamp
Won by fall in 1:24 over Blake Smith
