Following last weekend’s tournament and dual competitions, Carthage Wrestling Coach, Kenny Brown reflects on his team after a couple of weeks of competition.
Carthage News Online: Several of your guys competed in a tournament at Farmington last weekend. What performances stood out to you?
Kenny Brown: I was very impressed with several of the boys, but 152 and 160 probably stand out the most to me. At 152, we were able to enter both Braxdon Tate and Grey Petticrew, but Petticrew wasn’t allowed to score points for the team. We ended up sweeping the top two spots in the weight class. Because of his weight certification, Petticrew was not allowed to wrestle 145 until the day after the tournament. He drew the #1 seed first round because he was an extra wrestler and he pinned him in the 2nd period after he was already winning the match 6-3. His opponent was a returning state qualifier. We’ve got high expectations for him this season after wrestling up a weight class from his natural weight last year. He has put a lot of time in the weight room and wrestling room this offseason and it is showing. Braxdon Tate(152) is another who had an excellent day. Last year at 152 he didn’t have to pull any weight and was successful. This year, he is pulling a little and it is showing dividends. He is so much taller than opponents and it causes them all kinds of problems. Add to that the fact that he is basically a 160 pounder, and he is going to be a wrestler to watch when we get to the State tournament in February.
Davion King is the other wrestler that really stood out. He was the number two seed at the tournament behind the 4th place finisher from his State bracket last season. He proceeded to dominate the number one seed in the finals 8-0. For those who are not too familiar with wrestling, a major decision is an impressive win against a fellow quality opponent. It just lends credence to our belief that in a normal(non-Covid) State tournament, Davion should have been 3rd or 4th last season rather than 5th. Because the eventual State champion was upset in the Sectional finals, Davion had to wrestle him in the quarterfinals and after that loss, the best he could place was 5th due to daily match restrictions.
I was extremely pleased that we were able to finish one point out of 3rd place considering that we only brought 8 scoring wrestlers and one of those got injured and had to withdraw from the tournament after his first match due to injury
CNO: What kind of competition did you see at the Farmington tournament and how does that prepare you for the rest of the season?
Brown: We saw some very good competition and specifically competition we normally won’t see until the State tournament. There were several Class 4 schools(Lindbergh, Jackson, and Poplar Bluff) in attendance that we don’t have a chance to see anywhere else prior to the State tournament. Add to that Whitfield, 6- or 7-time defending State champion, and it became a very competitive tournament.
CNO: The win against Joplin was a testament to the fact that many of your boys are finally getting their sea legs. What do you attribute a lot of that success to?
Brown: I honestly think that the boys are truly coming together as a team. Everyone pulling in the same direction with the same goal in mind. Practices have gotten better, with more intensity. Part of that I attribute to the boys realizing that in order for us to have a successful season, they are going to have to step up. We have dealt with all manner of adversity this season. We came into the season with very high expectations because the boys understood the team that we had returning. Unfortunately, we have been hit with some terrible luck. We have had multiple wrestlers, coming into the season that we were planning on having significant impacts, arrive injured. Others have just chosen not to wrestle this season for one reason or another. Luckily, we are starting to get some of the injured boys back and other younger wrestlers are stepping up to the challenge. The other part of our progress, I have to give credit to my assistant coaches. Coaches Kelly, Petticrew, Spencer, and Bounous are doing a fantastic job working with the boys. More importantly, they are doing a great job of fixing small mistakes in technique that make huge differences in the outcome of matches.
CNO: This week will finally see the return of some of your injured wrestlers and also some wrestlers finally down to their certification weight – how will this affect your lineup going forward?
Brown: That remains to be seen. Just because some of the boys are back, it doesn’t necessarily guarantee instant success. We have to work really hard to get some of those boys back into “wrestling” shape, which is far different from just being in shape. The sport of wrestling is a different animal. Just because you are in shape doesn’t mean that you can last the 6 minutes of a regulation match. You have to remember that your opponent is training for the same match and not only do you have to be able to exert yourself for 6 minutes, but you have to be able to do it for 6 minutes better than your opponent.
We have finally gotten everyone down to their weight, but then the question is “how will they do now that they are down?”. It is one thing to get to the weight, quite another to be able to compete effectively at that weight. Luckily, our boys have done a good job of losing their weight correctly. They have brought it down gradually over time, rather than trying to do it all at the last minute. Hopefully that will allow them to have the energy they need to compete at the high level that we expect from them.
CNO: Leadership on and off the mat is an important part of your program. What are the most important qualities that make a Carthage Wrestler a leader in the eyes of you and the other coaches?
Brown: It has to be building each other up. Mr. Holderbaum (Carthage Athletic Director) had professional development in the Spring and again at the beginning of the school year for coaches focused on leadership. What are the core values you want your team to understand and promote? Leaders can be created and a lot of the boys have truly embraced this idea. A leader on a team doesn’t necessarily HAVE to be a senior like most coaches try to push. It can be anyone on the team. We have really emphasized that our kids need to be helping each other in the room. A coach telling a kid he has done something well doesn’t carry the impact with the young wrestlers near as much as one of our better wrestlers complementing them on something they did. They should expect that from their coaches, but it will often come as a surprise from one of their peers. Quite often, two of the most influential words a young athlete has are “Coach says.” I like to think that even more than that is, words of encouragement from the best athlete in the sport at a school. A coach’s job is much easier when teammates help build each other up. Whether it is getting through a diabolical practice devised by the coach, a difficult weight cut, a talented opponent, or something going on in their lives away from the mat, that brotherhood is what can help get them through trying times. Luckily, we have some young men with us that are making our jobs easier.
CNO: How will the competition stack up at this week’s two-day Harrisonville Tournament?
It will be a good test for some of our boys. There are a lot of very good teams there, but specifically I am looking forward to how we do with the other Class 4 teams in attendance and the other COC teams which will be there. This tournament will go a long way in determining our seeding for both the COC tournament and our District tournament.
Here are the Carthage wrestling results from the Farmington Invitational on 12/11/21
Team Scores
1—Whitfield—185
2—Farmington—167
3—Lindbergh—119
4—Carthage—118
5—Poplar Bluff—116.5
6—Hannibal—91.5
7—Jackson—76.5
8—Pacific—72
9—Farmington JV—41
10—Paducah Tilghman—32
11—Carthage JV—28
12—Farmington C—12.5
13—Lindbergh JV—11
14—Farmington D—3
Individual Results
Weight–Name—Grade—Tournament Record—Season Record—Placement
106—OPEN
113—OPEN
120—Christian Brown—12—(3-2)—(5-2)—DNP
Lost by major decision 0-9 to Will Scherer—Lindbergh
Lost by fall in 3:21 to Porter Matecki—Whitfield
Won by major decision 9-0 over Jon Bone—Farmington
Won by fall in 5:29 over Nickolai Cain—Farmington
Won by overtime decision 7-5 over Caden Browning
126—Bradyn Tate—10—(3-2)—(6-2)—3rd
Won by fall in 0:33 over Ethan Watkins—Farmington
Lost by decision 5-9 to Ethan Flaherty—Pacific
Won by major decision 11-3 over Benjamin Carter—Whitfield
Lost by major decision 0-10 to Cody Culp—Hannibal
Won by decision 10-8 over Ethan Flaherty—Pacific
132—Kip Castor—11—(2-2)—(4-2)—3rd
Won by fall in 2:57 over Jace Amsden—Farmington
Lost by fall in 0:55 to Blake Cook—Farmington
Lost by fall in 0:28 to Evan Binder—Whitfield
Won by fall in 0:51 over Carter Lincoln—Farmington
138—Eli Sneed—12—(5-0)—(8-0)—1st
Won by fall in 2:00 over Jackson Baker—Lindbergh
Won by fall in 3:42 over Gabe Guiliani—Farmington
Won by fall in 5:12 over Warren Fiedler—Pacific
Won by decision 1-0 over Caleb Carter—Whitfield
Won by decision 8-2 over Nate Schnur—Farmington
145—Abdias Rabanales—9—(1-4)—(1-4)—DNP
Won by fall in 3:19 over Derrick Baca—Farmington
Lost by fall in 2:55 to Michael Gyuriseck—Lindberg
Lost by fall in 4:25 to Gavin Linsman—Whitfield
Lost by decision 2-9 to Koen Ramage—Hannibal
Lost by technical fall 0-17 to Derrick Baca—Farmington
152—Braxdon Tate—12—(5-0)—(8-0)—1st
Won by fall in 1:05 over Charlie Deterding—Lindbergh
Won by fall in 2:16 over Austin Tennyson—Pacific
Won by major decision 14-0 over Dace Wisdom—Poplar Bluff
Won by fall in 4:00 over Rome Tate—Whitfield
Won by medical forfeit over Carthage
152—Grey Petticrew—11—(4-0)—(4-0)—2nd
Won by fall in 3:21 over Trace Dunlap—Farmington
Won by fall in 0:41 over Blake Hager—Jackson
Won by fall in 1:40 over Adam Duchek—Lindbergh
Won by fall in 1:54 over Lucas Hudson—Hannibal
160—Davion King—11—(5-0)—(8-0)—1st
Won by fall in 0:34 over Chase Buchanan—Farmington
Won by fall in 1:40 over Charles Lee—Paducah Tilghman
Won by fall in 1:45 over Justin Mitchell—Poplar Bluff
Won by fall in 5:19 over Ethan Turner—Farmington
Won by major decision 8-0 over Jace Davis—Jackson
170—Gabe Lambeth—11—(0-1)—(2-2)—DNP
Lost by decision 4-5 to Matthew Wade—Farmington
Withdrew from tournament due to injury
182—OPEN
195—OPEN
220—OPEN
285–OPEN
Here are the Carthage Wrestling results from our dual with Joplin @ Joplin on 12/14/21.
Carthage 54
Joplin 21
Individual Results
Weight–Name–Grade–Season Record
106–Aydan Nye–9–(3-1)
won by fall in 1:30 over Brayden White
113–Wyatt Hole–9–(2-2)
won by forfeit
120–Christian Brown–12–(6-2)
won by fall in 4:59 over Toryn Jones
126–Bradyn Tate–10–(7-2)
won by major decision 9-1 over Freddy Cerrato-Martinez
132–Kip Castor–11–(5-2)
won by decision 5-2 over Alex Short
138–Eli Sneed–12–(9-0)
won by fall in 2:44 over Orion Norris
145–Grey Petticrew–11–(5-0)
won by fall in 3:08 over Johnathon Burke
152–Braxdon Tate–12–(9-0)
won by forfeit
160–Davion King–11–(9-0)
won by fall in 1:33 over Jack Stanley
170–Gabe Lambeth–11–(3-2)
won by technical fall 18-1 over Elijah Neville
182–OPEN(Brett Rockers is still injured from football)
lost by forfeit to Brayden Thomas
195–OPEN(Luke Gall has quit the wrestling team)
forfeit to Draven VanGilder
220–OPEN(Kanen Vogt has a torn meniscus from weights class and is done for the season)
forfeit to Travis Shofler
285–Alexander Salas-Marquez–10–(0-1)
lost by decision 2-9 to Gunner Price
Junior Varsity Results
132–Cody Reeves–12–(6-0)
won by fall in 3:10 over Alexander Vang
won by fall in 1:34 over Noah Soriano
132–Brandon Perez–9–(5-0)
won by fall in 0:31 over Harley Lane
won by fall in 1:43 over Nick Tarr
152–Trey Nye–11–(11-1)
won by fall in 0:58 over Ben Hedrick
152–Elmer Reyes–10–(1-0)
won by fall in 0:27 over Joseph Beranek
160–Grant Lasley–12–(7-0)
won by fall in 0:25 over Micah Goins
160–Esvin Gonzalez–11–(9-2)
won by fall in 1:03 over Carter Lamb
170–Bryce Guzman–9–(0-1)
lost by fall in 0:25 to Jaxon Kuhn
285–Jesua Coquij–10–(5-0)
won by fall in 4:28 over Keyshawn Peavler
won by fall in 0:33 over Justice Rogers
285–David Recinos–9–(1-0)
won by fall in 1:53 over Justice Rogers
