Wrestling is back, and many wrestlers got their first taste of success at the 2013 Coke Classic. The event, held at Madison Comprehensive High School, held ten teams, three of which hail from Richland County: Madison, Mansfield Senior, and Clear Fork.
Per usual, the event was filled early. Wrestlers, parents, students, coaches, and fans alike filled the gymnasium with excitement thick enough to cut.
However, no school was more excited than the host school. Madison Comprehensive won the tournament, posting a team score of 413.5. The Rams finished the night with five champions: Mike Baumgardner (106), Alize Merrell (113), LeConte Merrell (120), Zane Speelman (132), and Kanyon Tackett (152).
Madison head coach Doug Mosier was pleased with his group’s performance and knows that his wrestlers came into the season ready to win. “It was a nice little tournament; a lot of people got a lot of wrestling,” Mosier said. “We were fortunate enough to have a full team, which benefited us, but we also had some kids that stepped up and wrestled really well. We had nine in the finals that placed first or second and that’s very pleasing.”
One of the wrestlers that stepped up for the Rams was 14-year-old Mike Baumgardner, who came in as a JV replacement for the Rams. Baumgardner, who replaced usual varsity starter Carson Speelman, won all four of his matches, pinning Triway’s Jaimen Hill in the second period to place first in his first high school wrestling tournament.
Another match-up that was full of excitement was between Madison’s Kanyon Tackett and Triway’s Jake Flechler. The 152-pounders worked the ground game, finding themselves getting into several near falls and working out of several holds. Tackett, who fell behind early in the first period, never quit, and with only 24 seconds left in the third and final period, he pinned Flechler for the win.
“I usually just tap people’s heads and shoot a double right off the bat, but this kid [Flechler] was good,” Tackett said. When his usual strategy did not work, Tackett found himself behind, but remained calm and knew his coaches would keep him in the match “I looked over at my coaches, and they shook their heads, [saying] “don’t give up,” and I just was able to push through it.”
The Rams hope to have a lot of success this season, but more importantly than success on the mat, Coach Mosier wants his squad to grow as young men. “We want these kids to understand that this sport is more about life than it is about just getting handed things,” Mosier said. “There are going to be ups and downs, trials and tribulations. I look forward to these kids because we have 28, and they’re all different individuals, but they are all there supporting one another. It’s a nice group of kids.”
One of the other local programs at the tourney was the Senior High Tygers. Mansfield Senior placed fifth, posting a team score of 175. The Tyger’s had two champions on the day, one of which plans to build off of his success last season. Traevon Dickerson, who went to state last season, beat Kenmore’s T.J. Mays with a final score of 8-0. “That kid [Mays] was strong,” Dickerson said through laughs. “It just kind of came down to technique more than anything.”
The Tygers other champion was 170-pounder Jesse Paulser. Paulser dominated his match against Madison’s Harlan Markley with a final score of 18-3, which helped push the Tygers farther up in the rankings. “We’ve got Traevon Dickerson, and we’ve got Jesse Paulser as great examples with the amount of work that they put in during the offseason, and we point that out to the kids,” Tyger head coach Billy Stevens said.
Stevens is rebuilding the Senior High wrestling program, and he is excited to see where his young team is heading. “They’ve really been busting their butts,” Stevens said of his young squad. “They’ve really bought into what it takes to be a good wrestler.”
Instilling that message can be difficult, but Stevens is confident that the Tygers will do what it takes to contend. “We talk about getting better week-by-week and what it takes to do that,” Stevens said. “To be a championship team, we have to spend a lot of time in the offseason.”
For Clear Fork, the season could have opened better but showed signs of good things to come. The Colts finished the night with a final team score of 172, finishing just behind the Tygers for sixth place. The Colts’ 160-pounder, Austin Kinzel, placed first by default after Kenmore’s Mike Cross forfeited. Jesse Todd also won his match.
