The Summit Christian Academy wrestling team didn’t have a great start according to senior wrestlers Gabriel Harris and Dakota Cobb.
The Eagles knew there was work to be done if they wanted to experience success during the 2024-25 season and the two seniors said the team did just that.
If their performance at 28th annual Alan Isom Invitational was any indication, this could be a season that Summit Christian could make some noise in districts and at state.
The Eagles ran away with the tournament title, scoring 427.5 team points to take first place Saturday at Kansas City Center High School. Knob Noster took second with 385 points and Raymore-Peculiar was third with 361.
“We struggled at the beginning, and we took our losses, so we knew we had to put in more work,” Harris said. “We have been wrestling like we have never won anything, and we never deserved it. We have the mindset that we must come out using vicious techniques and we have to use our spladles to pin people.”
Cobb noted that the Eagles’ success in the tournament came down to something as simple as putting forth a high-level of effort.
“We would start off strong in a lot of tournaments, then we would just slack off,” Cobb said. “But we have all been coming up clutch lately and we did today.”
Harris (157 pounds) and Cobb (190) were two Summit Christian wrestlers to win their bracket.
Harris won four matches by pin and one by tech fall to set up a championship match with Raytown’s Edgar Orozco in the title bout. He got off to a fast start getting a takedown and near fall in the first period to go up 7-0. From there, he cruised to an 11-4 decision.
“I feel like my shots, sweeps and ankle picks were smooth,” Harris said. “I feel like those moves were what was moving me forward.”
Cobb, on the other hand, had a battle on his hands in the championship bout against University Academy junior London Luna. Cobb got a takedown with 35 seconds left in regulation and hung on for a 4-2 win.
“He was really slippery,” Cobb said of Luna. “He had about 17 pounds on me.”
Other Eagles to finish in the top three were Garrett Gordon (106, third place), Matthias McGregor (126, second), Jack Brownlee (175, second) and Noah Govro (285, third).
Below is a summary of the winners of the other weight classes not already mentioned.
106: Ruskin senior Damian Martinez was in a battle with Raytown freshman Drake Harley. Both wrestlers exchanged near falls in the first period of their championship match, but Martinez ended up getting the final reversal and pin at 1:12 to take first place.
“You got to push through it,” Martinez said. “Obviously, he was a tough kid. He wasn’t in the championship for no reason. I knew it was going to be a war. I was ready for it. I wasn’t going to give up. I was able to switch things around really quick.
113: When Raytown’s David Ayala saw an opportunity to use a shin wizzer he took it. That’s the move he used in his championship match against Richmond’s Daxton McGinnis and it resulted in a win by fall with 12 seconds left in the second period.
120: When his name was announced over the public address system, Kansas City Northeast freshman Levi Taylor got a surprising introduction that was orchestrated by his coach, who got a good laugh from it. When listing his accomplishments, the announcer said Taylor won “The Best-Looking Freshman in America” award.
While something like that is subjective, the way his wrestling looked was apparent in his championship match with Richmond’s Georgan Happy. He got a pin in just 42 seconds to take first place.
“I was working the throw byes and that seemed to work,” Taylor said. “I caught him in it. I have shorter arms and I am shorter. He had longer arms, so that move worked.”
126: Richmond freshman Liam Hyder showed that he is a young wrestler to look out for. On Saturday, he lost his first match 19-15, but bounced back to win his next four, including a 16-6 victory over Mcgregor in the championship bout.
“I got quite a few (back points),” Hyder said. “It was just what I was taught. It all goes out to my coaches and parents. The half (nelson) worked, and I got some wings in there.”
132: Center senior Davion Wilson is on a mission. His goal at the beginning of the season was to finish the season undefeated, so he certainly set high expectations for himself. He did suffer a couple of losses this season through, but he didn’t have any in this tournament.
He beat Richmond’s Brady Hyder 13-9 in the semifinals before taking an 11-1 major decision over Knob Noster junior Raef Braman in the championship to capture first place.
138: Raytown junior Paul Wolken took a 12-3 lead against Knob Noster’s Marcus Braman before getting a pin with 23 seconds in regulation left as he earned a first-place medal.
144: Confidence is key when going into any wrestling match. That was especially the case for Richmond junior Madix Hutchings as he took on Knob Noster’s Joshua Taitano in the championship bout and he got a pin in 4:21 to earn his spot on the highest podium.
“I felt pretty good coming into the match, and I felt confident enough to beat the kid,” Hutchings said. “I was just working on my shots, and I got a feel for what he was doing.”
150: Knob Noster junior Elijah Avery has had a heck of a season as he had only one loss coming into the tournament. He kept it that way as he went 6-0 and ended his day with a 17-1 win by tech fall over Center’s Larry Clayton in the final match.
165: Lincoln College Prep junior Philip Faigan said the key to having success for him is to keep his conditioning up. That helped him be successful in the tournament as he finished 5-0 in his bracket and ended his day with a 4-1 win over Ray-Pec’s Jacob Wood.
“I felt pretty good, and I felt really well conditioned and my gas tank has increased,” Faigan said. “Now, I am just feeling the guys out and outworking them.”
175: Ruskin senior Logan Taylor is a contender for a state championship in Class 3 and he showed why Saturday. He had three pins leading up to his semifinal match with Smithville’s Owen Beasley. In that bout, he won in overtime 7-1 after a takedown and near fall.
He was supposed to take on Brownlee in the finals but won by medical forfeit, taking first place.
215: Ray-Pec sophomore Luke Coonce had by far the loudest ovation from the crowd following his championship win. The Panthers fans roared with cheers as he pinned Raytown’s Winston Peters in 2:44 to take first place.
“It was crazy,” Coonce said. “The atmosphere was crazy. I had to deliver.”
285: Kansas City Northeast sophomore Amanono Sua dominated his competition, going 6-0 and winning his championship match with Knob Noster’s John Jones in 1:44.