Michael Smith
The Lee’s Summit West boys wrestling team could be on the rise.
It certainly appeared that way in Saturday’s Coffman Invitational at Truman High School. The Titans saw five of its wrestlers win their weight class and four others finish in the top three as they cruised to a first-place finish with 261.5 points.
“I 100 percent believe (his team could make some noise this season,” sophomore Grady Mortensen said. “We just need to keep our heads down, keep our nose to the grindstone and work hard and I think we will be great this year.
St.John Vianney took second place with 174 points and Van Horn was third with 173.
Mortensen (150) helped lead his team to a tournament title by pinning his way to the championship match of his bracket. In the title bout, his 15-1 major decision against St. Joesph Lafayette’s Ian Chapin netted him first place.
“I wrestled pretty well. I was more aggressive than I was before,” Mortensen said. “I was just taking shots and letting it fly.”
Austin Pruitt (113) also had a dominant performance. After pinning his first four opponents, he earned a 16-0 tech fall victory against Maximus Gluek of Vianney in his final bout to take his round-robin bracket.
“I worked on stuff that I am used to hitting.” Pruitt said. “I fine tuned some moves like my armbars and my legs. I am trying not to get so high on kids.”
West junior Kallen Koelzer (120) had things a little bit tougher in his championship match against Springfield Glendale’s Bradley Hiteshew. Koelzer had lost to Hiteshew twice before but got a measure of revenge on Saturday when he got a reversal and a near fall late in the third period to earn a 8-6 decision.
“It 100 percent (gave him motivation),” Koelzer said of losing to Hiteshew twice before. “I lost to him close every other time but this time I beat him.”
West sophomore Jaxon Fetters, like Koelzer, had some nail biters at the end. He edged Vianney’s Josh Schmitt 2-1 in the semifinals and got past Van Horn junior Tristan Paige 6-2 in the finals to win his bracket.
“He is always a tough match,” Fetters said of Paige. “He did his research and closed the gap on me. I just have to work harder and take this a little more seriously. I want to be successful in this career.”
Tony Miller (285) was the other Titan to come away victorious. He had six pins and a medical forfeit in his seven matches. His fall against Springfield Glendale’s Reed Jackson netted him a spot at the top of the podium.
Other West wrestlers to finish in the top three included Christopher Schroeder (106, third), Quentin Robinson (126, third), Chase Hinton (132, second) and Austin Seaboldt (215, second).
Below is a breakdown of the winners of the other weight classes not already mentioned:
106: Kansas City Sumner Academy’s Matthias McGregor won by fall in all four of his matches of his round robin bracket as he cruised to a first-place finish.
126: Miles Dean of Sumner Academy’s Miles Dean had little trouble getting through his bracket and ended his day with a pin of St. Joseph Lafayette’s Martrehz in 3:33 to take the championship match.
132: Raytown South senior Norman Schneider won his weight bracket for the fourth consecutive year in the Coffman Invitational. He pinned all of his opponents in less than a minute up until the championship match where he won by fall in 1:40 against Hinton.
138: St. Joseph Lafayette’s Tristan Flynn had some tough matches after getting through the pool rounds. He squeaked by West Platte sophomore Jhett Chandler 3-2 in the semifinals and edged Springfield Glendale’s Jackson Williams in the finals to take first place.
157: St. Joseph Lafayette junior Elias Chapin came back to his former school at Truman where he used to wrestle and had an impressive showing. He pinned all his opponents in the pool round, defeated West’s Tony Manfredi in the semifinals before pinning Jake Lindsey of Vianney in the championship match to take first place.
165: Van Horn senior Darrius Paige treated the Coffman Invitational as a warm up for some of the upcoming tournaments he has this season. He pinned Vianney’s Owen Dalpoas in the semifinals and got a 16-1 tech fall win against Sumner senior Deavon McWashington in 5:46 as he coasted to first place.
175: North Kansas City junior Justin Patek finally broke through. He earned his first varsity tournament championship. After going 5-0 in the pool round, he pinned West Platte’s James Schulte in the semifinals and grinded out a 3-1 win against Dakota Cobb of Summit Christian Academy in the title bout.
190: St. Joseph Lafayette senior Jackson Perkins is looking for his first state medal. If Saturday’s tournament is any indication, he could be well on his way to achieving that goal. He won by tech fall against all of his opponents, including against Vianney’s Robert Eatherton in the championship match, 16-1.
215: Van Horn senior Andrew Murphy won by fall in all of his matches leading up to the title bout against Seaboldt, where he earned a 7-2 victory to take first place.
