Now that the 2019-2020 school year is in the books due to COVID-19, I think it is the perfect opportunity to dive into the top 25 returners in Missouri based on what Class they are in. Missouri has graduated one of the top crop of Seniors in MO history, so the young ones need to step it up if they want to join that elusive group. It is probable that Whitfield moves up a Class, but I will leave them in Class 1 for now.
Class 1
1. Teague Travis (Father Tolton)
2. Colin Arch (Palmyra)
3. Tyson Moore (Lexington)
All High School Missouri wrestlers that finished as D1 All-Americans rated for this All-Decade Missouri D1 Wrestling Team.
Created by: Sean Mael
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Alan Waters, Missouri (Park Hill)- Both Waters and Ryan Mango, Stanford (Whitfield) have a decent claim to this spot.
Both were two time AA’s and were fun wrestlers to watch compete. The two split bouts at the Midlands in the 2010-2011 season. Waters has a slight edge in that his two placements were higher than Mango’s two.
Waters senior season he entered NCAA’s as the presumptive favorite. Waters achieved a higher level in college than Mango, but both were excellent wrestlers and are both worthy of being mentioned here.
I was fortunate enough to grow up in the Kansas City area and I was three years behind Waters in school, so I got to follow the last couple seasons of his high school career. He was one of the best high school wrestlers I have ever seen in the state. He was filthy on top and was extremely slick in neutral.
By: David Nugent
The opportunity to coach at one’s alma mater is a once in a lifetime opportunity for most coaches. Such is the case for Daniel Capp, as last month he returned to his alma mater, Hannibal LaGrange University, to take the reins of the wrestling program.
Capp replaces longtime head coach, Scott Hawes, who made the decision to step down as head coach after guiding the Trojans over the past 12 seasons. The decision to relinquish his post was not one that Hawes took lightly, but that he felt necessary to advance the HLG program in a forward direction.
“I will be 45 years old this year, with no assistant coaches. Because I have managed this situation for a few years, I did not see the administration giving me any additional help,” Hawes said. “ I love HLGU. I want to see it succeed. I knew that I wasn’t going to be able to help it succeed by continuing to be the only coach. I believe it is time for a younger coach to come in and take their passion to build this program up.”
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Potential Starters
- (R-SO) Connor Brown (10-1) at 133 (PAST NCAA Qualifier at this weight for South Dakota State)
- (R- JR) Dack Punke (12-11) 2019 NCAA Qualifier at this weight.
- (R-JR) Cameron Valdiviez (20-12) fifth place at the MAC’s this season.
- (R-SO) Cevion Severado (19-6)
- (R-FR) Noah Surtin (20-7)
Thoughts: Missouri has a ton of depth and talent at this weight class. Brown is an outstanding scrambler and if he can make it back down to 125 and hold the weight efficiently he has AA type talent this season. Brown is a pinner and is tough on top. Stylistically Brown is a stereotypical Missouri stud in that he is tough on top, scrambles well and is tough to score on. I was really high on Brown coming out of Oak Grove and am thrilled he ended up with Missouri in the end….\
Three student-athletes on the No. 16 Missouri Valley College men’s wrestling team were selected for 2019-20 National Wrestling Coaches’ Association NAIA Scholar All-American Awards.
Earning the NAIA Scholar All-American Award from the NWCA were Senior Richard Pocock (Plano, Texas), Sophomore Elias Vaoifi (Independence, Mo.) and Freshman Blake Bills (Platte City, Mo.)
Pocock, majoring in criminal justice, finished the season sixth at 149 pounds, ending his career as a two-time All-American. Pocock compiled a 19-10 record during the season.
Vaoifi, majoring in economics and finance, placed fifth at 165 pounds, becoming an All-American for the first time. Vaoifi finished the season with a 22-9 record.
Bills, majoring in exercise science, qualified for the National championship for the first time in his career, and advanced to the consolation third round. Bills finished the season with an 18-13 record.
NAIA men’s wrestlers earn NWCA Scholar All-American Awards by compiling a cumulative 3.2 GPA or better and qualifying for the 2019 NAIA Men’s Wrestling National Championship, or compiling at least a cumulative 3.0 GPA or better and earning All-American status at the National championship.
Missouri Valley has produced 164 All-Americans, third-most all-time in the NAIA.
This recruiting class is good, real good.
It is an exciting time to be a fan of Mizzou wrestling. This is an excellent group of recruits and it could be a class that the fanbase looks back on for years to come.
- #2 Keegan O’Toole (149-165)
- #14 Rocky Elam (184-197)
- #41 Josh Edmond (141-157)
- #64 Colton Hawks (184-197)
- Trey Crawford (133-149)
- Ethan Turner (133-141)
- Ellis Pfleger (165)
- Seth Nitzel (174-184)
- Duwayne Villalpando (174-184)
Read more about this incoming recruiting class and learn about their background and what they will bring to the Mizzou wrestling team.
We have some depth in the Class of 2021 going on in Missouri. If you notice the trend the top wrestlers of this class all wrestle in the spring/summer. Here is who is still available if you’re in need of top wrestler for your program.
Nathan Pulliam of Rolla (145)
Pulliam has really jumped levels this past summer. He placed in Fargo, knocking off Iowa commit Caleb Rathjen.
Undefeated State Champ this year post a 41-0 record. Pulliam is the top uncommitted talent in this crop.
He posted a 39-0 record this year including 32 pins and a fall in the finals of the Missouri Class 3 State Finals.
This week in college wrestling featured two championship events: NJCAA and NAIA. The absolute highlight of the NJCAA tournament, from a Missouri perspective, was 2017 Raytown South grad, Ottis Peeler, winning the 184lbs bracket for Cowley Tigers.
Peeler was a state champion for the Raytown South Cardinals as well as a 3x state placer, including a state runner-up medal.
Ottis defeated Rozell Baker (College: Ellsworth / State champ from Cahokia, IL) in the finals 3-2.
Missouri has been producing some top products around the country due to the extensive knowledge of clubs at the youth and Freestyle/Greco level for the past several years. As the MO State Tournament wrapped up this past weekend let’s take a dive into who are the best available seniors in Missouri.
These seniors are still uncommitted and could help your program tremendously. The wrestlers will be ranked based on their potential ability to compete on the next level. College coaches don’t sleep on these dudes because they can scrap.
Tier #1
- 126 Khyler Brewer of Staley
The start of the Missouri USA Youth Wrestling State Series begins this weekend with 8 Districts around Missouri. Each week we will take a look into who are the top youth wrestlers and clubs around the state and who to look for while at the Youth State Tournament in KC.
As Missouri wrestling continues its rise of prominence across the country, youth clubs are continually producing some of the best talent and having them ready to enter the ranks in high school.
If you are new to what the Missouri Youth State Series, its broken down to 8 Districts, then 4 Regionals, and ending with the State Tournament. The top 6 wrestlers in each District will move onto Regionals, from there the top 4 wrestlers will move onto the State Tournament.
Here is a look at the State Series Schedule:
Districts Saturday, February 29th
District 1- North Kansas City High School
District 2- Maysville High School
District 3- Odessa High School
District 4- Lees Summit High School
District 5- Diamond High School
District 6- Willard High School
District 7- Mexico High School
District 8- Seckman High School
Regionals Saturday, March 7th
Region A- Staley High School
Region B- Higginsville High School
Region C- Camdenton High School
Region D- Jackson High School
Youth State March 14 and 15
Hyvee Arena in Kansas City, MO
