Michael Smith
The Fort Osage boys wrestling team should have some momentum going into the Class 4 District 4 tournament.
They have not lost a dual all season.
That trend continued in Wednesday’s tri dual against Grain Valley and Blue Springs South. The Indians had six wrestlers finish 2-0 on the day en route to a 51-21 victory over the Eagles and 54-17 blowout of the Jaguars at Blue Springs South High School.
Wrestler Interviews:
- Blue Springs South’s Cy Wilmes (144)
- Grain Valley’s Zac Bleess (120)
- Grain Valley’s Jace Worthington (175)
- Grain Valley’s Justin Deweese (165)
- Grain Valley’s Adalia Del Real (155)
- Grain Valley’s Keya Butler (145)
- Blue Springs South’s Logan Mainard (132)
- Fort Osage head coach Brandon Wackerman
- Fort Osage’s Isaac Ward (190)
- Fort Osage’s Becca Marlow (135)
- Fort Osage’s Allison Kraemer (130)
- Fort Osage’s Colby Gray (150)
- Fort Osage’s Rylan Mansfield (138)
Grain Valley won its dual with South 42-36.
Fort Osage head coach Brandon Wackerman said late season duals are the most difficult to navigate as teams often have wrestlers nursing injuries as coaches prepare for the postseason tournament, starting with districts on Feb. 16.
“We had most of our lineup and the other teams had some attrition,” Wackerman said. “I like to make sure we have some energy in the tank late in the season. We had one starter out tonight and another we didn’t know if we had to use him or not.
“In our matches, we were scoring in neutral a lot. We are doing this on our feet, and we weren’t cruising or settling. We hungry this late in the season which is encouraging.”
One of those who appeared that way was senior Rylan Mansfield (138 pounds), who improved to 38-8 following a pair of wins. He earned a 9-0 major decision against Grain Valley senior Ethan Jones and pinned South’s Simone Creek in 2 minutes and 59 seconds.
“I wrestled clean and got the job done,” Mansfield said. “I wish I would have made that major a little more. I felt good out there.”
So did junior Colby Gray (150), who dominated both of his matches, winning by fall in 12 seconds over South’s Christian Hill and in 1:17 vs. Grain Valley’s Azryel Walker….
