Michael Smith
The Van Horn wrestling program is on the rise.
It’s off to a hot start after finishing third at the Grain Valley Tournament and winning the Coffman Invitational last Saturday at Truman High School.
That momentum carried into the Independence City Championships Tuesday when the Falcons won the event for the first time as they defeated William Chrisman 54-30, Truman 45-21 and Fort Osage 40-29.
Fort Osage finished second after topping Chrisman 51-30 and Truman 51-23. The Bears were third following a 47-29 win against the Patriots.
“The guys are doing a great job of showing up every day and working hard,” Van Horn assistant coach Marion Holt said. “They are putting in the extra effort and the coaches are doing a great job putting guys in to be successful.”
One of those successful wrestlers is 220-pounder David Lewis. He went 3-0 which included a 10-2 major decision, a pin and a forfeit. He improved his season record to 7-0.
“You just have to execute every time you hit the mat,” Lewis said. “My opponents were good. I just have to work on my stamina and not get so tired.”
Senior Demarcus Penson (152) has also had a stellar season thus far, holding a 8-1 record. He went 3-0 with a pin, 12-6 decision and forfeit.
“I did a good job of setting stuff up and getting my shots in,” Penson said.
CJ Nelson (182) also had a dominant performance for the Falcons. He had two pins and a major decision to help his team sweep its three opponents. He was able to do that despite having pain in his midsection.
“At the last few tournaments, I hurt my ribs,” Nelson said. “Everybody here has been targeting those inadvertently.
“I did pretty well on top and did OK in neutral.”
Other Falcons to go 3-0 were Keanu Sua (195), who earned a tight 3-2 ultimate tiebreaker victory against Truman’s Freddie Sheppard; Tevaughn Chambers (113), who had two pins after going down 2-0 in two contested matches; and Darrius Page (145), who had his first challenging match of his season in a 7-4 win against Fort Osage’s Nathan Noda.
Lamonte Belshe (160) was 2-0 with a pin and Tristan Page (106) and Steven Campos (138) each went 2-1.
Fort Osage had three wrestlers go 3-0 and that included Rylan Mansfield (132), who was looking for a strong performance Tuesday before he competes in one of the biggest tournaments of the year Saturday, the Kansas City Stampede.
“I think I wrestled pretty well,” Mansfield said. “I am excited (for the Kansas City Stampede), but it will be tough. I am looking forward to some good matches.
Aside from Mansfield, Stevie Gabb (285) and Colby Gray (120) finished 3-0. Kaiden Johnsoin (113), Dylan Reed (132), Noda (145), John Newton (152) and Gavin Gallman (220) each finished 2-1 for Fort Osage.
Chrisman had three wrestlers finish unbeaten in three matches. Up-and-coming freshman Javarian Jeffries (126) had two pins and a forfeit victory as he looked dominant on Tuesday.
“My coaches really believe in me to wrestle juniors and seniors and that gets me in high spirits,” Jeffries said. “I just want to go out there and win for my team.”
Nathan Campos (170) was another Bears wrestler who cruised through his matches with two pins and a 21-6 tech fall victory.
“I did OK, but there is a lot of improvement to be made,” Campos said. “Mostly, I need to stay off my knees and get to my shots and hit them at the right time.”
Riley Ragan (106) was the other Bear wrestler to go 3-0 and Cameron Hammon (285) was 2-1.
Elias Chapin (132) was the lone Patriot to go 3-0 which included a disqualification victory against Reed. Ethan Grout (120) and Sheppard (195) finished 2-1.
