Wednesday’s tri dual could not have gone much better for the Lee’s Summit North boys wrestling team.
The Broncos only lost one match out of 28 bouts as they dominated, picking up 78-6 triumph William Chrisman and a 81-0 drubbing of Oak Park at home.
William Chrisman edged Oak Park 42-36 in the other dual.
“I liked how aggressive we were,” said North coach Mick Cronk, who saw his team pick up 17 wins by fall between both duals. “We got where we wanted to be and executed pretty well.
“This was a good stepping stone. Hopefully the kids continue to work hard and get better. With districts being a couple weeks away, we have a tough road.”
Sophomore Ben Wirth (165) and senior Barrett Lawless (215) picked up four big wins between the two of them to help spearhead the Broncos’ dominant performance and improve the team dual record to 8-2.
Lawless, who is a returning state qualifier, had wrestled in the heavyweight division for the majority of the season, but he has recently went down to the 215-pound division. He spent less than two minutes on the mat between both of his matches as he won both by fall.
“I felt great,” said Lawless, who is No. 5 in the Class 4, 215-pound MissouriWrestling.com rankings. “I stepped out onto the mat and took everything seriously. I wrestle to win. I am not going to take it light on anyone.
“I have been practicing on my shots especially since I jumped down from heavyweight to 215. I am wrestling at a much faster pace.”
Ben Wirth has been putting together a breakout season as he improved to 32-3. He earned a 17-2 tech fall victory and a pin to finish 2-0.
“It’s not over,” Wirth said. “I am looking to make that district push and state push. My misdirections were working and the cradle was working pretty well on top.”
Other North wrestlers to finish 2-0 were Ryan Ward (113), who had two pins; Cash Hammons (126), who had pin and victory by forfeit; Adam Paul (132), who earned a 13-3 major decision and a pin; Jack Abraham (138), who had a pin and forfeit win; Alex Wise (144), who had two pins; Kale Lepart (150), who had a pin and forfeit win; Tyler Wise (157), who had two pins; Chris McDonald (175), who had two pins; Hunter Hansen (285), who had two forfeit victories; and Colton Larimer (106), who had a pin and forfeit victory.
“You can’t say enough good things about Ryan Ward,” Cronk said about his freshman’s impressive performance. “He works hard and gets after it. He’s a grinder and he’s extremely coachable.”
For William Chrisman, Vershawn Dudley Jr. (190) was the lone Bear to finish 2-0 as he got two pins, including one against Lee’s Summit North’s Deandre Harrell, which was a match that he trailed 7-0 before making a comeback.
No one from Oak Park went 2-0 as the Northmen had six wrestlers finish 1-1, including Noah Boswell (132) and Zak Hedge Davis (175), as they each got a pin against William Chrisman.