Michael Smith
Year in and year out, the Staley wrestling team is one of the best teams not only in the Kansas City area, but the entire state.
The Falcons always seem to be contention for a state plaque every year as top-level wrestlers consistently come through the program.
That definitely seemed to be the case in Thursday’s dual against another good program in Kearney. Staley won eight matches in a row to start the matchup and cruised to a 55-12 victory at home.
While many of the Staley performances were impressive, 113-pounder Craig Omozeje got the loudest reaction from his home crowd. He locked in a battle with Ryder Shelton and they both went into overtime tied at 4.
Both wrestlers rode each other out in the first two overtime periods before Omozeje rode out Shelton to take the ultimate tiebreaker and win 5-4 to a raucous ovation from the fans.
“I was really happy when I won the match, it was really hard, I really had to push through, I almost lost.”
Craig Omozeje, Staley 113-pounder
“The reason I started on top was because I was cramping on bottom, so I just had to dig deep and ride him out.”
That was the most competitive match of the night as the rest of the bouts were won handily.
The match for Tyler Shanks (285) was the opposite of Omozeje’s. He dominated and got a quick throw and pin in 15 seconds against Jase Jackson.
“I snapped his head hard, I was really heavy on the head,” Shanks said. “I caught him in a brand and got him down.”
Andy Lipp (145) was nearly as dominant in his match. He got out of a single-leg takedown attempt by Vann Grimes. He turned it into a takedown of his own that eventually led to a pin in 1:08.
“I broke him down a little and got my legs in, I got to the power half, I had to sink in my arm and had my elbow on the mat instead of my arm straight out. I got the fall with the power half.”
Andy Lipp, Staley 145
Continuing with the theme of dominant speed, Zayne Reynolds didn’t get his pin in 15 seconds like Shanks, but he was going at a really fast pace in his entire match with Peyton Lee. Reynolds got several lightning-quick takedowns almost immediately after he let up Lee each time. He built a 13-4 lead before getting a pin in 45 seconds.
“It just depends on the opponent, I just went in there and got a takedown and got a couple more.”
Zayne Reynolds, Staley Wrestling
Other Falcons to win were Jack Stoffel (220) in a 1-0 decision; Parker Leverknight (106) pinned his opponent in 58 seconds; Logan Burks (126) by forfeit; David Gleason (132) by a 10-2 major decision; Austin Marrah (138) by fall in 1:11; Merrik Murray (160) by a 6-2 decision; and defending state champion David Brooks (170) by pin in 2:22.
For Kearney, three-time state champion Eli Ashcroft (152)used an armbar to roll over Tyler Bower and get a pin in 1:16; Jak Gist (182) was able to hold off Kaden Trickey and edge him out for a 7-3 decision; and Tucker Black earned a 9-2 decision against Collin Boldridge.
