One thing Seckman head coach Ryan Moyer knew for certain heading into the Kansas City Stampede Wrestling Tournament Dec. 15-16 was that every one of his wrestlers would be thoroughly tested.
“It’s one of those tournaments where you’re going to get into a pool with five kids, and at least three of them are going to be awful tough,” Moyer said.
Which meant that the prospects for success at the prestigious event at Hale Arena hinged on the Jaguars heeding the same words of wisdom that Moyer often heard when he was their age.
“It’s something my dad always told me – you’ve got to beat someone you’re not supposed to and you can’t lose to the ones you’re supposed to beat. And I’ve always gone with that philosophy,” Moyer said. “If you want to win the whole thing, you’ve got to beat someone you’re not supposed to. Just stay on top and always be on your ‘A’ game.”
That would not be easy in a 40-team field that included some of the top teams from Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma. In fact, according to the event’s Facebook page, the meet featured 227 state qualifiers, 157 state medalists, 43 state champions – including seven two-time champs and six three-timers – and 25 nationally ranked grapplers. The 120-pound bracket alone boasted nine state champions, with two of them three-time titlists.
“There were a lot of really good teams there,” Moyer said. “It was a very impressive tournament, well run, a lot of great competition. There was a nationally ranked kid in every single bracket.”
And Seckman more than held its own, placing ninth with 417.5 points. Junior Kai Orine (120 pounds) and senior Cam Fusco (126) took first place in their brackets, while senior Jack Wrocklage (113) finished seventh. In all, six Jaguars emerged from their pool to compete in the gold bracket and finish among the top 16 in their weight class, and seven other team members competed in the silver bracket.
“And all seven of those kids who were in the silver bracket made it to the semis, so they competed very well, too,” Moyer said.
“We did really well. We had two champs and it’s the first time we ever did that. We could have done better, could have done worse. We wrestled really well as a team.”
Orine was named the outstanding wrestler of the tournament after winning all four of his pool matches, three of them by technical fall and one by pin, then continuing through the gold championship bracket with four more wins, including a 5-0 decision over Sam Latona of Thompson in the finals.
“Just going on the mat, being able to wrestle my match, do the best I can, and then come out with a ‘W,’ it’s fun,” Orine said.
Fusco followed suit at 126 pounds, winning all eight of his matches, including a 5-2 decision over Michael McAteer of Whitfield in the championship round.
“Kai beat three nationally ranked kids in order to win his title, and Cam Fusco beat two nationally ranked kids to get the title,” Moyer said.
“In our eyes, Kai was the No. 1 runner (in his weight class) for the championship, but on paper, he was the ninth-ranked kid in that bracket. So to go from ninth seed to No. 1 is pretty nice, and Cam was the same way. Cam was actually the 11-seed in his, so that’s pretty cool to see those guys show up and wrestle the tournament they had, and hopefully that continues to follow through the rest of the year.”
Moyer said he’s confident the entire team can continue to build toward what the wrestlers hope will be “something magical” at the state championships.
“The big thing is this group really, really wants to bring home a state trophy this year,” he said. “This is one of the most fun teams I’ve ever been a part of. They really get along well together, they bond well, they’re goofy, they do all kinds of crazy stuff. But they’re having fun, and that’s the big thing that a lot of people are missing with this sport – they’re not having fun anymore. And as long as you can keep that part in the sport, kids are going to continue to love it.
“There’s nothing fun about losing weight and then going out there and losing. So if you’re having fun and you’re winning while you’re doing it, it makes life a lot easier. I know all these guys have the same goal, and they’re going to keep striving and pushing each other every single day, because they don’t want to fail.”