Landon Porter has a healthy appetite for life.
Porter, a junior, checked in at 310 pounds playing on the offensive and defensive line for De Soto’s football team this fall. He was a unanimous selection for the Mississippi Area Football Conference Red first team on offense.
When the Dragons’ season ended against Festus in the Class 4 District 1 playoffs on Oct. 26, Porter, a junior, quickly went into wrestling-diet mode. And while he hasn’t quite cut down to 285 pounds, the max for heavyweight grapplers, he’s getting close.
Porter finished second in the state in Class 3 at that weight in the 2018 wrestling championships in Columbia. He’s qualified for state twice.
Not brash or cocky, Porter has earned everything he’s been awarded. He doesn’t flinch when he’s asked what his goals are on the mat this year. The guy who beat him in a 5-0 decision for the state title in February was Neosho senior Adrian Hitchcock.
That means the coast is clear for Porter to reach the top of the medal podium.
“It’s state title or bust,” said Porter, who finished 43-3 last season. “I’ve got to say it. If I don’t win, I might move to Alaska for a couple of weeks. Seeing how close I was, even though the score says otherwise, I know I’m right there.”
Porter plans on attacking opponents more from his feet this year.
“My leg attacks are getting better and I feel like I’m going to score more points,” Porter said.
Four other Dragons – Devin Francis, Connor Zimmermann, Logan Zimmermann and Lucas Watson – made it to state last year and are returning this season.
Logan Zimmermann is a three-time state qualifier and won a state medal (sixth place at 152 pounds) in 2017. After qualifying for Columbia last year at 160, he has moved up to 170.
“He walks around close to that weight,” De Soto head coach John Brown said. “Overall, I think Logan is our best wrestler.
“I hope and pray he wins the whole thing. He’s worked hard for it. When we’re done running sprints, he’ll run another set.”
Logan’s younger brother, Connor, reached state last season at 132 and lost his first two matches. The junior’s next step is to reach the medal round, Brown said.
“He’s looking fabulous. He’s got some mass and his hips work well,” Brown said. “His leg speed is great compared to last year.”
Senior Devin Francis finished the season 22-22 and wrestled at state at 126. He’ll remain at that weight or go up to 132.
“He’s a sneaky wrestler. He does things that work for him and I’m hoping he has a great season,” Brown said.
Watson, a senior, lost in the first round at state at 170, then won his first-round wrestleback match before being eliminated in a 5-2 decision by Windsor’s Connor Richey. Watson could settle in at 182 this season.
“He’s got some thickness to him,” Brown said. “He’s been working hard in the practice room. We just need a match right now to see where we’re at.”
Brown said the team is struggling to find wrestlers at the lower weight classes. Junior Payton DeClue is a first-year grappler at 106. Kenny Coats didn’t wrestle last season but looked good at summer camp and is at 113. Grant Hearst was progressing nicely last year until he broke his foot in the tri-meet against Festus and Hillsboro. He looks to fill the 120 slot.
Zack Stevens took last year off but is back and ready to go at 126. Brown said he’s not sure about 145 and Luke Bradley, Jeremy Harman and Bradley Hunt are vying for the starting role at 152. Cameron Brooks is set at 160 and Shaun Brooks plans to wrestle at 220 to start the season and eventually drop to 195.
“He’s a gamer,” Brown said about Shaun Brooks. “In the practice room, I’m always on him, but I’ve seen him in matches, and I’m thinking, ‘Who’s this guy?’”
In this first year of official girls wrestling, De Soto has four girls taking the mat. In a preseason poll by USA Wrestling, sophomore Jaycee Foeller was ranked first at 180. Foeller captured the 180-pound championship at the United States Marine Corps Cadet/Junior Freestyle National Championships in July, but Brown said she’ll drop to 167 for the Dragons.
“She’s phenomenal and does whatever you ask,” he said.
Isabella Hartwell was De Soto’s team manager last season and Brown had to do a little coaxing to put her in uniform.
“She thanked me for asking her to come out for the team,” Brown said. “She likes it and that’s what counts.”
Sophomores Hunter Bullock and Julianna Hunt are new to the sport and will wrestle somewhere in the middle weights.
“I think it’s a great thing,” Brown said about the state association’s decision to split the girls from the boys. “There are girls out there who can really wrestle. It’s not all about strength. Jaycee knows all of the moves.”
Lean Blackcats hope they can also be mean
Herculaneum’s wrestling team is a small fish swimming in a big lake.
A Class 1 program, the Blackcats compete in the Jefferson County Activities Association with Class 3 schools
De Soto, Festus, Hillsboro and Windsor.
Team turnout has languished in recent years and only a handful of Blackcats hit the mat for a home meet against Festus Monday night in the season-opening match for both schools. Justin Montgomery and Nick Hoener pinned their Tiger opponents at 195 and 220 pounds respectively for Herky’s only points in a 60-12 Festus victory.
Herculaneum head coach Andrew Wenger said his varsity lineup is still in flux and does not include any girls at the high school level. He said he’s hopeful the girls wrestling on the middle school team will stick with it.
“In the next couple of years we have it planned in the program to add a girls team,” Wenger said. “We’re in a tough conference and we’re a small school. We have more individual goals than we have team goals because we get outpointed at our empty weights.”
Montgomery and Hoener have varsity experience and each should drop a weight from Monday’s match at some point this season.
Senior Max Winkler (126 pounds), sophomore James Dixon (145), freshman Tracy Watson (152) and senior Kenny Patton (285) round out the Herky lineup.
Wenger said the team’s goals are to land at least two athletes on the all-conference team and get one qualifier to the state meet in February. The Blackcats compete in District 1, which happens to be the domain of powerhouse Whitfield, the back-to-back Class 1 state champions.
Next up for the Blackcats is the Affton Tournament on Saturday.
Returning qualifiers look to lead Tigers on mat this year
A trio of returning state qualifiers form the nucleus of the Festus wrestling team heading into the program’s eighth season.
Junior Dillon French and sophomores Zack Naucke and Luke Shaver all were tested in Class 3 action at the Mizzou Arena in Columbia last season. French is back at 106 pounds after falling in the second-round wrestlebacks. Naucke (113) and Shaver (145) both lost their two matches at state.
Most 106-pounders eventually move up in weight, but not French, who’s held that spot for two years. He walks around at that weight with no need to cut down, Festus head coach Tom McFarland said.
“I guess he’s got really good genes,” McFarland said. “You could throw him up against the best wrestler in state and he could pin him in the first period. I hate to say that’s what we expect of him but (a state medal) is in the back of our minds and what he’s working toward. He knows who’s out there and who to beat.”
Naucke and Shaver were the first two Tiger freshmen ever to qualify for state. Naucke will move between 113 and 120 pounds, while Shaver plans to move up to 152 or 160.
“(Naucke) is a consistent producer. It doesn’t matter if he’s a 10-point favorite or (an) underdog, he’s going to wrestle his match,” McFarland said. “Luke hit the ground running in the offseason and is pushing himself to improve. Even at 145, he faced a lot of juniors and seniors. He was unseeded at districts (and) battled through the wrestlebacks (to qualify). He’s good on his feet and tough to keep down. He’s a tenacious wrestler.”
McFarland said most of last year’s wrestlers are back and number more than 30, including two girls. Festus has had trouble filling out a complete lineup the last few years as it tries to gain ground on Jefferson County Activities Association powers De Soto, Hillsboro and Windsor.
“We have an enthusiastic crew who are fired up for the year,” he said.
Sophomore Andrew Nahlik will hit the mat at 120. McFarland said Nahlik, who wrestles year round, missed a couple of weeks last year with an illness.
“It’s hard to bounce back in wrestling when you miss time like that,” McFarland said.
Senior Dawson Bruno, projected at 132 or 138, wrestled on the varsity last year. He lost in the District 1 “bubble” match, the state qualifier, by a single point.
“It was back and forth the whole time,” the coach noted. “Those matches go either way and it didn’t go in his favor,” McFarland said.
Sophomore Jordan Banks (160-170) has some varsity experience. He also had a productive offseason and has been working as hard as anyone in preseason practice.
“I’m excited to see what he does at districts,” McFarland said.
Senior Jacob Cortez (170-182) was blocked from the varsity by a senior last year and is ready for the big stage.
“I think he’ll do a great job on varsity. He’s been in the room for four years and will be a consistent performer.”
Junior Jalen Rodgers, also floating between 170 and 182, is one of the strongest athletes on the team, McFarland noted.
“He has a lot of natural talent. He has a lot of varsity experience and has some district matches under his belt. He’s comfortable on the mat.”
Junior Justus Labrayer figures to grow into the 182 or 195 role. Senior Reece Montgomery returns at 285, with two of the state’s top heavyweights right in his backyard – Landon Porter of
De Soto and Hillsboro’s Joe Becker.
“He’s been a workhorse for four years,” McFarland said of his big senior. “He’s unfortunately stuck in a district with several medalists returning. (But) he’s an upset away from state. He’s improved quite a bit in his patience. I think he’s got a shot at districts.”
On the girls side, senior Maddie Zych will wrestle in the 120-pound range, as will junior Lindsey Mills. Since they’re the only two girls on the squad, it helps that they’re close in weight.
“They’re practice partners for each other. It’s good to have moral support,” McFarland said. “Our goal for newer wrestlers is to hope they do well at the district tournament and (reach) the goals they (set).
“(Zych and Mills) seem like they’re enjoying it. Hopefully that will be contagious and help to get more girls involved.”
Hawk leaders want that medal around their necks
Senior Joe Becker and junior James Short stand at opposite ends of the 14 weight classes, but the two Hillsboro wrestlers have the same objective this season.
Both have qualified for the Class 3 state championships in Columbia twice, but neither has made it to the medal round. That’s their obvious objective this February and the journey begins in earnest next month. Becker has won one match at 285 pounds in each of his trips to state, while Short lost in the second round of wrestlebacks at 120 in 2018.
“(Becker) was that close to being a state medalist” last year, Hillsboro head coach Matt Mitchell said about Becker’s 5-2 loss to David Toese of William Chrisman in the third-round wrestlebacks. “We felt like (he was) the third or fourth best wrestler in the state. That’s a motivator for him.”
Becker was a two-way all-conference performer for the Hawks on the gridiron and weighed around 300 pounds during football season. He’s already slimmed down to 285. His toughest competition is just a few miles south at De Soto.
Becker and De Soto junior Landon Porter have met on the mat many times since their youth wrestling days. Porter has beaten Becker five times in the last two seasons, including in the last two district championship matches. The two heavyweights could meet as many as four times before district this year.
“If we’re wrestling Landon at state, that’s good for Hillsboro and De Soto,” Mitchell said. “Landon is explosive. He’s so good on his feet. He’s really talented for a heavyweight and he’s one of the hardest workers in the area.”
Short, meanwhile, has an example to follow in older brother Nick Short, who placed fourth at 126 pounds last year and graduated in the spring. Nick’s teammate and fellow 2018 grad Dylan Owens took sixth at 132, helping maintain Hillsboro’s recent success in the lower weights.
“James has been there (Columbia) twice and knows what state is about,” Mitchell said. “The next step is about getting on the podium.”
Nick Short is wrestling at 133 for Graceland University in Lamoni, Iowa and won his first college match by fall earlier this month. Mitchell said the Short brothers are very close and keep each other motivated, especially now with Nick away at college.
“James is very comfortable (wrestling) on top and really explosive. (He’s) one of our more athletic kids,” Mitchell said. “He can handstand all the way down the mat and do back flips and that transfers onto the mat.”
Senior Benny Alley (132), junior John Moseley (170) and sophomores Aiden Haggard (106 or 113) and Zach McNees (182) all wrestled for Hillsboro at the 2018 district meet and figure as the starters at those weights.
Seniors Logan Hendrix (152) and Bryan Hayes (145) have emerged on the varsity after wrestling behind state qualifiers the past two years. Hayes, in particular, found himself barricaded behind Owens, Jordan Sanders and Joe Garner, all of whom have graduated.
“He hasn’t been able to break through and I’m interested to see how he performs,” Mitchell said.
Senior Jordan Cage (formerly Jordan Wisdom) was injured around Christmas last season and missed the rest of the year. He’s back and will go at 220.
Freshman Dalton Litzinger, fresh from Hillsboro’s youth program, is floating between 120 and 126 and has flashed some potential.
“He’s had success at the youth level and we’re excited to see what he can do,” Mitchell said. “It’s been an adjustment at this level, but I think he’ll do some good things this year.”
Girls wrestling is new this season and the Hawks have some core athletes in juniors Amber Cage and Julianna Johnson, sophomores Kinzie Golden, Marrissa Hudman and Grace Johnson and freshmen Mikalyn Barciszewski and Joey Madding. All are new to the sport.
Mitchell said the girls haven’t acquired any bad habits yet.
“I hope they’re finding something they can enjoy at school,” Mitchell said. “For whatever reason, they’ve decided wrestling is it. I want them to have a good experience with our program. Being a wrestler isn’t easy. They’ll always be welcomed back, like the rest of all of our alumni.”
Owls hit the reset button with new head coach
It’s transition time for Windsor wrestling.
Jacob Warren and Ryan Yarnell won the first two state wrestling championships in school history the past two years. But they’re gone via graduation.
Also gone, via retirement, is veteran head coach Kevin Stoffey. He mentored the Owls for more than 20 years and went out on a high note with top-10 team finishes at state (Class 3) in 2017 and 2018.
Ryan Bollinger, Stoffey’s assistant for the past three years, is the new head coach. Bollinger graduated from Windsor in 2003 and qualified for state at 285 his senior year.
“I’ve known Kevin for a good chunk of my life,” Bollinger said. “He had multiple assistant coaches over the years, but he’s always been the constant.”
Of the Owls’ six state qualifiers last season, junior Grant Pauli and sophomore Chris Butts return to the team. Pauli is a two-time state qualifier who finished 48-8 and captured fourth place at 145 pounds (Class 3). Butts (35-21) won one match at Columbia at 160 and was eliminated in the second-round wrestlebacks.
Bollinger is counting on that duo to help set the example for the younger wrestlers. Butts, however, is still recovering from a football injury and hasn’t practiced yet. Bollinger said he isn’t going to rush Butts, to make sure he’s healthy in February.
“We have a good room,” Bollinger said. “Chris pushes Grant. The rest of them are coming up strong.”
Freshman Alex Weatherly will wrestle up and down between the JV and varsity at 106 to gain experience. Reilly Baughman, one of two female athletes on the squad, will go at 113 pounds against boys and at 110 against girls until the first-ever girls district tournament. Freshman Jalia Carmelo, the other female Owl, will compete at 126.
Freshman Tyler Perry (120), sophomore Adam Elhawari (126-132), sophomore Michael Wolcott (132-138), junior Connor Meynall (138-145), sophomore Dominic Pona (145), junior Austin Henry (160), senior Brandon Ruegge (182) and sophomore Dante Reigle (285) comprise the rest of the lineup.
Reigle is the only Windsor wrestler currently over 180 pounds. He’ll get plenty of JV matches to prepare him for conference heavyweight standouts Landon Porter (De Soto) and Joe Becker (Hillsboro).
“I’m a realist. We know what’s on the other side of the county,” Bollinger said about taking on the other teams in the Jefferson County Activities Association, including perennial champion De Soto.
The Owls begin the season at home tonight (Thursday) against a pair of Class 4 schools, Saint Louis University High and Oakville.