For the second time in three years, the Missouri High School Wrestling Coaches Association has chosen Matt Mitchell as the Class 3 boys wrestling coach of the year after he led Hillsboro High School to second in the state, its fifth consecutive team trophy. Mitchell received the same award in 2023 when the Hawks won their first state championship.
The Hawks settled for another runner-up trophy after St. Pius X of Kansas City moved up from Class 1, in which they were the 2024 champions, to Class 3, where the Warriors outscored the Hawks by 47 points. The move was dictated by the competitive-balance formula of the Missouri State High School Activities Association, under which some private schools with strong programs get bumped up one or more classes to, in theory, level the competitive playing field.
So much for theory. St. Pius showed it can win anywhere, any time. Maybe they should keep moving up and take on Class 4, where Liberty High of the Kansas City metro area has won six championships in a row. The Blue Jays’ head coach, Dustin Brewer, was voted by his peers as the overall coach of the year.
Two years ago, Mitchell represented Missouri as a candidate for national boys coach of the year. The honor from the National Federation of High Schools went to Kiel Carson of LaGrande High School in Oregon.
“The guys who win that are 10-time champions who have insane resumes,” Mitchell said.
Both Hillsboro and Liberty started asserting themselves when they were able to fill all 14 weight classes with state-championship-quality wrestlers. They did that with strong youth feeder programs patiently developed for years.
There are two youth wrestling programs and junior high teams in Hillsboro. They offer an ideal opportunity for parents to decide whether wrestling is a good fit for their sons and daughters. Once they sign up, their young athletes can get a firm foundation in the sport, long before high school.
“First off, I’m very thankful; we have a lot of good support,” Mitchell said. “One of the things we try to do is serve our kids and program – the goals and expectations, I want to provide a structure for them to do that. We have JV, freshmen, girls coaches. Everybody has their own role and they do it well.
“Being coach of the year, it’s always great to be recognized by your peers. This (award) is a credit to the families in the community. We have great coaches at our lower (youth) levels who are dedicated dads and volunteers. To continue that is always the question mark. Some of our kids want to be ‘the next one’ (to win state titles, like three-time champion Jackson Tucker). The work for next year has already started.”
Mitchell said it’s vital to have a junior high program.
“The (junior high) season is short, November to Christmas break,” he said. “They ride a bus, compete at different schools and all-day tournaments. Some decide to do club (wrestling), which is two or three nights a week. The point is, they’re ready to be high school wrestlers when we get them.”
While many of us were watching the NCAA men’s college basketball conference tournaments over the weekend, Mitchell’s attention was glued to the NCAA wrestling Division II-III national championships. Coaching any sport these days is a year-round job. Mitchell is planning to keep the Hawks at the top of Class 3, no matter who’s in their way. They filled all 14 weight classes at last month’s state meet in Columbia and half of those wrestlers won medals.
“We graduated seven kids from our state-winning team; this year we lose five,” Mitchell said. “There’s a magic number we have at state. Some years we have better dual (meet) teams than others. We didn’t get to showcase our dual team because we had injuries and illnesses all year.”
Tucker missed half of the season recovering from an injury the year before, but once he got back on the mat it was obvious he was in top form. He became the school’s first three-time champion after winning state at 144 pounds and finishing 20-0.
Hillsboro’s two Carters, Pryor (106), a freshman, and Wallis (126), a junior, each placed second at state. Wallis won state the year before. Juniors Evan Litzsinger (113) and Griffin Morris (285) finished third in Columbia. That base of talent already marks the Hawks as front runners for next season. Mitchell’s crew begins their offseason weight-room program April 1.
I’ve had the privilege in this job to cover some of the best wrestling coaches in the state. That includes here in Jefferson County, where wrestling would be king of the high school team sports if it weren’t for cross country. Both sports require the utmost physical and mental conditioning.
Mitchell said he had three different head coaches during his high school wrestling career.
“I tell the kids all the time, the consistency our program provides is my No. 1 goal,” he said. “When I was in high school, three adults tried to change what we were doing. That pushed me into coaching. I felt like that (lack of consistent coaching) held my own career back. But I’ve put those demons to rest.”
It was bound to happen because wrestling is in Mitchell’s blood. His dad, Norm, was a state champion in Minnesota and an All-American at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville before going into coaching and overseeing the Fox High program for years. He’s currently coaching the Hawks at the junior high level.
“I’ve always looked up to him,” Mitchell said.