When the 6A state wrestling tournament fires up in a month, the Derby wrestling squad will have its first true opportunity to erase 12 months of unfulfilled dreams.
“We’re going to definitely step up the practices. We’ve been building it up to this point,” said Bill Ross, Derby head coach. “Burnout is for losers – that’s an old saying and I firmly believe that – but we peaked a little too early last year, and we’re going to make sure we peak at the state tournament this year.”
Derby’s third place showing in the 6A state tournament was unsettling. The past week of results may have shown the first signs the squad has turned it on for the late season push.
The Panthers crushed the field at the Paola Invitational this past Saturday. Derby’s 173 points outpaced Pittsburg, which placed second with 136. Only two weeks prior, Pittsburg placed 23-1/2 points ahead of the Panthers at the Derby Invitational.
“Every week we talk about trying to get better every day,” Ross said. “It’s a progression. We don’t want to take any steps backward.”
Cody McDonald (106 pounds), Jeffrey Morrow (113), Shawn Marlatt (195) and Clay Gordon (220) brought home individual titles from Paola.
Ross said McDonald, a freshman, is a significant piece to the title race puzzle for Derby. Gordon’s progression is also critical. The senior has become more confident on the mat, Ross said, leading to success.
“We talk to our kids that you have to do better than you did last year,” Ross said. “Clay Gordon was not even an average varsity wrestler last year, as far as his record. He’s definitely stepped things up this year.”
Brady Heincker (138) and Ben Becker (145) also made the championship round, but were unable to polish off undefeated runs through the bracket. Heincker lost to Fort Scott’s Victor Hughes, 2-0. Pittsburg’s Aaron Seybold, the No. 1 ranked wrestler in 4A, fended off Becker, 13-7.
Heincker and Becker have both fallen short of tournament titles in recent weeks. The competition has been stiff, but each wrestler has to refine his repertoire in the coming weeks.
“We just have to keep working on their technique, as far as their sharpness. We’re still not in our best shape yet,” Ross said. “If we do right now, win them, that’d be great, but as long as we go out there and wrestle to the best of our abilities, we can walk off with our heads held high when we walk off the mat.”
Derby hosts a dual with Salina South today at 6 p.m. On Saturday, the Panthers will try for their second-consecutive tournament championship at the Chanute Invitational.
The week’s events mark the beginning of a hard march to be in superb shape for the postseason.
“The plan is to be there by mid-February. We know it’s a process,” Ross said.
Paola Invitational
Jan. 21 at Paola
Team results: Derby 173, Pittsburg 136, Shawnee Mission East 132, Great Bend 128, Atchison County Community 91, Fort Scott 91, Olathe North 67.5, Sumner Academy 62, Paola 52, Lawrence Free State 46, Atchison 39.5, Topeka Highland Park 39, Basehor Linwood 31.5, Eudora 29, Bishop Miege 15
Individual Derby results:
106- Cody McDonald, first place, defeated Logan Bowen, Atchison County Community, 4-3; Braden Dipman lost to Levi Kester, Pittsburg, 8-2
113- Jeffrey Morrow, first place, defeated Donte Boose, Sumner Academy, 4-0; Gage Wells, fourth place, lost to Jeremiah Jones, Pittsburg, 6-0
120- Jared Suppes, third place, defeated Chipper Jorns, Shawnee Mission East, 5-3 2OT
126- Rasindo Espinoza lost to Kenny Kroll, Highland Park, fall 3:17
132- Caleb Gash lost to Cody Calhoon, Atchison, fall 4:47; Trevor Lanthrop lost to Cody Calhoon, Atchison, fall :45
138- Brady Heincker, second place, lost to Victor Hughes, Fort Scott, 2-0
145- Ben Becker, second place, lost to Aaron Seybold, Pittsburg, 13-7
152- Chandler Ayer, fourth place, lost to John Hughes, Fort Scott, forfeit; Clint Gordon lost to Anton Lindstrom, fall 3:46
160- Jose Santillan lost to Tobias Popchoke, Olathe North, fall 1:46; Steven Marlatt lost to Tobias Popchoke, Olathe North, fall :24
170- Myles Stroud, fourth place, lost to Lucas Becker, Eudora, forfeit; Ethan Bailey lost to John Reuter, fall 2:46
182- Armoni Coppins lost to Jaron Ogles, Highland Park, fall :30
195- Shawn Marlatt, first place, defeated Alex Beahm, Shawnee Mission East, 4-2
220- Clay Gordon, first place, defeated Dane Lofquist, Shawnee Mission East, 9-4 OT
285- Mat Kissinger, fourth place, lost to Dominique Atkinson, Shawnee Mission East, 2-1 OT
Derby 72, Salina Central 12
Jan. 19 at Salina
Individual Derby results:
106- Braden Dipman defeated OPEN
113- Cody McDonald defeated Tyler Lindzy, fall
120- Jared Suppes defeated Gage Menke, fall
126- Rasindo Espinoza defeated OPEN
132- Caleb Gash defeated OPEN
138- Loren Chenowith defeated JP Purdham, fall
145- Jon Schoeppel defeated Tre Ponting, fall
152- Chandler Ayer defeated Ben Parks, fall
160- Jose Santillan defeated Sam Ailen, fall
170- Ethan Bailey defeated OPEN
182- Armoni Coppins defeated OPEN
195- OPEN, lost to Chase Livengood
220- Joshua Pence lost to Kade True, fall
285- Mat Kissinger defeated Lucas Bennett, fall