Given how the other thread on the Bobcat has turned into one primarily about chokeholds I thought I would start a new one to focus on the tournament on the whole.

Before I get to thoughts on weight classes I wanted to weigh in with a few general notes on the tournament. Let me start by saying I thought it was well run for the most part. However, the stoppage and restarting of wrestling in the consolations (due to the weather announcement meeting to the coaches) could have been handled a bit more smoothly. Also the announcer drove myself and I am sure the crowd a bit nuts at times. Now onto my thoughts looking back on the tournament.

113 - Cheney's come from behind win over Justus Seaton right at the end of the 3rd period with a reversal provided for a dramatic ending to this grind out it out match.

120 - Mies was nothing short of amazing. His performances over Himpel, Elbrader then Leach in the finals were great. Even though the finals match was 8-5 he controlled the match more than the score would let you believe.

132 - What a fabulous win by Tucker Clark in the semis against Will Steltzlen of Collinsville from start to finish. I think Clark might have been a bit spent from that semi-finals match when he faced Dickman in the finals. Still that has to rank as one of the best wins in Clark's high school career and should give him some great confidence for the rest of the season.

138 - This weight class had 3 of the best matches in the tournament including the semi-finals in Dulgarian-Lewis and Harding-Shoemaker. Even though Lewis & Shoemaker ended up in the finals it could have very well been Dulgarian and Harding, or one or the other making it. Both matches had you on the edge of your seat and it is too bad they were going on simultaneously. The other match to note was the Tujague - Shoemaker quarterfinal that went into overtime as Tujague almost took him down for the win. Hats off to Lewis though for winning one of the most difficult weight classes in the tournament as well as to the other 3 guys for providing some entertaining wrestling.

145 - I was very shocked this ended up in a first period pin between Lapaglia & Lambotte as I thought this one would go down to the wire. Seeing how Lapaglia was upset 3-1 by Grant Leeth of Kearney recently in a dual I think he is out to prove something. Wanted to make mention that it was good to see Durosette of Fort Scott back on the mat wrestling well taking 4th after dealing with injury issues this season.

152 - This match provided another surprise with Cain Salas pinning Randy Boerner. The way the match was going it appeared Boerner was going to take it.

170 - Guillen is a pure machine and he showed it in his 8-0 finals victory over Zach Abkemeier of Collinsville.

182 - After Eck's takedown of Pixley fairly quickly I thought he set a good tone for the match. I didn't see it coming that he would be pinned a short time later. Congrats to Spencer Wilson for his 4th place finish in his first action of the season.

195 - The finals match was fun to watch between Coat and Kelly. I have to give props to Jadon McGaha of Olathe North who nearly beat Houser of Columbus, losing in overtime on the front side of the bracket and managed an 8th place finish.

220 - Big tournament title for Ben Ewing over Austin Reyes of Blue Springs. By winning it he ensured Topeka Seaman won the tournament but had Blue Springs won this match decisively they could have conceivably won the tournament. Ewing wrestled smart on his feet doing a good job of doing just enough to remain active and avoid the takedown in the 3rd.

Curious what other people’s thoughts were on this great tournament?

I would not call Grant Leeth over Lapaglia an upset, Leeth is one of the most decorated wrestlers in MO right now.

But, a nice review...Thanks.

Haha, I must agree, this was not the announcer's best days. Glad you enjoyed the tourney.

John, I could see your point having just read some of the Missouri high school wrestling material online about Keeth's victory over Lapaglia not being an upset (Keeth ranked #1 in class 3 rankings currently and Lapaglia #1 in class 4 rankings). The more I think about it, that match could have gone either way in the dual. I wasn't very familiar with Keeth but was with Lapaglia when I wrote this initial review.

Thanks for the compliment on my review.

How many high school state titles has Lapaglia won? Same question for Leeth. And, are they both seniors?

Thank you.

Dean, I think Derrick is a two timer. Not sure about Leeth. Saw them at the KC Stampede. They are both really good. Lapaglia will just do anything that pops into his head. He is really inventive. I think that's why he pins so many people. He catches them from some really unorthodox positions. Fun to watch, headache to wrestle and sometimes coach from the corner.

As for the comment about the announcer. I was absolutely not at my best. I was very ill and we would have gotten a replacement but it was too late. We coordinate both rooms from that position and we just couldn't teach someone to do that so late. I apologize for the substandard job but it couldn't be avoided. Next year, I will try to bounce back. The show is the kids though and gosh, they were just tremendous.

Dean, To answer your question here is a breakdown:

Lapaglia (SR.) - 2 time state champion in class 4, 3rd freshman year (losing 2-1 to Skylar Wood in the semis the eventual state champion)

Leeth (JR.) - state champion last year in class 3, runner up his freshman year (losing to Cody Brewer of Oak Park 9-3 who was a senior in the finals)

I found one common tournament 2012 USAW Junior Freestyle Nationals where Lapaglia placed 7th and Leeth did not place. I have no clue about other common tournaments outside of that so I'll let you be the judge.

I also believe Leeth is a Cadet champ in freestyle at Fargo, also a polite and respectful young man.

Kain, thank you for the info. I'm not judging any one. I was just curious. That's all.

Oh no . . . here I go again. . . was Brewer a four time state champ? Do you have a URL where I can look at past 3 time and 4 time state champs?

I live and teach in Junction City, KS. I have been out here for the last 21 years.

However, I was born and raised in Indep., MO. I wrestled for Truman (1980 - 1982). I was not very good. I remember always getting 'killed' when I had to wrestle Oak Park, Park Hill and Blue Springs! Grin.

Thanks again for the info. I appreciate it.

Is it inappropriate to ask how a wrestler has done over their career? I ask in all seriousness. My motive was curiosity. My intent was not to judge or upset any one. However, if the wrestling community deems it inappropriate to ask this type of question, then I will cease asking them.

Dean, When I made that comment I meant that anyone came come to their own conclusion and it is open to interpretation. It is hard to say one way or another who the better wrestler is between the two as they are both very accomplished. I don’t see any problem with asking about a wrestler’s career. So there should be no worries on your end as I don’t see how you could have upset anyone on the board here with your comments but instead you simply wanted more details on the wrestlers. The key rule to be mindful of when posting is to maintain a positive tone on the board which we are doing in this thread.


Brewer was a 4 time state champion and Wood was 3 timer (I can’t find last year’s results for Wood so I am unable to confirm if he was a 4 timer). You can head to the Missouri State High School Activities Association website www.mshsaa.org and also to www.trackwrestling.com for more information on both young men.

Hopefully this helps give you some more useful insight and know that the board is here for discussions such as this one.

Dean, Brewer was a four timer and we had him at the Bobcat his senior year. He was very tough and I think he was our OW that year. He beat a kid last week from Iowa State that was unbeaten in high school and a four time state champ in Iowa, and is a pretty tough guy. We have had a lot of great wrestlers in the Bobcat over the years. Don't know who the best of them were, they were all really good. We had Mitch Artist from Glenwood, Iowa the first two years and he was just amazing. Bunch of the Andale kids over the years were outstanding, the Taplin kid from Andale, these four guys from Blue Springs and Perkins from Oak Park. All of those kids and many others were very good. Lewis, Lapaglia, Salas, and Pixley might be the best foursome any team has brought in here though. We had Tyler Caldwell and Boaz Beard and a couple of other guys that were equally as tough too. Man we have had fun haven't we?

Wood was a three timer and was injured his senior year.

Kain, thank you for your kind and thoughtful words. Thank you for the URL's also. Take care!

West,

Thank you for the good info. Taplin was from Abilene, KS. I think he was third as a freshman, and then won it three times in a row (the high school state championship). Throwing arm and head king from his feet!

So Brewer is wrestling in college now? Who for?

Take care!

Yo Westfahl, the little bit I have seen of Lapaglia is pretty much how you described above. Excellent description! He reminds me of the way Ben Askren used to wrestle. Gumby with strength and quickness. So, Lapaglia pins a high percentage of the people he wrestles huh? I was just amazed how it appears that he just LETS people get in on his legs, and even DEEP, just so he can pull out some of his FUNK!

Lapaglia is just spontaneous. He just hits it, no hesitation. I would imagine he is a tester too for Mike, but man he has some serious gas in the tank. Funk is a good adjective for him for sure. Kid is a pinner though, man he sees the opportunity and he just hammers it. Got to like that but we will have to put up with him and try to find a way to beat him in the Metro. All bets are off on that one. Lapaglia is the all time Missouri pin leader and pretty high up nationally all time. He pins a ton of people. I believe he only wrestled about 3:50 in our entire tourney this year.

oh Brewer is at Oklahoma right now.

West, great info. WOW! Thanks!

Lapaglia is from the same club team as Bo, Skylar Wood 3x MO state champ (would have been 4 but got hurt Sr. year, Alan Waters, Bricker Dixon, and many, many more. Bryce Shoemaker also came over alot, and Brad Perkins. Many of these kids went alot of other places as well, but it was a room full of studs and Darick gave all of them fits.

Also of note, he cuts little to no weight...He maybe weighs in the high 140's. When he was younger he used to get in trouble with that funk stuff all the time, but he has perfected much of it now. Great kid as well. He taught Bo that leg tilt Bo hit on everyone last year. Steel sharpens Steel.

He is fun to watch and he will do some leg kips, passes, that leg lock, just about anything at the drop of a hat. Fun to watch a kid that is inventive on the mat. Most are not relaxed enough to pull it off but relaxing does not seem to be an issue for him haha.