USAW-Kansas is proud of every wrestler
with the courage to step on the mat.
Every wrestler who improves his or her skill is a winner,
but some have achieved more than most.

The following represent some of the high achievements
by Kansas wrestlers during the 2002/2003 season.

 

 

Eric Akin continues to compete at the top levels of our sport, as he put on a strong showing at the National Championships, finishing second at 121 lbs after a 3-1 loss to Stephen Abas.  Eric is currently training in preparation for an attempt to earn a spot on the U.S. 2004 Olympic team.

 

 

Zach Roberson (Blue Valley NW / Iowa State) improved on last year's 7^th place finish at the NCAA Division I Championships, earning the 4^th place spot at 133 lbs.  In addition to Zach, six other Kansas wrestlers qualified for the Championships: Bo Maynes (Salina / Oklahoma – 125), Shawn Bunch (Leavenworth / Edinboro – 133), Joe Johnston (Shawnee Mission-East / Iowa – 157), Jacob Klein (Kapaun Mt. Carmel / Nebraska – 165), Josh Carroll (Olathe-North / Appalachian State – 197), and Scott Coleman (Manhattan / Iowa State – 285).

 

 

Once again, there was a Kansan standing at the top of the awards stand at the NCAA II National Champion­ships.  Augusta graduate Shawn Silvis, wrestling for the University of Central Oklahoma, won a national championship at 165 lbs.  Other Kansas wrestlers who placed at the Division II champion­ships were Brandon Pfizenmaier (Clay Center / University of Nebraska-Kearney – 2^nd at 149), Bryce Abbey (Goodland / University of Nebraska-Kearney – 3^rd at 125), Andrew Ubben (Phillipsburg / Fort Hays State University – 5^th at 285), Adam Keiswetter (Dodge City / University of Nebraska-Kearney – 7^th at 133), and Riley Ross (Colby / University of Nebraska-Kearney – 7^th at 165).

 

 

Tyson Biddle, a graduate of Winfield High School and wrestling for Missouri Valley College, won the 141 lb. division at the NAIA Nationals.  Also reaching the finals was Wichita West graduate Kenny Taylor, Jr., who was second in the nation at 157 lbs, wrestling for Bacone College of Oklahoma.

 

 

Kansas junior colleges continued to post outstanding results at the NJCAA tournament.  Colby Comm­unity College lead the way, placing second in the nation with 7 All-Americans.  Neosho County Community College finished 6^th with 6 All-Americans, and Labette Community College was 7^th with two All-Americans.  Individual Kansas wrestlers earning honors included Aaron Meister (Holton) with a national championship for Labette at 174 lbs and Bryan Miller (Decatur Co.), who placed 2^nd at 141 lbs for Colby.

 

 

Three Kansans did well at the University National Championships in Chicago: Austin DeVoe (5^th at 121 lbs) and Shawn Bunch (5^th at 132 lbs) placed in Freestyle, while Dusty Spaulding earned an 8^th place finish at 132 lbs.

 

Two Kansans reached the finals at the Veterans National Championships in Las Vegas.  Charles Knox finished 2^nd at 58 kg in Greco-Roman, while Tom Peterman placed 2^nd in Freestyle, also at 58 kg.

 

 

FILA Nationals

 

Junior Greco-Roman:

Name	Hometown	Wt	Place
Jeremy Johnson	Kansas City	145.5	8th
Nicholas McGovern	Lawrence	185	8th

 

Junior Freestyle:

Name	Hometown	Wt	Place
Austin Devoe	Columbus	121	3rd
Justin Dyer	Lenexa	185	5th

 

Women’s Cadet Freestyle:

Name	Hometown	Wt	Place
Lauren Rivard	Hutchinson	170	4th

 

Women’s University Freestyle:

Name	Hometown	Wt	Place
Brooke Bogren	Carbondale	138.75	4th

 

 

National High School Championships

To earn the right to compete in this tournament, you must be a graduating senior and a finalist in your state.  There were 798 entries from 46 states, with the number one nationally ranked wrestler in twelve of the fourteen weight classes present and competing in the event.

 

Despite only having one All-American, the Kansas seniors wrestling at the 2003 High School Nationals still managed to finish a respectable 13^th out of the 46 states.  Tyler McCormick (Blue Valley North) joined the list of prior Kansans who have earned All-American status at this prestigious event, with an 8^th place finish at 125 lbs.

 

 

USA Wrestling Triple Crown

There were ten athletes who won the prestigious USA Wrestling Kids Triple Crown in 2003.  To win, an athlete must win USA Wrestling national titles in folkstyle, Greco-Roman and freestyle the same year.  One of the ten Triple Crown winners came from Kansas:

Name	Club	Division	Wt
Sharky Slyter	Paola	Novice	65

 

 

National Duals Teams

The Duals format has been growing each year, both in the number of states participating and in the competitive level.  All of our Duals Teams were competitive, with the Junior Freestyle team claiming the 8^th place spot, and the Cadet Greco-Roman team earning a 5^th place finish

 

 

Junior/Cadet National Team

Overall, this was a highly successful year for Team Kansas.  We brought home six freestyle All Americans (including two national champions) and eight Greco Roman All Americans (including one national champion).  This was the first year since 1986 that we had two Cadet freestyle national champions, and tied the record for the most Junior Greco Roman All Americans (at six).  Cadets are wrestlers who are 15 or 16 as of December 31, 2003, while Juniors are wrestlers who attended high school during the 2002/03 school year.  The team coaches were:

Mike Garcia, Junior Director	Kevin Klemm
Richard Fergola, Cadet Co-Director	Gonz Medina
Kit Harris, Cadet Co-Director	Tom Peterman
Jason Blanding	Scott Rieck
Bobby Bovaird	Dusty Spaulding
Shawn Bunch	Kenny Taylor
Dennis Charbonneau

 

Junior National Freestyle All-Americans:

Name	Hometown	Wt	Place
Seth Metzler	Newton	98	2nd
Ross Taplin	Abilene	160	7th

 

Junior National Greco-Roman All-Americans:

Name	Hometown	Wt	Place
Seth Metzler	Newton	98	2nd
Tanner Gardner	Berryton	119	5th
Blayze Bahe	Goodland	125	5th
Jake Kriegbaum	Abilene	125	6th
Danny Grater	Green	140	5th
Troy Medill	Leavenworth	171	7th

 

Cadet National Freestyle All-Americans:

Name	Hometown	Wt	Place
Nick Shumate	Overland Park	84	2nd
Donny Altman	Derby	84	5th
Joseph Cornejo	Wichita	130	1st
Neil Erisman	Olathe	152	1st

 

Cadet National Greco-Roman All-Americans:

Name	Hometown	Wt	Place
Donny Altman	Derby	84	1st
Joseph Cornejo	Wichita	130	3rd

 

 

Kids National Folkstyle Championships

This was the sixth and final year that Kansas will host this prestigious event.  Kansas had the highest number of All Americans in this event (68), but were edged out in national champions by Missouri, who had 12 to Kansas’ 11.

 

Midget (born 1993-1994)

Name

Club

Wt

Place

Robert Rhea	Wichita East	50	4th
Symon Seaton	Bonner Springs	55	4th
Bo Pursel	Tonganoxie	55	5th
Ky Biddle	Winfield	60	5th
Dylan Penka	Garden City	75	2nd
Reece Conklin	Sunflower Kids	75	6th
Zach Carpenter	Trailhands	80	2nd
Colt Castlebury	Winfield	80	5th
Tucker Chadd	Maize	87	1st
Dalton Beard	Brawlers	95	3rd
Boomer Mays	Sunflower Kids	95	5th
Myron Sanders	Wyandotte Co	95	6th
Nathanial Swoyer	Pratt	103	3rd
Tanner Gardner	Clearwater	103	5th
Lucas Powell	Gardner-Edgerton	112	1st
Kane Washington	Hoxie	112	5th
Jacob Villarreal	Rice County	139	3rd

 

 

Novice (born 1991-1992)
Name	Club	Wt	Place

Daniel Deshazer	Team of Hard Knox	60	2nd
Kenneth Ornelas	Chanute	60	4th
Sharky Slyter	Paola	65	1st
Cody Pack	Chanute	70	4th
Chase Nitcher	Valley Center	75	6th
Kyle Detmer	Maize	95	2nd
Brayden Daniels	Ark City Takedown	95	3rd
Cody Sherwood	Valley Center	100	2nd
Brett Dunlap	Hiawatha	105	6th
Jordan Brown	Pittsburg Gorilla	120	2nd
Ryan Garrett	Team Lightning	130	1st
Marcus Burton	Wichita East	140	4th
Tyler Gjerstad	Chapman	160	1st
Trey Page	Wichita East	160	2nd
Shane Creason	Stranger Creek	160	4th
Adam Shepherd	El Dorado	160	5th
Lucas Vincent	Olathe	160	6th
Matthew Klingsporn	Wichita East	204	1st

 

 

Kids National Folkstyle Championships (continued)

Schoolboy (born 1989-1990)
Name	Club	Wt	Place

Trent Cox	Brawlers	70	2nd
Darin Stroot	Brawlers	70	6th
Tyler Caldwell	Valley Center	80	3rd
Peter Eck	Brawlers	110	2nd
Boaz Beard	Brawlers	110	4th
Brent Romig	East Ks Chmpshp	110	6th
Mitchell Arnold	Wichita East	115	6th
Jared Hensley	Rose Hill	125	2nd
Marvio Tischhauser	Abilene Kids	140	1st
Elijah Madison	Kansas Pride	160	3rd
Jameon Rush	Clay County	160	5th
Paul Kilgore	El Dorado	172	2nd
Stephen Mey	KC Rebels	172	6th
Clinton Bruce	Ark City Takedown	194	3rd
Randy McCune	Rossville	233	2nd
Alex Thomas	Atwood Kids	233	3rd
Trent Hutton	Team of Hard Knox	273	1st
Richard Zwaduk	Topeka Thunderbird	273	2nd

 

 

Cadet (born 1987-1988)
Name	Club	Wt	Place

Donny Altman	Derby	84	1st
Matt Rein	Abilene Kids	84	6th
Nick Shumate	East Ks Chmpshp	91	6th
Blake Fisher	Brawlers	98	1st
Tristen DeShazer	Team of Hard Knox	112	6th
Michael Mancuso	K Valley Renegades	119	1st
Ben Smith	K Valley Renegades	119	4th
Judd Schroeder	Brawlers	125	3rd
Tyler Baker	Hoxie Kids	125	6th
Andrew Wagner	Manhattan Optimist	130	2nd
Chris Pursel	Effingham	160	3rd
Chris Sutton-Kearn	Con-Kids	160	4th
Jimmy Stewart	East Ks Chmpshp	171	3rd
Blake Malloy	Topeka Thunderbird	189	3rd
Jess Hardy	Jayhawk Kids	215	3rd

 

 

Kids National Greco-Roman Championships

Midget (born 1993-1994)
Name	Club	Wt	Place
Ulysses DeShazer	Team of Hard Knox	60	5th
Dylan Penka	Garden City	80	1st
Spencer Blew	Slammers	80	4th

 

Kids National Greco-Roman Championships (continued)

Novice (born 1991-1992)
Name	Club	Wt	Place
Daniel DeShazer	Team of Hard Knox	60	2nd
Kenneth Ornelas	Chanute	60	6th
Sharky Slyter	Paola	65	1st
Cody Pack	Chanute	70	3rd
Cody Shavlik	Derby	85	5th
Brandon Jasper	Wichita East	85	6th
Chris Strimple	Topeka Thunderbird	90	6th
Matthew Klingsporn	Wichita East	194	2nd

 

Schoolboy (born 1989-1990)
Name	Club	Wt	Place
Cole Zoglman	Brawlers	80	6th
Matt Noblet	Paola	105	1st
Brent Fisher	Brawlers	105	2nd
Scott Elliott	Team of Hard Knox	110	5th
Peter Eck	Brawlers	120	3rd
Mitchell Arnold	Wichita East	130	4th
Aldon Isenberg	Gardner-Edgerton	140	3rd
Aaron Berscheidt	Gardner-Edgerton	140	6th
Cody Jasper	Wichita East	150	6th
Elijah Madison	Kansas Pride	160+	1st

 

 

Kids National Freestyle Championships

Midget (born 1993-1994)
Name	Club	Wt	Place
Dylan Penka	Garden City	80	1st
Spencer Blew	Slammers	80	4th

 

Novice (born 1991-1992)
Name	Club	Wt		Place
Daniel DeShazer	Team of Hard Knox	60	1st
Kenneth Ornelas	Chanute	60	3rd
Sharky Slyter	Paola	65	1st
Cody Pack	Chanute	70	5th
Jordan Brown	Pittsburg Gorilla	112	2nd
Matthew Klingsporn	Wichita East	194	2nd

 

Schoolboy (born 1989-1990)
Name	Club	Wt	Place
Collin Hase	Silver Lake	75	3rd
Cole Zoglman	Brawlers	80	5th
Jon Woodbridge	Salina	95	5th
Bozz Hermreck	Paola	95	6th
Matt Noblet	Paola	105	2nd

 

Kids National Freestyle Championships (continued)

Schoolboy (born 1989-1990)
Name	Club	Wt	Place
Scott Elliott	Team of Hard Knox	110	4th
Peter Eck	Brawlers	120	2nd
Mitchell Arnold	Wichita East	130	6th
Aldon Isenberg	Gardner-Edgerton	140	6th
Cody Jasper	Wichita East	150	6th
Atticus Disney	Team of Hard Knox	160	4th
Elijah Madison	Kansas Pride	160+	1st
Dustin Montgomery	El Dorado	160+++	2nd
Jason Berscheidt	Gardner-Edgerton	160+++	6th

 

 

Junior Regionals (1st Place)

Tournament	Style	Name	Hometown	Wt
Western	Freestyle	Tanner Gardner	Berryton	119
Western	Greco	Seth Metzler	Newton	98
Western	Greco	Tanner Gardner	Berryton	119
Southern Plains	Freestyle	Tanner Gardner	Berryton	119
Southern Plains	Freestyle	Stewart Bogart	Overland Park	145
Southern Plains	Greco	Josh Baldridge	Wichita	125

 

 

Southern Plains Kids/Cadet Greco Roman (1st Place)

Bantam (born 1995-1996)
Name	Club	Wt
Ethan Koan	Mill Valley	40
Derrick Gates	Maize	65

 

Midget (born 1993-1994)
Name	Club	Wt
Ulysses DeShazer	Team of Hard Knox	60
Spencer Blew	Slammers	75
Dylan Penka	Garden City	80
Nathanial Swoyer	Pratt	112

 

Novice (born 1991-1992)
Name	Club	Wt
Daniel DeShazer	Team of Hard Knox	60
Sharky Slyter	Paola	65
Cody Pack	Chanute	70
Jordan Brown	Pittsburg Gorilla	112

 

Schoolboy (born 1989-1990)
Name	Club	Wt
Collin Hase	Silver Lake	75
Brent Fisher	Brawlers	105
Peter Eck	Brawlers	120
Jason Berscheidt	Gardner-Edgerton	+++160

Southern Plains Kids/Cadet Greco Roman (1st Place) – continued

Cadet (born 1987-1988)
Name	Club	Wt
Donny Altman	Derby	84
Larry Perez	Topeka Tornado	98
Tristan DeShazer	Team of Hard Knox	119
Joseph Cornejo	Haysville	130
Grant Stafford	Hugoton	140
Chris Sutton-Kearn	Con-Kids	160
James Ashton		189
Jesse Harding	Jayhawk Kids	215

 

 

Southern Plains Kids/Cadet Freestyle (1st Place)

Bantam (born 1995-1996)
Name	Club	Wt
Ethan Koan	Mill Valley	40
Tyler Mundy	Trailhands	50
Derrick Gates	Maize	65

 

Midget (born 1993-1994)
Name	Club	Wt
Ulysses DeShazer	Team of Hard Knox	60
Dylan Penka	Garden City	80
Boomer Mays	Sunflower Kids	95
Nathanial Swoyer	Pratt	112

 

Novice (born 1991-1992)
Name	Club	Wt
Daniel DeShazer	Team of Hard Knox	60
Sharky Slyter	Paola	65
Cody Pack	Chanute	70
Jordan Brown	Pittsburg Gorilla	112

 

Schoolboy (born 1989-1990)
Name	Club	Wt
Collin Hase	Silver Lake	75
Peter Eck	Brawlers	120
Aldon Isenberg	Gardner-Edgerton	140
Elijah Madison	Kansas Pride	+160
Trent Hutton	Team of Hard Knox	+++160

 

Cadet (born 1987-1988)
Name	Club	Wt
Donny Altman	Derby	84
Tristan DeShazer	Team of Hard Knox	119
Neil Erisman	Peterman Pitbulls	152