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 2003/2004 season.

 

 

After several years of steadily improving results at the national collegiate level, Kansas wrestlers truly came into their own this year.  At every level, you could find wrestlers from the Sunflower State rising to the top.

 

In NCAA Division I, Zach Roberson (Blue Valley NW / Iowa State) won the national championship at 133 lbs.  This was his third trip to the medal stand at the Championships (he was 7th in 2002 and 4th in 2003).  Zach is only the fifth Kansan, and the first since 1986, to bring home the Division I title.

 

Also reaching the finals (in his first trip to the championships), was Matt Murray (Colby / Nebraska), earning the national runner-up spot at 141 lbs.

 

In addition to Zach and Matt, we had two other Kansans earning All-American status at the Division I Championships: Jacob Klein (Kapaun-Mt Carmel / Nebraska) placing 7th at 165 lbs, and Scott Coleman (Manhattan / Iowa State) who finished 8th at 285 lbs.

 

Altogether, Kansas had eight representatives at this year’s tournament.  Jeremiah Beltran (Olathe South / Ohio – 285), Justin Dyer (Olathe South / Oklahoma – 184), Tanner Gardner (Shawnee Heights / Stanford – 125) and Joe Johnston (Shawnee Mission-East / Iowa – 157) all qualified for the Division I Championships.

 

 

Top Kansas performances were not restricted to the men.  Brooke Bogren (Santa Fe Trail / Missouri Valley) earned All-American status in the first ever Women's National Collegiate Championships, as she won the national championship at 130 lbs.

 

 

There was no shortage of Kansans at the NCAA II National Championships, where seven of our young men showed up to vie for the national title.  Three of the seven won national runner-up honors: Dustin Tovar (Abilene / Nebraska-Omaha) at 125 lbs, Shawn Silvis (Augusta / Central Oklahoma) at 165 lbs, and Andrew Ubben (Phillipsburg / FHSU) at 285 lbs.

 

Other All-Americans were Bryce Abbey (Goodland / Nebraska-Kearney) – 3rd at 125 lbs, Aaron Meister (Holton / FHSU) – 4th at 174 lbs, Adam Keiswetter (Dodge City / Nebraska-Kearney) – 5th at 133 lbs, and Jordan Nichols (Garden City / FHSU) – 6th at 184 lbs.

 

Fort Hays State University finished 10th in the nation in the team standings.

 

 

Darion Terry, a graduate of Topeka West High School and wrestling for Missouri Valley College, made sure that Kansas wasn’t shut out of the medal stand at the NAIA Nationals.  Darion finished 5th in the nation at 157 lbs.

 

 

As in most years, the Kansas junior colleges gave outstanding performances at the NJCAA tournament.  Colby Community College lead the way, placing fifth in the nation with 4 All-Americans.  Labette Community College finished 6th with 4 All-Americans, and Neosho County Community College was 9th with 3 All-Americans.

 

Two individual national championships were earned by Kansas wrestlers: Earl Jones (Coffeyville / Labette) at 125 lbs, and Eric Luedke (Colby / Colby) at 157 lbs.  Other Kansas All-Americans included Dustin May (Derby / Labette) – 2nd at 141 lbs, Emery McReynolds (Columbus / Labette) – 5th at 133 lbs, and Zach Luedke (Colby / Colby) – 6th at 174 lbs.

 

 

The steak of Kansas wrestlers earning All-American honors continued in the NCAA III tournament, where Matt Pyle (Sabetha / Luther College) earned the 3rd place spot at 149 lbs.  Also, in the NWCA College Nationals (club team nationals for schools that don't sponsor a varsity wrestling program), Steve Kern (Wamego / Kansas State) finished 4th at 165 lbs, ensuring at least one Kansan on the medal stand at each collegiate national championships.

 

 

Successful Kansans at the collegiate level were not limited to the athletes.  Two national champion programs were coached by Kansas products.  David Ray (Carroll/Goddard 1978-1981) coached the Montana State University Northern Lights to a 2004 NAIA National Championship, their fourth national title in the eleven years that Coach Ray has been at the helm.  In addition to taking Northwest Wyoming to a NJCAA National Championship, Jim Zeigler (Coffeyville-Field Kindley 1979-1982) was also voted the 2004 NJCAA National Coach of the Year.  Coach Zeigler's program at Northwest has finished in the top ten nationally for 11 consecutive seasons.

 

 

Bucking the national trend, Kansas Newman (Wichita) announced that they will be adding a wrestling program, starting with the 2004/05 season.  Former Wichita-Bishop Carroll coach Mark Stovall was named the head coach for the team’s inaugural season.

 

 

FILA Junior World Team Trials

 

Greco-Roman:

  Name

Hometown

Wt

Place

Tanner Gardner

Berryton

121

3rd

Doug Hoover

Wichita

121

4th

Tyler McCormick

Leawood

132

2nd

 

Freestyle:

  Name

Hometown

Wt 

Place

Tanner Gardner

Berryton

121

3rd

Travis Weller

Wakefield

185

8th

 

Women's Freestyle:

  Name

Hometown

Wt 

Place

Brooke Bogren

Carbondale

130

2nd

 

 

National High School Senior Championships

To earn the right to compete in this tournament, you must be a graduating senior and a finalist in your state.  There were 804 entries from 48 states, including 22 four-time state champions.

 

Two Kansas wrestlers earned All-American status at the tournament: Mathieu Gilliland (Hoxie) secured an 8th place finish at 140 lbs, while Jordan Bedore (Goodland) placed 5th at 275 lbs.  As a team, Kansas qualified and sent 24 wrestlers, and finished 19th out of the 48 states competing.

 

 

USA Wrestling Triple Crown

There were twelve athletes who won the prestigious USA Wrestling Kids Triple Crown in 2004.  To win, an athlete must win USA Wrestling national titles in folkstyle, Greco-Roman and freestyle the same year.  Sharky Slyter (Paola), competing in the Schoolboy 70 lb division, won the Triple Crown for the second consecutive year.

 

 

Ultimate Challenge Series

The Ultimate Challenge Series of Folkstyle Wrestling is a series of seven national folkstyle events for kids between the ages of 9-15.  Points are awarded based on performance at each of these events, with the top three in each division earning one of the coveted Dominator Belts.  Aldon Isenberg (Gardner) placed second in Division III (ages 13-15).

 

 

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 did very well, with the both the Junior Freestyle and Greco-Roman teams claiming an 8th place spot, and the Cadet Greco-Roman team earning a 7th place finish.

 

 

National Volunteers Honored

Four Kansans received national recognition for their volunteer work in wrestling.  Mike Juby was named the USA Wrestling State Chairperson of the Year, and Gregory and Leanna Grater were recognized as the USA Wrestling Kids Persons of the Year.  This was only the second time in 27 years that these awards were earned by Kansans (prior winners: Chuck Elvin – 1994 State Chairperson and Ken Coover – 1979 Kids Person).  Also, Sheryl Anderson won the Ivan Olsen Memorial Award (Volunteer Pairer of the Year).

 

 

Junior/Cadet National Team

The Junior & Cadet National Teams had one of their best years ever, returning with a total of 15 All-American honors.  WIN magazine ranked the Kansas Cadet Greco-Roman team as #3 in the nation, behind Pennsylvania and Washington.  We brought home five freestyle All-Americans and ten Greco-Roman All-Americans (including one national champion).  The Cadets set a new record with eight Greco-Roman All-Americans (there were five in 1987 and in 1989).  Cadets are wrestlers who are 15 or 16 as of December 31, 2004, while Juniors are wrestlers who attended high school during the 2003/04 school year.  The team coaches were:

Mike Garcia, Junior Director

Brent Lane

Richard Fergola, Cadet Director

Luke Metzler

Jason Blanding

Chad Parks

Shawn Bunch

Tom Peterman

Dennis Charbonneau

Scott Rieck

Austin DeVoe

Kenny Taylor

Russ Hermreck

Beau Vest

 

Junior National Freestyle All-Americans:

  Name

Hometown

Wt

Place

Nick Shumate

Overland Park

98

5th

Joe Cornejo

Wichita

140

5th

 

Junior National Greco-Roman All-Americans:

  Name

Hometown

Wt

Place

Nick Shumate

Overland Park

98

2nd

Seth Metzler

Newton

98

4th

 

Cadet National Freestyle All-Americans:

  Name

Hometown

Wt 

Place

Nathan Furches

Derby

84

3rd

Donny Altman

Derby

91

5th

Aaron Ely

Leavenworth

98

7th

 

Cadet National Greco-Roman All-Americans:

  Name

Hometown

Wt 

Place

Nathan Furches

Derby

84

2nd

Donny Altman

Derby

91

1st

Aaron Ely

Leavenworth

98

6th

Larry Perez

Topeka

105

2nd

Peter Eck

Colwich

140

5th

Matt Bailes

Kansas City

152

5th

Jarrett Edison

Wichita

171

4th

Mark Starr

Goodland

275

6th

 

 

Kids National Folkstyle Championships

After hosting this prestigious event in Kansas for the past six years, this year’s event was held in Iowa.  Although our numbers were down, we still had several wrestlers bringing home the hardware:

 

Midget (born 1994-1995)

  Name

  Club

Wt 

Place

Austin Hood

Louisburg

55

2nd

Bo Pursel

Tonganoxie Twisters

60

1st

Uylesses DeShazer

Team of Hard Knox

65

6th

Jamon Cotton

Team of Hard Knox

65

4th

Reece Conklin

Sunflower Kids

87

2nd

 

Novice (born 1992-1993)

  Name

  Club

Wt 

Place

 

Dylan Penka

Garden City

80

4th

Cody Shavlik

Derby

85

3rd

Chase Nitcher

Brawlers

90

2nd

Chris Strimple

Topeka Thunderbird

95

5th

Sean Gaither

NW Jr. Grizzlies

100

2nd

Levi Cyphers

Clay County

140

4th

Lucas Vincent

Olathe

Hwt2

2nd

Trey Page

NW Jr. Grizzlies

Hwt2

3rd

Shane Creason

Stranger Creek

Hwt2

4th

Matthew Klingsporn

Wichita East

Hwt3

2nd

 

Schoolboy (born 1990-1991)

  Name

  Club

Wt 

Place

Sharky Slyter

Paola

70

1st

Darin Stroot

Brawlers

70

3rd

Chaz Lawrence

Paola

70

5th

CJ Napier

Columbus Mini

115

3rd

Ryan Patterson

Brawlers

115

4th

Boaz Beard

Brawlers

120

2nd

Jordan Brown

Pittsburg Kids Gorilla

125

5th

Romero Cotton

Team of Hard Knox

130

2nd

Jared Hensley

Rose Hill

145

2nd

Atticus Disney

Team of Hard Knox

185

1st

 

Cadet (born 1988-1989)

  Name

  Club

Wt 

Place

 

Dan MacClymont

Olathe

84

6th

Donny Altman

Derby

91

2nd

Tyler Caldwell

Brawlers

98

2nd

Dante Nguyen

NW Jr. Grizzlies

98

4th

Brent Fisher

Brawlers

112

2nd

Peter Eck

Brawlers

130

4th

Aldon Isenberg

Gardner-Edgerton

135

3rd

Scott Deo

Lawrence Coyotes

152

6th

Jesse Hardy

Jayhawk Kids

215

3rd

Alex Thomas

Atwood Kids

275

2nd

 

 

Kids National Greco-Roman Championships

 

Midget (born 1994-1995)

  Name

  Club

Wt 

Place

Austin Hood

Louisburg

55

5th

Bo Pursel

Tonganoxie Twisters

65

5th

Uylesses DeShazer

Team of Hard Knox

75

1st

 

Novice (born 1992-1993)

  Name

  Club

Wt 

Place

Daniel DeShazer

Team of Hard Knox

70

2nd

Dylan Penka

Garden City

80

2nd

Parker Madl

East Ks Chmpshp

85

5th

Cody Shavlik

Derby

85

6th

Bryce Hood

Louisburg

90

4th

 

Schoolboy (born 1990-1991)

  Name

  Club

Wt 

Place

Sharky Slyter

Paola

70

1st

Chaz Lawrence

Paola

70

2nd

Cole Zoglman

Brawlers

85

2nd

Buzz Hermreck

Paola

110

6th

Ryan Patterson

Brawlers

125

2nd

Gage Deere

Topeka Terminators

185

5th

Stephan Andrus

Manhattan Optimist

250

5th

 

 

Kids National Freestyle Championships

 

Midget (born 1994-1995)

  Name

  Club

Wt 

Place

Bo Pursel

Tonganoxie Twisters

65

2nd

Uylesses DeShazer

Team of Hard Knox

75

3rd

 

Novice (born 1992-1993)

  Name

  Club

Wt 

Place

Daniel DeShazer

Team of Hard Knox

70

6th

Chris Strimple

Topeka Thunderbird

100

6th

 

Schoolboy (born 1990-1991)

  Name

  Club

Wt 

Place

Sharky Slyter

Paola

70

1st

Chaz Lawrence

Paola

70

2nd

Cole Zoglman

Brawlers

85

3rd

Tyler Koehn

Pittsburg

110

6th

Ryan Patterson

Brawlers

125

6th

Gage Deere

Topeka Terminators

185

5th

Stephan Andrus

Manhattan Optimist

250

4th

 

 

Junior Regionals (1st Place)

 

Tournament

  Style

  Name

Hometown

Wt 

 

Rocky Mountain

Freestyle

Neil Erisman

Olathe

152

 

Southern Plains

Freestyle

Donnie Altman

Derby

98

 

Southern Plains

Greco

Donnie Altman

Derby

98

 

Southern Plains

Greco

Tim Elliott

Haysville

119

 

 

 

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

 

Midget (born 1994-1995)

  Name

  Club

Wt

Austin Hood

Louisburg

55

Aaron Seybold

Pittsburg

70

Uylesses DeShazer

Team of Hard Knox

75

T.J. Atkinson Jr.

Coffeyville Kids

112

 

Novice (born 1992-1993)

  Name

  Club

Wt

Taylor Moeder

Colby

70

Chris Strimple

Topeka Thunderbird

100

 

Schoolboy (born 1990-1991)

  Name

  Club

Wt

Sharky Slyter

Paola

70

Jacob Tanenbaum

East Ks Chmpshp

110

C.J. Napier

Chanute

125

Jordan Brown

Pittsburg Kids Gorilla

130

Stephen Andrus

Manhattan Optimist

250

 

Cadet (born 1988-1989)

  Name

  Club

Wt

Nathan Furches

Derby

84

Donny Altman

Derby

91

Scott Elliott

Team of Hard Knox

130

Jarret Edison

NW Jr. Grizzlies

171

Jesse Hardy

Jayhawk Kids

189

 

 

Southern Plains Kids/Cadet Freestyle (1st Place)

 

Midget (born 1994-1995)

  Name

  Club

Wt

Austin Hood

Louisburg

55

Aaron Seybold

Pittsburg

70

Uylesses DeShazer

Team of Hard Knox

75

 

Novice (born 1992-1993)

  Name

  Club

Wt

Daniel DeShazer

Team of Hard Knox

70

Cody Shavlik

Derby

85

 

Schoolboy (born 1990-1991)

  Name

  Club

Wt

Sharky Slyter

Paola

70

Jacob Tanenbaum

East Ks Chmpshp

110

Jordan Brown

Pittsburg Kids Gorilla

130

Stephen Andrus

Manhattan Optimist

250

 

Cadet (born 1988-1989)

  Name

  Club

Wt

Nathan Furches

Derby

84

Donny Altman

Derby

91

Sean Flynn

Slammers

135

Matthew Bailes

Turner

160