LCC wrestlers aiming high

By Justin Jarrett

Sports editor

Right now, Labette Cardinals wrestling coach Joe Renfro knows he has a lot of wrestlers. In a couple of days, he will have a better idea of how much talent he has amassed.

The Cardinal Gym will be abuzz with many of the Midwest's best junior college wrestlers this weekend when the Labette Cardinals host their annual Takedown Tournament on Saturday and take on Colby in a dual Sunday.

Labette has more than enough wrestlers to fill three starting lineups, and they all will be in action in Saturday's Takedown Tournament, which begins at 9 a.m.

"Everybody who's practicing right now will wrestle in the Takedown Tournament," Renfro said. "We've got a couple of guys who are hurt who won't go."

The Takedown Tournament might look a little different to wrestling fans, because it isn't a traditional wrestling tournament. The matches are wrestled entirely from the neutral position, and the results do not count toward a wrestler's win-loss record.

"It's kind of a different little deal," Renfro said. "Instead of your traditional wrestling match, it's all on your feet, a lot of action. This is a time where you can get out there and correct problems early. That's what this kind of tournament is for. It's not an official match, so you don't really win or lose, and you can see what happens and if anything's going wrong and take it from there."

Renfro said the Cards' performance in the tourney is important because it gives them a chance to focus on the most important aspect of college wrestling, dominating one's opponent from the neutral position.

"Especially in college, a lot of matches will be won or lost on your feet," Renfro said. "You'll probably spend about 80 percent of the time on your feet."

The Takedown Tournament will give Renfro a better idea of who is ready to break into the starting lineup before he has to pare down the roster to one starting lineup for Sunday's dual with Colby, starting at 3 p.m.

"The hard thing to figure out right now is who are our better guys," Renfro said. "We've got a few guys at each weight, and we really don't know. Just because this guy can beat that guy doesn't necessarily mean he's the best guy at that weight."

Renfro expects a challenge from Colby, especially with a few wrestlers he expects to be starters down the road out with minor injuries, including returning national champion Earl Jones.

"I think it's going to be kind of a barn-burner," Renfro said. "We've got a couple of our main kids out of the lineup, but Colby's probably the same way. It will be a good test early. They're a good team, I just think we're a little better."

The Cards finished sixth last season at the NJCAA national championships, their best finish ever, and they return a number of wrestlers from that team, leading Renfro to believe this season could be even better.

"We fell a little bit short last year of where we wanted to be," Renfro said. "But I think this year, with the guys we have back who were part of that team last year and the new additions we've made, I think we're going to be pretty tough. I think we'll finish even higher this year. The kids are working hard, and they want to be part of something special."