Four Eagle Wrestlers Qualify For State Championships

 

Eagle wrestlers Aiden Christian, Graysen Thieman, Trent Stout, and Payton Tye turned in top-four all-district finishes at the Class 1, District 2 Boys Wrestling Tournament held at Butler High School Friday, Feb. 21, and Saturday, Feb. 22.

The Eagles wrestling team composed of Christian, Thieman, Stout, Tye, Conner Carver, Kaleb Catron, Liam Claxton, Noah Greissl, Vince Vance, and Hudson Gregg recorded a sixth-place team finish among the 16 teams entered in the district tournament.

With their top-four all-district finishes, Christian, Thieman, Stout, and Tye advance to the Class 1 State Championships at Mizzou Arena in Columbia.

Christian recorded the district title finish in the 285-pound weight class and will enter the state championships for the third time in his career.

“Very proud of Aiden,” said Holden boys wrestling coach Matt Hertzog. “He has wrestled smart all year and has had a ton of success as a result.”

Christian’s route to the title bout on Saturday included two early-round bracket wins by pin. Christian finished his sweep to the top of the medal stand by pinning familiar opponent Lone Jack wrestler Jax Cromwell in the title bout.

“Pretty much just wanted to go match by match,” said Christian. “Win, win, win was my mindset today. I was a little bit worried after the quarterfinals, but it’s good to be nervous.”

Christian’s semifinal pin occurred in the first period against Strafford wrestler Cristian Mondragon. The Eagle senior’s pin against Cromwell occurred with just under 30 seconds remaining in the third period.

“Obviously, when you wrestle someone more than once, they kind of know what you’re going to do, but you also know what they’re going to do,” said Christian in regard to having previously faced Cromwell. “I was just trying to stay out, giving him some space, just try to pressure him a little bit. Usually what I work is hooks and just try to get to the leg.”
In his first trip to the state championships during his freshman season, Christian recorded a first-round win in the 220-pound weight bracket before being knocked out with two losses. In his second time around last year during his junior year campaign, Christian stepped onto the medal stand as he gathered an all-state third-place finish at 285 pounds.

“This year, other than the last two years that I’ve been, it’s a go, go, go mindset,” said Christian.

“Looking forward to seeing what he can accomplish at the state tournament this upcoming week to culminate an incredible career as a Holden wrestler,” said coach Hertzog. “He’s got a real shot, just have to make sure we wrestle smart, stay in good position, and optimize physicality.”

Thieman advanced to the district title match and finished as runner-up in the 132-pound weight class. Thieman’s tournament opened with a quarterfinal win by technical fall and a semifinal win by pin.

In the title match, Thieman fell by major decision to Lone Jack wrestler Ty White as Thieman recorded the runner-up finish. Thieman returns to the state championships after competing in Columbia during his freshman season. He has finished one win away from making a state meet appearance the last two seasons as those seasons ended in the district tournament.

“I’ve been wanting to go to state for awhile…sophomore, junior year just got beat in the blood round, and never made it,” said Thieman. “This year, I just came with a strong mind, had a good high temper the whole time, I kept the pace going, I just wrestled smart.”

Thieman’s semifinal pin against El Dorado Springs wrestler Shane Fletcher marked a tipping point in the tournament for the Eagle senior as he set himself up to return to the state meet.

“The El Dorado match stood out to me, the semifinal match,” said Thieman. “I was super nervous going into that match because I was the number-two seed, and he was the number-three seed. He was wanting it. He wanted to go to state, I wanted to go to state, so we just left it out there.”

“Really excited to get Graysen back to the state tournament after these two years of missing out,” said coach Hertzog. “Making it as a freshman and then being denied twice since has been motivating him for a long time, and it’s great to see him reach a long-time goal of his by returning to Columbia to compete.”

Stout returns to the state meet for the second straight season after recording a third-place finish in the 157-pound weight class as this year’s district tournament.

A quarterfinal win by pin for Stout kept him on the championship side of the 157-pound bracket before a loss by pin in the semifinals pushed him to the backside in the double elimination tournament.

“It was scary because I have been in the blood match multiple times, and multiple times I haven’t made it,” said Stout. “So I was almost a little frightened, but I know who I am and I know what I do. So I went out there and put it all on him, and I ended up on top.”

Stout rebounded from the loss by recording a win by pin in the consolation semifinals to secure a spot in the third-place match and a top-four state qualifying finish.

“Trent was lights out this weekend,” said coach Hertzog. “He didn’t get seeded as high as he wanted and wrestled with a chip on his shoulder, which really showed in his third-place match against the three-seed freshman from Warsaw. The kid never stood a chance.”

In the third-place match, Stout wrestled with a purpose as he dismantled Warsaw wrestler Bostyn Wilson by technical fall in a final score of 20-4.

“Coming in today, I knew it was going to be hard, my first match,” said Stout after securing his third-place medal on Saturday. “I came out really wanting to win. I really wanted to get first, but things didn’t go to plan and that’s ok. I kept my mind clear, went onto the next match, and won that. Then just won my third-place match.”

Last year at the state meet, Stout wrestled to an all-state sixth-place finish in the 157-pound weight class and has hopes of collecting a second all-state medal this season.

“It was a very new experience,” said Stout in regard to his first state meet appearance. “I’m looking forward to place again, that is my goal. My goal is to place again, hopefully get better than what I got last year. I’m going to go out there, this is my senior year, this is it, so I got to put it all out there. That’s all it’s going to be.”

“If we play this right, he could make some major moves at the tournament,” said coach Hertzog of Stout’s state meet outlook. “Excited to see what happens.”

For Eagle sophomore wrestler Payton Tye, the road to the district medal stand in a fourth-place finish involved staying alive on the backside of the 126-pound bracket after suffering a first-round loss.

Four consecutive wins by pin by Tye on the consolation side of the bracket moved the second-year wrestler into the third-place bout in which Tye fell by pin to Sherwood wrestler Wyatt Weekley.

Tye will make his first-ever state meet appearance as he takes to the mats at Mizzou Arena this week.

“Payton Tye is a second-year wrestler that, frankly was our unexpected, dark-horse qualifier,” said coach Hertzog. “He has been wrestling better and better the longer the season went on, and his success at the district level is an example of what can happen if a kid takes coaching seriously and fully commits to becoming the best he can be. He lost his first one, kept a clear head, didn’t let his technique slip, and won through the backside of the bracket to punch his ticket. It’s unexpected, but he has put in a ton of work. He doesn’t skip reps, is at every practice, doesn’t make excuses. He’s got a ton of potential.”
Wrestling at 165 pounds, Eagle senior foreign exchange student Noah Greissl turned in a record of 2-2 at the district tournament as he stayed alive with two wins in the consolation bracket after suffering a first-round loss.

“He did a great job for a first-year kid who was giving up almost 10 pounds,” said coach Hertzog in regard to Greissl. “Very proud of how tough he handled his competition.”

Eagle senior wrestler Conner Carver went 1-2 in the 175-pound bracket with his win occurring in the first round when he pinned Adrian wrestler Miles Dean. Two losses following the win ended Carver’s senior year district tournament run as he finishes the season with a record of 20-11.

“Would have liked to see him qualify once before he graduates, but sometimes it just doesn’t work out that way,” said coach Hertzog. “Conner is a great kid. I am glad I’ve had the privilege to coach him.”

Eagle sophomore wrestler Vince Vance went 1-2 at the district tournament in the 190-pound competition with his win occurring by pin in the consolation second round.

Holden freshman Liam Claxton suffered a first-round loss in the 150-pound bracket before rebounding with a win in the consolation second round. A second loss knocked the freshman out of the tournament.

Eagle sophomore Hudson Gregg suffered two early-round losses in the 215-pound bracket to close out his district tournament. Holden sophomore Kaleb Catron also went 0-2 as he wrestled in the 138-pound competition.

Christian, Thieman, Stout, and Tye will compete at the MSHSAA Boys Class 1 Wrestling Championships at Mizzou Arena in Columbia Wednesday, Feb. 26, and Thursday, Feb. 27. First-round Class 1 boys state championship matches begin on Wednesday, Feb. 26, at 8:15 a.m.

Lady Eagles Wrestling Note
Holden Lady Eagle wrestling state meet qualifiers Haley Brooks, Macey Greene, and Ady Yoder will compete at the MSHSAA Girls Class 1 Wrestling Championships at Mizzou Arena in Columbia Wednesday, Feb. 26, and Thursday, Feb. 27. First-round Class 1 girls state championship matches begin on Wednesday, Feb. 26, at 1:15 p.m.