Oak Park wins Bobcat Classic Team Title


St. James Academy senior Taylor Moeder loves wrestling. Always has. And he’s got big dreams, too, such as being an NCAA champion and Olympian.

So, although Moeder is focused on winning his third Kansas state title this year, it won’t be the end of the road for him — just another step toward bigger goals.

Just like his performance at the Bobcat Classic on Saturday at Basehor-Linwood, where the coaches selected him the tournament’s most outstanding wrestler after his impressive run through a tough 140-pound bracket.

“I really didn’t see this coming,” Moeder said, “but it’s pretty cool.”

A quick glance at his bracket shows why he earned the honor. Moeder, who will wrestle at Old Dominion, beat the third-ranked Kansas 4A wrestler 11-3 in the quarterfinals and the top-ranked Kansas 5A wrestler 10-0 in the semifinals. He topped it off by pinning Colton Eck of Andale, who finished second in 4A last season, in the first period of the championship match.

“Many people were waiting to see that match,” Moeder said. “And I did my job.”

Moeder wasn’t the only St. James wrestler to win a title. Senior Ryne Cokeley took first in the 152-pound bracket with a hard-fought 3-0 victory over Dillon Scanlon from Lansing.

“Winning this tournament is huge,” said Cokeley, a three-time state champion. “This is the toughest tournament in the entire state of Kansas.”

While that may be so, it was a Missouri team — Oak Park — that came in and stole the show. Despite bringing just 10 wrestlers to the event — many of the 33 other teams all fielded full, 14-man lineups — the Northmen took home the team title with a score of 211.5, 26 points more than second-place Goddard and 30 more than third-place Blue Springs.

“We knew it would be tough,” said Oak Park senior Brian Haynes, who won the 145-pound title with a 3-2 victory over Levi Eck of Andale. “But with the hammers we have — Cody Brewer, Cain Salas, Mike Pixley and Hashem Omari — we thought we’d have a chance.”

Brewer (130) and Omari (215) each won titles, while Noah Teaney (103) and John Cervantes (285) were finalists. Salas (135), Pixley (152) and Sam Seidel (112) each took third for the Northmen, who seemed to take pride in the fact they came away with a dominant team victory despite being shorthanded.

“It’s about quality over quantity,” said Omari, who is undefeated this season. “It doesn’t matter how many guys we have — we’re going to come out and wrestle our (butts) off.”

Lansing’s Pursel winsLansing junior Bo Pursel, a two-time Kansas state champion, won the 119-pound bracket with a 5-2 win over previously undefeated and two-time state champion Dylan Schumacher of Thomas More Prep-Marion.

“I got a takedown early on, which helped me because I didn’t have to take as many risks,” said Pursel, 21-1, a three-time Bobcat Classic champion. “He’s a dangerous wrestler, but I was able to be more cautious.”

Etc.Other Kansas City-area champions were: Blue Springs freshman Daniel Lewis (103), Bonner Springs senior Caleb Seaton (125), Blue Valley North senior Zack Tanenbaum (135), Shawnee Mission East junior Blaine Hill (171) and Blue Springs senior Lewis Foutz (189).

submitted by TEREZ A. PAYLOR - 2011-01-15 22:07:01

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