By Kary Booher
At Webb City High School, where football has long been king, the wrestling program tries to draw from all over.
That’s actually a good problem to have for Webb City wrestling coach Larron Hurst. You see, of 12 of the team’s 14 projected starters this year are in a fall sports – either football, soccer or cross country.
Conditioning – and an eagerness to compete – shouldn’t be an issue for those six-minute matches.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s a school-sponsored sport or a pick-up game,” Hurst said. “They just like competing.”
The Cardinals should have several pieces to compete every dual or tournament. Brandon Musselman, a senior, is moving to heavyweight after winning the state championship at 220 pounds last season. Plus, two others return who have a combined four state medals, senior Tristan Allen at 132 and senior Hunter Vanlue at 170.
Musselman likely will be one of the lighter heavyweights, up to about 230 pounds. But his footwork and all-around skillset should make him a contender again. Plus, he enjoyed a 50-win season in earning only the fourth state championship in Webb City wrestling history.
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“He’s a huge asset to our program,” Hurst said. “He’s in a leadership role and he is someone our high school kids look up, our middle school kids look up to and our youth wrestling kids look up to. And it goes beyond the wrestling mat.”
Vanlue is another factor for Webb City, as he is the team’s only three-sport athlete. He also is a state medalist in track and a talented basketball player. He placed fifth in 2014 and fourth in 2015 at 170, reaching the semifinals in 2015.
“He’s looking forward to having another good run,” Hurst said. “He has worked hard. He’s one of those individuals that, when success comes his way, he wants to keep going.”
Allen missed out on state last season, but has two state medals to his name.
“I think he’ll bounce back from last year,” Hurst said. “I think he’ll have a successful year.”
Hurst anticipated about 40 wrestlers turning out in the early going, but the projected lineup is a mix of seniors, juniors, sophomores and several freshmen.
Look for Kyler Carter at 106, freshman Josh Copher at 113, freshman Jackson Taylor at 120, junior Riley McFall at 126, senior Carson Cornell at 138, sophomore Zack Hand at 145, junior David Maynard at 152, sophomore Gibson Sweet at 160, junior Jordan Rogers at 182, junior Drake Tweed at 195 and sophomore Matt Miller at 220. Other names certainly could surface.
Cornell and Rogers suffered late-season injuries last year, while Miller fell ill midseason and likely wrestled below his weight class. Those three are certainly ones to watch for Webb City.
That said, Hurst likely will ease in the fall sports athletes who experienced some nicks and bruises. It could be mid-December to early January before some see varsity matches, as he prefers to build for the postseason.
Still, the schedule is challenging. Duals against Class 2 power Monett, Class 1 power Seneca and Class 3 power Neosho are all set, with tournaments lined up in Carl Junction, Harrisonville and St. Louis.
This season marks the seventh for Hurst, who wrestled at Nevada High School. He is eager to see the development in this team, given its range of athletes and range of ages.
“Wrestling is always evolving,” Hurst said. “Each year, you’ve got a new group of kids, and you’re excited to see what kind of talent you have. What I’ve learned is, as a new crop comes in, figuring out their motivational style, their wrestling style, is the key.”
