By Chad Hayworth (for OzarksSportsZone.com)
Seneca wrestling returns a pair of state champions and a runner up from last season, along with three other state qualifiers from 2024.
Senior Jace Renfro, the Class 2 champion at 190 pounds, and Brant Laughlin, a junior who is champion at 138 will lead an Indian team that is looking for its first state title since 2016.
The Indians finished second as a team to Odessa.
Junior Eli Manning returns after finishing second at state at 138, along with state qualifiers Paxton Bruegel, who wrestled at 120 last season, Jaxon Rhoades (113), and Dawson Manley (144).
“We’re looking for those guys to be the leaders of our team,” said Coach Jeff Sill, who was recently named the 2024-25 Missouri State High School Activities Association’s coach of the year.
“They been to the big tournaments, to state, and they know what it takes to get there.”
Other returners include Jaxon Garcia, who wrestled at 106 last year, and Landon Hughes, who competed at 285. Sill expects Journey Williams, a junior, and sophomore Aiden Wilson to also compete for varsity mat time.
In addition, the Indians have added Caden Groom, a state qualifier who transferred in from Carthage.
“We have weight classes to fill, due to graduation,” Sill said. “For us to be a competitive team at the district and state level, we have some underclassmen that are going to have to step up.”
With several wrestlers working hard daily to get back to the state tournament, Sill said it’s just natural that everyone’s focus tends to be on Columbia in February.
“We don’t want to put the cart before the horse,” he said. “Of course we have to first put ourselves in a position to win a conference and district title. But those guys all know that we need seven or eight state medalists for us to be a contender for a state championship.”
That state tournament focus starts immediately on the ride home from Columbia.
“We are already talking about what we can do better and taking notes on the bus,” Sill said. “Our performance is going to be based on how we compete at state.”
Buy-in is not usually a problem for the younger Indians, especially after an early-season talk with assistant coach Kevin Durbin.
“Durb always tells them when the bus for state is leaving,” Sill said. “And that he’s going to be on the bus. The question is, are you going to be there with him or not?”
Seneca won’t have many wrestlers on the girls team this winter, Sill said. But the ones returning are all looking to take the next step and qualify for the state tournament.
Seniors Harley Lankford and Morgan Barber both finished the year just a few wins shy of qualifying for Columbia. Bella Scribner, a junior, lost in a match that would have sent her to state.
“Girls wrestling hasn’t exploded for us the way it has for other teams,” Sill said. “The girls we do have are all putting in the time to improve and reach those goals of getting to state.
A freshman, Kayson Skaggs, is also expected to wrestle this winter for the Lady Indians.
The Indians will face an early-season test at the Carl Junction tournament, along with a trip to Coppell, Texas for a holiday tournament in December.
“It helps to teach the younger ones about realizing this is business trip,” Sill said. “There is sleeping on the road, getting up on time, meeting deadlines. It’s a way to build that unity of the team early in the season.”
Another important trip for the Indians will come in January, when they travel to Newton, Kan., for the Tournament of Champions.
“We’re they only Missouri team there,” Sill said. “So it’s us against everybody. But it teaches the kids to compete, to keep their composure and just focus on their performance.”
