By Kary Booher (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
When Grant Leighty took over the Camdenton High School wrestling program last year, he came in fired up and eager to re-establish the Lakers.
Call last season a good first step then and why Leighty hasn’t lost his fire.
“We have a lot of motivated young men that want to get the program back to where it once was,” Leighty said. “To see that in your wrestlers is very encouraging and helps you go into the offseason with a little extra gusto.”
Well, Camdenton arrives to this season with something to work with – a roster of 40, including 10 returning starters. No, nobody advanced to state last season, but a few came close. And the 40 on the roster is a slight increase from a year ago.
Among those to watch? Follow 106-pounder Grant Garrett, who lost by one point in his bubble match at districts. He had beaten Webb City’s Kyler Carter in the quarterfinals – and Carter went on to place sixth at the state tournament. Garrett is projected to move up to 126 pounds.
Another noteworthy Laker is 132-pound Ryan Rothove, who split two matches against Republic’s Jonathan O’Connell, who eventually placed second at state. Rothove may stay at 132.
The rest of the projected roster includes freshmen Evan Farris and Ryan Brockholder at 106,, junior Jacob Fulgsang and freshman Cale Bentley at 113, juniors Connor Morgan and Colton Libby at 120, senior Seamus Lamb in the mix at 132, Junior Jacob Ziegler at 138 and freshmen Garrett Stark and Max Thoenen at 145.
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At 152, look for seniors Chris Morgan and Sam Gray while senior Kylan Draper and junior Angelo Alfaro are at 160, junior Bryce Leuenberger and sophomore Mason Draper are at 170 and freshmen Cody Pitts is listed at 182. Freshman Dakota Davis (195), junior Cort Petty (220) and junior Marcus Stephens and freshman Jacob Mullins (285) should factor in.
“We have four defensive starters from the football team out this year – all at 160, 170, 220, and 285,” Leighty said. “That will make a tremendous difference of the physicality of our upper weights this year.”
Before last season, Leighty had 24 years, including 20 guiding programs in Clinton and Plattsburg.
Several of his teams at both schools finished in the top 10 at state tournaments, with his 2005 Plattsburg team placing second in Class 1 and his 2007 Clinton team placing fourth in Class 2.
“Having experienced wrestlers in the lineup should help us achieve many of the goals we have set for ourselves during the off season,” Leighty said. “We have had several kids that participated in offseason camps and competition. The extra mat time should prove to be beneficial to these individuals and the team as well.”
