It was a tough couple of days for the RBHS wrestling team this past weekend at the Lee’s Summit Holiday Invitational finishing 22nd out of the 24 teams present. The Bruins would be one of the smallest teams at the tournament, bringing only six wrestlers to the competition.
Of the six wrestlers, only four would earn wins with junior 145-pounder Isaac Lage and senior 138-pounder David Feng each winning the first of their five matches. Sophomore 220-pounder Don Hammers had a decent showing, finishing his tournament with four wins before falling in the consolation finals.
Although the wins were far and few between for many of the Bruin wrestlers, Lage believes the tournament’s stiff competition provided for a much needed push for his squad.
“I think each wrestler who came this weekend did well under the circumstances considering we were going against very difficult competition,” Lage said. “The losses most of us went through will make us want to work harder to make those matches swing in our favor.”
Despite a bevy of talent present in the 120 pound weight class, RBHS’s biggest point earner would be junior Brock Davis. Davis showcased both his speed and strength in pool play as he worked his way to a 3-0 mark whilst earning two pins. The two-time state qualifier credits his increased wrestling intellect to assistant coach and former University of Missouri wrestler, Eric Wilson, who has served as Davis’s practice partner for much of the season.
“Eric is able to prepare me for reactions that I could get from Division 1 recruits,” Davis said, “because of his experience and knowledge of the tendencies of wrestlers of that caliber and that really gives me an edge I didn’t necessarily have last season.”
Davis, however, would face a tough opponent in Bonner Springs’s Tanner Hitchcock, a Kansas State Champion at 113 pounds last season, in the tournament’s semi-finals. Although Davis would wrestle a hard fought match Hitchcock edged the Bruin out 6-3, sending Davis to the third place match where he would be handed a controversial loss against Jake Rudy of Fort Zumwalt South on a takedown in sudden death.
Although RBHS will want to leave this weekend’s matches behind them, Lage says that the tournament gave him a good outlook on his weaknesses and aspects he can improve on.
“This weekend I realized I need to become more aggressive on offense in the neutral position because I’m always waiting to try and stop their attacks,” Lage said, “but if I learn to be more aggressive and develop an attacking mindset it will give me more opportunities to score and potentially win more matches.”
RBHS will take a much needed leave from competition during the winter break before heading back onto the mat on Jan. 5 in an away dual versus the Helias Crusaders.
Editor’s Note: Writer is a varsity wrestler for the RBHS wrestling team
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