Earlier this week on December 17 at Hickman, the second-ranked Kewpie boys wrestling team hosted the first-ranked Liberty Blue Jays from Kansas City for a wrestling dual. In the lead-up to the meet, the Hickman team had done considerable advertising in an attempt to increase attendance. This attempt by the Hickman team was met with a large turnout of students and Hickman community members combined.
Wrestling is a very entertaining sport to watch, but its rules are certainly confusing to the average viewer.
In this matchup, Hickman performed well but came up short at the end, ultimately losing to the Blue Jays 40-30.
“I think the duel went well against liberty. It [meant] a lot of promising things to be closely competing with them when they are the #1 ranked team,” Hogan Benter (10) said.
In the duel, Hogan was able to win his match by pinning his opponent in less than four minutes. Hogan is coming back from a great freshman year where he placed sixth at the Missouri State Wrestling Championships.
As a matchup between the top two teams in the state, it seemed like it would be competitive and it lived up to the hype. The Kewpies won 6 out of the 11 individual matches, but due to forfeits for multiple reasons, they would go on to lose the match.
However, there is still a lot to be taken from this meet, especially going into the rest of the season.
“It means a lot [to be competing close with the top team], it shows how good we are as a team and that with some minor adjustments, we’re gonna be number one,” Taryn Nichols (11) said.
Taryn, like Hogan, also pinned his opponent in the duel, and in an even shorter amount of time, winning by fall in less than 2 minutes.
Looking ahead, both Hogan and Taryn illustrated that Hickman’s goal as a team is to win the highest title in the state of Missouri.
“The main goal I think we have as a team is to win a state title. But [we] also [want to] place higher as a team than we did last year,” Taryn said.
Last year, Hickman was just short of a top-three spot in the state meet, placing fourth as a team. After this meet against Liberty, Hickman is looking up and two of their best wrestlers are back again this year.
Hank Benter, Hogan’s older brother and Missouri wrestling commit, is a three-time state champion, and against Liberty, Hank won his match by major decision to winning 15-6. Another key Hickman returner is sophomore Luke Hayden, the reigning State Champion in his weight class. Hayden won his match in dominant fashion by pinning his opponent in only 16 seconds.
Wrestling events are very entertaining to watch, and Hogan and Taryn gave key points to why Hickman students should come to a meet during the rest of the season.
“Come watch, it’s a lot different than any other sport in high school and we are really good so it’s always exciting,” Hogan said.
Hickman’s wrestling culture is great and wrestlers said Hickman students need to see it for themselves.
“It’s truly a great experience and our wrestling culture is like no other, it’s always filled with some form of excitement and it’s an experience that you have to see firsthand,” Taryn said.
Hickman has the potential to perform great at the State Championships later this season, and their athletes know they can.
“[There are] a lot of bright futures for this season and [we are] looking forward,” Hogan said.
