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MONETT, Mo. — Ian Meyer gallopped across the floor at Monett’s training facility, wielding two dodgeballs before unleashing a shot to the wall that reverberated throughout the building.
Why would you give a state championship quarterback these projectiles?
These games are commonplace to loosen up the Cubs Wrestling Team before practice. Daryl Bradley has been doing this long enough to know it goes a long way at this stage of the campaign.
“They’ve been through the grind of a wrestling season, which isn’t easy,” the head coach said.
Not that Meyer has much trouble getting back into the swing of wrestling, even after a playing football until Nov. 26 when he led Monett to its third state football title.
Wrestling is a family sport and he’s partaken for most of his life.
“In tournaments? I’d say since I was four or five,” he said. “When I was probably a month old, I was at wrestling tournaments with my brother and being whisked away all over the place.”
One of the 12 state championship banners hanging in the rafters of the facility is that of Ian’s brother, Kyle, who joined Missouri’s elite wrestling fraternity with his final of four state titles in 2009.
He went on to wrestle at Stanford, where the techniques he learned gave Ian a valuable ear to bend and a window into strategy at the Division I level.
Plus, a stellar sparring partner around the holidays.
“Every time he comes back we get into wrestling matches in the family room. Mom doesn’t like that too much. We tend to kick some stuff.”
After finishing fifth in Class 2 as a junior, Meyer is forging his own path as the state’s top-ranked wrestler at 195 pounds. Two of the three blemishes on his 37-3 record have come to Nixa standout Donovan Benetti. The other was to Oklahoma commit and nationally-ranked Jacob Boyd out of Smithville.
It’s safe to say Meyer is battle-tested with over 160 career wins. He likened his wrestling schedule, which includes perennial powers like Neosho, to that of playing in the Big 8 for football.
“He’s not afraid of anybody. He knows a kid he’s going to have, he doesn’t care,” Bradley said. “If there’s a kid who’s undefeated, Ian knows what he’s got to do.”
Bradley said Meyer wrestles like a lighter athlete, one of a similar size to his brother. Rather than brute force overtaking skill, the senior is cerebral in his approach.
“I think he knows more than some referees. Hopefully that doesn’t get me in trouble. I’m just saying he’s very knowledgeable about wrestling and knows when he scores. Sometimes he’s very vocal about that… we need to work on that.”
Meyer hasn’t seemed to slow down over the past year in any sport. He garnered an All-State Honorable Mention in baseball and was named the teams most valuable player as a pitcher. He was also a First Team All-State selection at quarterback this fall.
The Cubs’ postseason run made football a real opportunity for Meyer at the next level. With an offer from the Lindenwood wrestling program already in tow, he could have options in three sports by the end of his career.
“I’m just playing the waiting game and trying to keep an open mind about all options,” Meyer said.
The selling point would be a strong aviation program. It’s been a passion for Meyer since a young age when his family would take trips to Mexico. In fact, he had airplane wallpaper in his bedroom until his freshman year of high school.
“Longer than I can admit,” he laughed. “I was lazy about taking it down until we redid my room.”
Bedroom aesthetics aside, that’s far down the road. Meyer has unfinished business and another trip to Columbia in mind. He’s not looking towards the end of his season yet, but he remembers the feel of a state title trophy and has designs on putting another “Meyer” banner in the rafters.
“Winning a state championship in football, I want to experience that in wrestling and in baseball. It just pushes you harder in order to achieve your goals.”
