By Kary Booher (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
In sports, there’s an old saying that an athlete plays bigger than his size. That seems to be the case up on Highway 65 in Dallas County, where the Buffalo High School wrestling program itself has become, well, a monster.
You see, the Bison built these credentials just last year alone, despite being a Class 1 school: Nine state qualifiers, including five medalists; a sixth-place showing at the state tournament; a dual record of 17-2, five tournament team wins, the Central Ozark Conference championship and district tournament runner-up.
Surprised? Don’t be. Sure, it’s a town of 3,000-plus, but it’s got just about everything you want in rural America – several fast-food joints, a cozy high school gym and, even better, a must-see wrestling program.
“Once you start winning, you have an expectation to win,” was the way coach Nate Kenady put it. “It’s a habit now. Developing that type of culture is a challenge, but a lot of our wrestlers have been wrestling a long time.”
This year’s Buffalo squad should be formidable again, given six of those nine state qualifiers are returning along with a number of guys with quality varsity time.
Among the notables is Ethan Smith, who won the state tournament at 113 pounds last year. He may well move up to 126.
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“He’s put in a tremendous amount of work,” Kenady said, noting Smith suffered only one loss in the 113-pound weight class last year. “I think he’s going to fit great at 126. And pound for pound, physically, he’s one of our strongest kids.”
Shane Sisco placed third at state last year in the 285-pound weight class. He reeled off four wins after losing his opening-round match in an overtime tiebreaker.
“He pretty much had the best state tournament of all of our guys last year,” Kenady said. “I think (losing early) made him angry.”
Meanwhile, 113-pound Lizzie Miller, 145-pound Marcus Autrey, 170-pound Floyd Miller and 220-pound Colten Kenady are returning state qualifiers – with Miller and Kenady both defending COC champions.
“Miller was in one of the toughest weight classes in Class 1. All four the district qualifiers placed last year,” Kenady said. “Now, two of the four are gone. From a technical standpoint, he’s definitely one of the best wrestlers in the room.”
Kenady’s son, Colten, was often giving up 30 to 40 pounds a year ago.
“He’s been lifting hard this offseason,” Kenady said.
Other notables include: 120-pounder Jordan Spurgeon was fourth in the COC last year; 132-pound Blake Daher is a returning COC champion, 152-pound Keaton Rackley placed second at the COC and 182-pound Ashton Vogler was fourth at the COC.
Look for Andrew Castaneda and Daniel Mayberry at 106, while Justin Bowling, Charlie Middleton, Tanner Mueller and Levi Kenady are returning lettermen at 132, 138, 160 and 220.
Coach Kenady is optimistic considering the wrestlers spent much time together over the summer, running a local fireworks stand and also taking a float trip on the Current River.
“It helped with team-building,” Kenady said. “Doing things out of the ordinary like that helps develop more respect for each other.”
