By Kary Booher (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
To hear Ozark High School wrestling coach Tod Sundlie tell it, last season may not have been memorable – and he certainly doesn’t want his wrestlers thinking too much about it – but it certainly should serve as motivation.
“While we had some competitive showings at some tough tournaments last year, we simply had too many holes and weaknesses,” Sundlie said. “We have worked to address those in the offseason both for this year and the future. We are looking forward to competing as a team this year.”
Ozark has long had one of the Springfield-area’s more competitive programs, and Sundlie is optimistic about this year’s team continuing the tradition.
The roster should include 25 wrestlers, including six returning starters. Five of them qualified for the state tournament last year, with 132-pound sophomore Braxton Strick one of the area’s most intriguing wrestlers.
Strick placed third in Class 4 last February in the 126-pound weight class. He was 48-7, and also could wrestle at 138 this year.
“Braxton earns everything he gets, as he works hard, loves to wrestle, and loves to compete,” Sundlie said. “He is fortunate to be surrounded by other talented wrestlers in our room like returning state qualifiers Elijah Maskrod, Lucas Campbell, and Clayton Moison.”
Other returning state qualifiers are senior Maskrod (132 or 138), sophomore Campbell (145), senior Moison (152) as well as heavyweight Hunter Tennison.
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Campbell spent most of last year on junior varsity but stepped in for an injured teammate. He finished 33-16 as a freshman.
“Which really verified his work ethic and improvement all season, as well as the depth of our team in that particular area,” Sundlie said.
Maskrod is a two-time state qualifier and was 32-17 last season.
“He is very coachable, a great teammate, and has very high expectations,” Sundlie said. “We are excited to watch him this year.”
Moison is a three-time state qualifier who finished 36-17 last season.
“He is also looking to grow from those experiences at state and develop the consistency he needs to win matches at that level,” Sundlie said. “Clayton has grown tremendously in the off-season, and should expect to finish his high school wrestling career strong this year.”
Tennison was 35-11 last year.
“Hunter had a great year last year, and is excited to make a few adjustments this year to finish even stronger,” Sundlie said.
The rest of the projected lineup could see freshmen Daniel Laney and Jovanni Balsamo at 113, senior Jordan Hurst at 120, sophomore Levi Maskrod or junior Dylan Billingsley (126), sophomore Brock Sundlie in the mix at 145, senior Riley Newsom (160), freshman Johnny Williams (170), seniors Harper Kissee and Thomas Rushing at 182, junior Braegan Patman at 195, and sophomore Sean Collins and junior Luke Hulse at 220. The 106-pound weight class is open.
Patman was 25-27 a year ago.
“He put together a solid season last year, and really came on strong at the end of the year,” Sundlie said. “We expect him to build off that confidence and have a fun year this year.”
Newsom and Kissee should provide leadership, and Hurst and Rushing also are being counted on to contribute. Billingsley and Moeller spent a lot of time over the summer on the mat. And don’t be surprised if Levi Maskrod and Brock Sundlie break through, as they spent some time on varsity last year.
“Our team depth in this area could result in some very good wrestlers having a hard time getting on the varsity mat, as well as create a very competitive practice room,” Sundlie said.
He later added, “We will need to improve our maturity and consistency in different areas, and to do that our wrestlers will have to show their commitment to each other and our goals.”
