By Pat Dailey (For OzarkSportsZone.com)
Rogersville’s Gabe Brandenberg and Riley Williams are in dramatic rebound mode this season, Wildcats coach Jason Carter reports.
Bradenberg was fourth at state as a freshman and a sophomore, before missing all of his junior season due to concussion symptoms. He is hoping for a healthy senior season.
“Brandenberg had a pretty bad concussion from football and the concussion symptoms lingered,” Carter said. “He missed half of the football season and all of the wrestling season. That’s a tough injury. You don’t want to rush back from a head injury
“He should come back hungry,” Carter added. “I’ve talked to him in the halls and he looks good and healthy.”
Brandeberg was 39-10 at 120 pounds two years ago.
Williams wasn’t able to take part in the post-season last year, after placing fourth at state at 126 as a sophomore. He finished 30-12 last season, after being 39-18 as a sophomore.
“Williams has done everything right since the end of last year to get himself ready for this year,” Carter said. “He has responded as well in the off-season as any athlete I’ve coached. We don’t judge kids by mistakes, but how they respond to mistakes. He’s responded like a true champion. We expect him to compete for a state championship.”
Carter, of course, knows a thing or two about state champions. Jay Strausbaugh concluded his Wildcat career with three straight state championships last season. He’s now wrestling at Mizzou.
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“Losing a kid like Jay, he was so good that no one kid is going to take his place,” Carter said. “We may have two or three guys fill the void left by him.”
Jacob Foster was a state-qualifier at 106 and 34-16 as a freshman a year ago. He’s expected to make the jump to 120 this year.
“Foster worked really hard in the off-season,” Carter said. “We expect him to be a state medalist. He was long and gangly last year. He’s still pretty long and has responded well to his growth.”
Caleb Forte was a Wildcat on the rise a year ago. But he wasn’t able to compete at districts due to not being weight-certified at 125. He obviously couldn’t compete at 132 due to Strausbaugh’s overwhelming presence.
“Caleb came out as a freshman, missing his sophomore year and came back last year,” Carter said. “He developed all season long and beat some good kids at the end of the year. He put in a tremendous amount of time in the off-season. I think he’s going to be really good.”
Beau Thompson, who will be at 145 or 152, also had concussion issues a year ago and missed out on his freshman season. He was a multiple youth wrestling state medalist.
Davin Agee and Joey Anderson, both sophomores, figure to be on the upswing, after learning some lessons the hard way a year ago.
“We have some young bucks who are much improved,” Carter said. “Joey and David wrestled upper weights as freshmen last year and saw upperclassmen competition. They wrestled guys with more experience and who were more mature. They took some beatings, but learned from them and got better.”
Carter points to Tristan Voss as an intriguing 220-pounder or heavyweight.
“He is an incredibly athletic big man,” Carter said. “He is ridiculously strong. He’s as strong as a bull moose. He’s the kind of kid that if he learns three or four moves, he’ll be a force to be reckoned with.”
