By Kary Booher (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
You might assume that the coach of the Bolivar High School wrestling team might scale back expectations somewhat heading into this season.
After all, five Liberators who advanced to the state tournament last year and, months later, walked across the graduation stage.
But, fortunately for Bolivar, they’ve got a coach in Jeff Davis who knows you keep pushing ahead. After all, he senses a lot of optimism in the room after Bolivar won the district tournament for the first time in program history last year, then qualified 14 athletes to the sectional.
“I think that this finish continues to help our athletes believe that we are still among the state’s best programs,” Davis said. “We have finished second (2019), third (2020) and sixth (last year) at the state meet in the past three years.”
Projected roster
Davis could have about 30 wrestlers on the roster as the curtain rises on the season. That includes 10 returning starters, with two state qualifiers among them.
Look for sophomore Forrest McMannes at 106 pounds, followed by senior Logan Rice (132), freshman Cooper Moore (132), Jake Banner (138) and freshman Mason McCurry (145).
The upper weights could see junior Riley Beckman at 152 pounds, followed by senior Tyson Moore (160), junior Trey Brewer (170), senior Ryan West (182), junior Blake Goodman (195), sophomore Izik Simms (220) and junior Cael McCullah (285).
Three lower weight classes – 113, 120 and 126 – are far from being determined.
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Strengths
Tyson Moore was one of southwest Missouri’s biggest stories last year and sort of an unknown. In fact, you didn’t read about him in last year’s season preview because he didn’t join the team until late December, after his family relocated to Bolivar from Lexington.
He was the state runner-up in Class 3, suffering a 10-6 setback to Rolla’s Nate Pulliam, a University of Missouri signee who earned his third state title. Moore finished 27-1 a year after winning state.
“Tyson is a very gifted athlete and should be in the hunt for a state championship this year,” Davis said.
McMannes lost in the bubble match to go to the state tournament last season, but he made the cadet, junior freestyle and Greco-Roman dual teams last year, getting in about 30 matches this summer at the national level.
Brewer is another returning state qualifier.
“Trey trained hard all summer and looks to get on the medal stand this year,” Davis said. “He most recently placed third at the Fall Brawl preseason tournament, beating a three-time, Class 2 state medalist for third place.”
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Sleepers?
Rice is a three-year starter who missed the postseason due to Covid, Davis said. He lost in the bubble match at district as a sophomore.
“Logan’s back-up took his place at district and finished second and then lost in the bubble match at sectional,” Davis said. “Logan put in quite a bit of time over the summer and should be in the mix to go to the state meet.”
Keep an eye on Goodman, too.
“Blake was having a really good sophomore season and beat a couple of state medalists last year until a season-ending injury occurred,” Davis said. “Blake put in a ton of time this offseason and looks to go to the state meet this year.”
Goals
“Our goals are to continue to chop wood and carry water throughout the season,” said Davis, whose team has been invited to the Clash in Rochester, Minn. “We should be seeing some of the top wrestlers in the country. We also attend the Red Schmidt Tournament in Granite City, Illinois in late December and then head to the Clash in Rochester Minnesota the following weekend. These two are very tough tournaments by themselves, much less back-to-back weekends.”
Girls wrestling
Bolivar features junior Charlene Barnum, a returning starter, along with senior Molly Stimpsion, who qualified for sectionals. Alison “Fuzz” Butler, a senior, also is a returning sectional qualifier.
