By Kary Booher (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
This year marks Year 7 for Tod Sundlie as the head wrestling coach at Ozark High School, and it may be one of those winters that has some growing pains but may lead to nice results.
Put it this way, gone are 10 seniors – including five state qualifiers – who helped the team win all 17 of its duals, win the Central Ozark Conference, the district and place fourth at the state tournament.
“This year’s team will be young, with several questions as to who will step in and fill these roles and positions,” Sundlie said.
That said, this is Ozark, where wrestling has long had a foothold in the community and where youth and junior high school wrestlers learn high expectations are just part of the culture.
“It is always exciting to have young teams and watch them grow throughout the challenges they face during their season,” Sundlie said. “We look forward to this process.”
Roster
In the lightweights, Ozark will have freshman Frankie Pichler, junior Damien Moseley, sophomore Logan Luder and junior Kaden Coffey competing for a spot.
In the middle weights, junior Keaton Hurst, junior Caden Harrington, sophomore Teagon Patterson, and senior Gabe Arnall will battle for varsity time.
In the upper middle weights, Sundlie said it is hard to speculate who will fit into the starting lineup. Sophomore Talyn Van Horn should challenge for a spot, and the Tigers hope junior Dayton Moison is healthy.
Finally, in the upper weights, look for senior Johnny Williams and junior Ruben Arvizu (junior) to lead the squad as returning starters.
Moseley, Hurst, Harrington, Williams and Arvizu are all returning starters – with all but Arvizu having qualified for last season’s state tournament.
Moseley placed third at state last season.
“He should be very excited for his upcoming junior season,” Sundlie said. “He loves to wrestle and spends a lot of time working at it.”
Hurst has a lot of upside.
“We think he is just getting started,” Sundlie said. “These two should wrestle with a lot of confidence this year and should be very competitive.”
Williams and Harrington look to take the next step at the state tournament.
“Both wrestled well at the state tournament last year,” Sundlie said. “They have worked to identify what they need to do to reach their goals, and should have fun wrestling with more experience while pursuing those goals this season.”
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Sleepers?
This is where it gets interesting for Ozark. The Tigers have traditionally been able to back-fill varsity slots following the graduation of quality starters.
“It has been fun watching our younger wrestlers develop and commit to putting in the same effort to grow that our older wrestlers did last year,” Sundlie said. “Therefore, we are certainly excited to watch Logan Luder, Teagon Patterson, and Talyn Van Horn among others take advantage of their opportunities this season.”
Arnall and Moison are back and hopefully healthy.
“Both had some varsity time last season, while also struggling with injuries some so we are looking forward to seeing them healthy this year,” Sundlie said.
And look for McCracken to help steady the team.
“He has contributed many times in tough spots in our program, and he will be valuable in using that experience to guide some of our younger wrestlers,” Sundlie said.
Expectations
Sundlie isn’t going to sugarcoat it. Last year’s success should fuel the current group.
“Winning three district championships in a row, two conference championships in a row, and earning a state plaque last year was definitely a nice way for our seniors to go out,” Sundlie said. “They certainly worked hard to earn those. However, our younger wrestlers at all levels want these same high expectations to remain, and that is exciting to see. The high expectations will remain, and our team goals and commitments will continue to be driven by those expectations.”
Girls Team
Ozark’s girls team will have about 30 wrestlers on the roster, including six returning starters in Alyvia Myers, Anjelika Tsaruk, Delaney Cardin, Adi Hoelzle, Emily Price, and Maelynn Sundlie. Hoelze, Myers and Sundlie all advanced to the state tournament last year, with Sundlie earning a medal.
“While we have several returning starters, we also have some girls who will be trying wrestling for the first time this year and it will be difficult to see where they will fit into the lineup,” Coach Sundlie said. “However, these wrestlers had a great year growing last year and in the offseason.”
In the light weights, look for Hoelze, Price and Tsuaruk. The middle weights feature Alyvia Myers, Anjelika Tsaruk, Maelynn Sundlie, and Hannah Maskrod.
Meanwhile, Faith Shepard and Delaney Cardin are in the middle weights.
Maelynn Sundlie, a junior, became Ozark’s first ever state medalist in girls wrestling last year.
“Maelynn decided to try wrestling with these other girls and, like them, has really enjoyed the process. She loves working at the sport and developing both physically and mentally,” Coach Sundlie said.
“Adi Hoelzle and Alyvia Myers have had a great offseason,” Sundlie added, “and will also lead our program for continued growth. These girls were part of our first ever group of state qualifiers and therefore will also be our first returning qualifiers. We are looking forward to watching how that will positively impact the rest of our girls in the room this year.”
This year’s team will try to build on a nice first season. Last year’s team was the Central Ozark Conference runner-up, and won the Lady Mustang Tournament, the Diamond State Lady Invite in Arkansas and the Southside Slam in Olathe, Kan.
“In one year, we went from zero state qualifiers to six, and also had our first state medalist. They also won several tournaments as a team while earning many medals throughout the year,” Coach Sundlie said. “This experience and confidence will continue to grow this year, and has also created great energy in some of our younger girls with the incoming freshmen, as well as our junior high and youth programs.”
Girls Expectations
Several girls attended wrestling camps this summer, and that could be critical as Ozark tries to establish itself.
“Our goals this season are to continue to grow the girls program, as individuals and therefore also as a team,” Coach Sundlie said. “These girls are very thankful for their opportunities in this sport, and we would like to build off of this core group and get other girls to enjoy this process as well. Of course, individually we will work and train for their success, both on and off the mat.”
Ozark’s boys and girls teams open the season at the Dan Gable Donnybrook Tournament in Iowa in early December.
