By Kary Booher (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
In the wrestling world of Missouri, even on Saturday morning youth tournaments, it’s easy to find energy from coaches who have a high motor or carry that passion around all day.
At the high school level, you can see that in Marty Hauck, the head wrestling coach at Rolla High School. He’s been around the sport for years and just loves it, and it’s reflected in these numbers: 288 and 189.
In order, that’s the number of dual wins of his teams over the years, including at nearby Salem, and the number of dual wins at Rolla since he arrived in 2015.
So, considering this year’s Rolla team has only two of its 11 state qualifiers back from last season, don’t think for a second that he’s not going to challenge his guys.
“We love our district and schedule,” Hauck said. “It is so highly competitive with some of the best wrestlers in the state. Last year, we saw every state champion and runner-up at least once. Which is what we want, to see and know where we need to be for a chance at the end of the season. We will be attending some out-of-state events and broadening our knowledge through that.”
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Roster
Hauck anticipates about 100 wrestlers in the room at the start of the season. That’s not unusual for his program.
The roster features nine returning starters on the boys side, including two state qualifiers – one of them a state medalist.
Look for freshmen Tristan Ace or Danny Cahill at 106 pounds and then sophomores in the next six weight classes: Carson Mickem at 113, Michael Melton at 120, Landen Schaper at 126, Nathaniel Black at 132, Kyson Lortz at 138 and Jack Mrozowics at 144.
Upperclassmen mostly can be found in the upper weights: juniors Kayden Kinder at 150, Sawyer Black at 157, Matthew Light at 165, Wyatt Waneka or Sean Million at 175 and Fox Welch-Baker at 215. Senior Lucas Lara at 190 and sophomore Nile Light could be at 285.
Mickem and Kinder were state qualifiers last season.
“Mickem won a match (at state) but came up short of his goal,” Hauck said. “He has put time on the mat this summer and is looking to medal this year.”
Kinder could be on the verge, too.
“He was in the blood round at state as a freshman, took third place last year as a sophomore, and he spent the offseason in other sports and has had a solid football season as a junior,” Hauck said. “He is looking to bring in some of that success onto the mat again.”
Sleepers?
Hauck said he isn’t sure the team has any “sleepers” and that, “We are who we are.”
But considering the number of sophomores in the lighter weights, it stands to reason that a few could make some noise this winter. After all, Rolla has a quality youth wrestling program that ultimately feeds its high school roster.
Black could be one of those to emerge.
“Black had great participation this summer and gained confidence, and I can’t wait to see how it plays out for him,” Hauck said.
The Bulldogs open the season Nov. 21 in the Owensville Tournament.
Girls Roster
Girls wrestling continues to grow for Rolla, which returns 11 starters, including four who qualified for the state tournament last season.
The lineup could be Kiara Sederburg at 100 pounds, Ella Christopher at 105, Kyjha Henry at 110, Rein Smith at 115, Morgan Swift at 120, Vittoria Wiley at 125, Natalie Barron at 130, Angela Richardson at 135, Serenity Tilford at 140, Gabby Voshell at 145, Shae Loughridge at 155, Kaylee Riegel at 174, Felicity Taylor at 195 and Mikayla Atton at 235.
Sederburg, Christopher, Wiley and Tilford all qualified for the state tournament last season.
“We have several who have put in time this offseason and look to have a great year,” Hauck said. “We have four remaining state qualifiers back who are ready to come home with a medal this season.”
