By Brennan Stebbins (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Last winter, Seneca’s wrestling team continued to earn its place as one of the best programs in the state.
The Indians were dominant in Class 1, then placed fifth in each of their first two years at Class 2 before finishing seventh in the class at last season’s state championships.
And once again, Seneca brought home a lot of hardware.
The Indians qualified eight wrestlers for state, including then-seniors Brady Roark and Lincoln Renfro. Roark capped a 56-0 season at 132 pounds with his third state title, while Renfro finished 32-15 at 175.
Everyone else returns this winter, including senior Andrew Manley, who placed second at 144 pounds and finished 48-5. And sophomore Jace Renfo (31-11) earned fourth place at 190. The rest of the list includes sophomore Paxton Bruegal (42-10), who qualified at 106; sophomore Eli Manley (41-11), who qualified at 126; junior Landon Commons (10-12), who qualified at 157; and junior Nolan Napier (27-18), who qualified at 165.
“It’s going to be very nice with a returning finalist in Andrew Manley and Jace Renfro, who got fourth. I expect them to be leaders and they’ve got that experience to help those other kids. As a coach I’m excited to have them,” said Seneca assistant Will Roark. “And added to them, we’ve got four other boys who qualified last year and got a little taste of state so that will hopefully motivate them to work hard and place this year.
“We’ve got a bunch of guys and I’m hoping some of those qualifiers can turn into placers and our placers can climb the podium and we just keep improving overall as a team,” he said.
Roark expects some good wrestle-offs for starting spots, especially in the lower weights. Manley should return at 144 and Jace Renfro should return at 190. Some of the team’s middle weights could see a shakeup; Napier, for one, could jump from 165 to 215.
The Indians will also benefit from some talented varsity newcomers. Incoming freshman Brant Laughlin could earn a spot at 120 or 126 and freshman Jackson Rhoades could wrestle at 106. Junior Sawyer Cornell could also step up and earn a spot.
“The good thing about this year is we’ve still got some question marks,” Roark said. “We’ve got several guys who are going to be on the cusp of making it to state or maybe on the cusp of placing and as a coach that makes it fun. I feel like if we do our job we can get them where they need to be.”
The Indians open at Carl Junction on Dec. 5 and will wrestle in the CJ Classic dual tournament Dec. 9, the Santa Slam Dec. 15-16, the Har-Ber Tournament Dec. 29-30 and the Newton Tournament Jan. 12-13. Seneca will also wrestle in an afternoon dual at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M against Chanute, Kan. and Rogers (Ark.) Heritage.
Numbers and results improving for Seneca girls
Seneca’s girls wrestling team has quickly made a name for itself as one of the more successful programs in the area. Two years ago the Indians had three state qualifiers and Isabella Renfro finished second in the state at 174.
The Indians once again qualified three wrestlers for state last winter, and this time Renfro won the title at 190, Louzella Graham placed fifth at 115 and Liberty Cornell placed fifth at 155.
Both Renfro (47-0 last year) and Graham (42-12) return this season as seniors.
“We’re expecting great things out of both of them,” Roark said. “Hopefully Isabella will repeat and she’s been working hard for that. Hopefully we can just keep climbing that podium.”
The Indians had eight girls at the first practice of the season and Roark expects about 10 will wrestle this season.
“It’s getting contagious with some of the girls having success and coach (Jeff) Sill and coach (Kevin) Durbin do a great job with them,” he said. “I think by the end of the year they’re bought in and doing things the right way. It pays off. They work hard right alongside the boys.”
Roark said the numbers continue to grow, a key to building a stable program. A lot of the increased interest is from the girls themselves recruiting other students.
Seneca will open at Carl Junction on Dec. 5 and is slated for the Diamond tournament Dec. 8, Santa Slam Dec. 15-16, Har-Ber Tournament Dec. 29-30 and the Newton Tournament Jan. 12-13. The girls team will also wrestle in the dual at NEO against Chanute and Heritage.
