By Dean Backes
MaxPreps.com
Before stepping onto the mat in pursuit of their fourth individual state wrestling titles, Boaz Beard turned to Tyler Caldwell and said, “Let’s get this done.”
Then the Goddard teammates wrestled their way into Kansas prep sports history by becoming the first set of teammates to complete a four-year sweep of individual state grappling titles in the same season.
“This is a big relief for me,” Beard said of accomplishing a goal the two best friends have shared since before entering high school. “There has been a lot of pressure. We’ve been hearing about this everyday. I’m just proud to do it.”
Caldwell, who has won previous championships at 112, 125 and 140 pounds, completed the first leg of the feat by major decisioning Blue Valley Northwest’s Anson Worrell 11-0 in the 160-pound championship.
When Beard, who also owns titles at 152, 160 and 171 pounds, pinned Wichita Haysville Campus’ Brandon Reif in the second period of the 189-pound title match, Caldwell and Beard joined a prestigious list of 22 other Kansans that completed their quests for four individual wrestling titles.
Goodland’s Doug Duell was the first Sunflower State wrestler to complete the sweep from 1972-75. Romero Cotton, of Hutchinson, and Arkansas City’s Trison Graham finished their prep careers with four individual titles a year ago.
“It feels great,” Caldwell said of pulling the double-quadruple. “It’s been crazy around here. All of the phone calls we’ve received, all of the comments, all of the congratulations-it’s been great.
“I don’t think it sank in until people I don’t even know walked up and gave me a pat on the back. We went to dinner and people were shaking my hand. I even got to sign a couple of autographs.”
Caldwell and Beard defied Lions coach Brett Means by finishing their senior seasons with unblemished records. Means believes in stacking the deck against his wrestlers by putting them through one of the toughest schedules in the state.
He signs his wrestlers up for the Kansas City National Tournament at the KC Expo Center in mid-December in an attempt to test his wrestlers physically and mentally.
The annual classic features about 32 teams from around the country and brings the best in high school wrestling to one location.
“I don’t want them to go undefeated,” Means said. “It keeps them humble. Hey, in order to be the best…you gotta beat the best.”
Caldwell has escaped serious injury throughout his career. Beard, however, had to overcome a broken hand and a strained ACL last season in winning his third title.
Beard, who wrestled at 171 pounds a season ago, competed in just one meet before heading to regionals his junior season. He entered the state meet sporting a 6-0 record and finished 10-0 on the season.
Just as Caldwell and Beard won state titles, Goddard took the 6A team championship with a 180-155.5 decision over runner-up Derby. Maize and Wichita Heights finished third and fourth with 127.5 and 123.5 points respectively.
Means’ nephew Mitchell Means joined the Goddard championship parade by winning the 145-pound title. Trey and Ryan Houlden, who wrestled at 130 and 152 pounds respectively, also wrestled their way into the finals, but both grapplers had to settle for runner-up finishes.
Ryan Houlden won the 145-pound title a year ago. Dalton Beard (171) and Josh Hicks (215) finished fourth and fifth at this year’s state meet.
Girls Basketball: Strammel leads Monarchs to record win; Hoffman climbs to second
Jenna Strammel was not fully recovered from a recent illness, but she still had enough gas in the tank to score a game-high 16 points in leading Thomas More Prep-Marian (21-0) past Lakin 62-24 Monday.
The win assured the Monarchs they would set a school record by winning their 21st contest of the 2008-09 season.
The previous school mark was set during the 1993-94 season when the Monarchs made their only state tournament appearance and finished the season 20-4.
Junior Kaylee Hoffman scored 12 points in the record-breaking win and moved into second place on the school’s all-time scoring chart with 354 career points. Hoffman surged past Sarah Glassman’s 353 points in the win.
With another full season left in her prep career, Hoffman is in position to surpass Lorie Flax’s school mark of 549 points.