Michael Smith The Kansas City Training Center Wrestling Club featured some of the best high school wrestlers in Kansas with three from Missouri sprinkled in.
The talent of the team was on display in the 2021 Summer Scuffle Tournament that featured 17 other teams from Kansas, Missouri, Texas and Oklahoma. Even while facing some tough and diverse competition, KCTC dominated the competition taking first place at the Saturday Tournament held at Kansas Wrestling Center in Olathe, Kan. (https://www.facebook.com/ksWrestlingCenter)
“We had a good set of talent from about four to five high school around here,” KCTC coach Erik Akin, who is also the head coach at St. Thomas Aquinas, said. “It was a really group of kids. They are some of the top kids in the area.
“We got to see some different styles from some different regions and different parts of the country. You get to see new people and you don’t know what to expect.”
Eighteen teams were divided into three pools of six teams each and competed in a round-robin style format. The teams that finished first and second place in their respective pools were put in the gold bracket; the teams that placed third in fourth were in the silver bracket; and the teams that finished fifth and sixth competed in the bronze bracket.
KCTC finished 5-0 in Pool C and advanced to the gold bracket, which also was a round-robin. From there, the team finished the tournament 10-0 and took first place overall. The Southwest Missouri Stingers finished the tournament 9-1 with its only loss coming against KCTC in the gold bracket as it took second. The DC Red team took third after finishing 7-3.
KCTC was so dominant, it won every match by no less than 16 points. It was led by Dillon Cooper (120), who was the only one on the team to finish 10-0. He won four bouts by fall, four by decision and two by major decision.
“I didn’t wrestle quite as well as I wanted,” Cooper said. “I can’t complain too much, but I had one match where I didn’t wrestle to the best of my ability. I am just trying to get some work in before Fargo (Nationals)”
Cash Thomas (160) was the only other KCTC wrestler to finish undefeated as he went 5-0 while splitting time with Johnny Akin who was 4-1. Thomas won three matches by pin and two by decision.
“I didn’t even know I was wrestling until Friday or Thursday,” Thomas said. “Johnny Akin didn’t want to wrestle all his matches, and he texted me to take half of the matches, and I said, ‘Alright.’
“My front headlocks are my go to. I just went from there to the belly. My opponents didn’t defend very well.”
Sean Carroll (195) also had a strong tournament for KCTC, finishing 9-1. His only loss came to Ben Vogt of the Texas Wrestling Club. Carroll had four pins and one tech fall to go along with a forfeit victory and three wins by decision.
“I definitely improved on my attacking,” Carroll said. “Last year, I barely shot at all. I was just slow. But I am definitely getting better.”
Like Carroll, Eddie Hugart (132) went 9-1, with his only loss coming by fall against DC Red’s Nakos Benton. He earned five wins by pin and four by decision.
“I felt pretty good,” Hugart said. “I got a loss during the first day, but I shouldn’t have lost.”
Drew Stanfield (138) of St. Michael The Archangel Catholic in Lee’s Summit, Mo. was one of the three members on the team from Missouri. He finished 9-1 with his only loss coming against Gardner’s Collin Smith in a 5-2 decision. He had four pins, a tech fall and four wins by decision.
“I felt pretty good the whole tournament except for the one match I lost,” Stanfield said. “I came out flat and I wasn’t very aggressive. He took advantage of that and beat me. Every other match, I did well and stayed in good position.”
Other KCTC wrestlers to compete were Eli Sperry (90), who finished 9-1; Blake Samuelson (98), who finished 8-2; Ezekiel Witt (106), who was 8-2; Tobius Kriner (113), who was 7-3; Braeden Moore (126), who was 8-1; Noah Bailey (145), who was 6-4; Dylan Waggerman (152), who was 5-5; Luke Hancock (170), who went 8-2; Gabe Bailey (182), who went 5-0, Tyler Andrade (182), who finished 1-4; Pierce Cunningham (220), who finished 7-3; Liam Pryor (285), who was 4-1; and Calvin Shoely (285), who was 3-2.
Whitted Trained won the silver bracket and DC Black took the bronze bracket. Sam Murphy of the SWMO Stingers was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler of the Tournament after finishing 10-0 and winning every match by fall.
“I was getting in good on my leg attacks,” Murphy said. “I have been working on that a lot. I have gotten a lot better at that.”
