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PITTSBURG —
The big event keeps on getting bigger.
The USAWKS District 1 South Subdistrict Wrestling Tournament hosted by the Pittsburg Wrestling Club and Pittsburg State University brought in nearly 700 wrestlers and 35 clubs this weekend, all looking to qualify for districts and eventually state . . . but you have to get through subdistricts first.
"We're very grateful to PSU for being able to host this event at their venue," Pittsburg activities director Doug Hitchcock said. "As long as we can get the university, we'll continue to do it. It's a showcase for the university, for the city."
The wrestlers and their families — from towns and cities like Gardner-Edgerton, Paola and Olathe — come into town Friday night, creating business for Pittsburg-area hotels and every restaurant in town for a 24-hour period.
Setup began at 4 a.m. Saturday, a collaborative effort between Pittsburg Wrestling Club and other local wrestling clubs like Frontenac and Fort Scott, as well as the PSU physical plant and maintenance team responsible for seven mats and 10 wrestling surfaces.
Many people do behind-the-scenes work on big events.
Plus, all those athletes will be hungry or thirsty at the event, never mind the coaches, parents, grandparents and spectators.
That's handled with variety: concession stands stocked with confectioneries and other essential items of a balanced diet like popcorn and a vendor selling cashews, pecans and almonds, plus hot dogs and burgers were available.
Weigh-in takes place 6-8 a.m. and Hitchcock estimated the venue was fully operational for wrestling by 8:30 a.m.
Matches began at 9 a.m. with none of the seven mats unoccupied for 6-7 hours.
The top four at subdistricts qualify for districts in Topeka, then the top four at districts from each district makes up the 16-participant state bracket. Topeka hosts both district and state.
Hitchcock said that he's been involved with Pittsburg hosting subdistricts for 12 years and can track the growth of the sport at the youth level on up.
The Pittsburg Wrestling Club brought the second-largest contingent Saturday with 38 participating wrestlers, behind only East Kansas, a wrestling conglomerate from Lenexa which encompasses wrestling talent from all over that suburban area.
"We're doing really well," Pittsburg Wrestling Club head coach Jon White said in a quick interview before hustling over for his son's next match. "This is a really tough tournament. We have probably the toughest subdistrict in the state so a lot of the people that will place in the top four here will be top four in the state of Kansas. This is the largest subdistrict in the state. For the numbers that we have, we're doing really well. We're fighting hard and they're wrestling against some of the best competition in the state today."
The big event keeps on getting bigger.
The USAWKS District 1 South Subdistrict Wrestling Tournament hosted by the Pittsburg Wrestling Club and Pittsburg State University brought in nearly 700 wrestlers and 35 clubs this weekend, all looking to qualify for districts and eventually state . . . but you have to get through subdistricts first.
"We're very grateful to PSU for being able to host this event at their venue," Pittsburg activities director Doug Hitchcock said. "As long as we can get the university, we'll continue to do it. It's a showcase for the university, for the city."
The wrestlers and their families — from towns and cities like Gardner-Edgerton, Paola and Olathe — come into town Friday night, creating business for Pittsburg-area hotels and every restaurant in town for a 24-hour period.
Setup began at 4 a.m. Saturday, a collaborative effort between Pittsburg Wrestling Club and other local wrestling clubs like Frontenac and Fort Scott, as well as the PSU physical plant and maintenance team responsible for seven mats and 10 wrestling surfaces.
Many people do behind-the-scenes work on big events.
Plus, all those athletes will be hungry or thirsty at the event, never mind the coaches, parents, grandparents and spectators.
That's handled with variety: concession stands stocked with confectioneries and other essential items of a balanced diet like popcorn and a vendor selling cashews, pecans and almonds, plus hot dogs and burgers were available.
Weigh-in takes place 6-8 a.m. and Hitchcock estimated the venue was fully operational for wrestling by 8:30 a.m.
Matches began at 9 a.m. with none of the seven mats unoccupied for 6-7 hours.
The top four at subdistricts qualify for districts in Topeka, then the top four at districts from each district makes up the 16-participant state bracket. Topeka hosts both district and state.
Hitchcock said that he's been involved with Pittsburg hosting subdistricts for 12 years and can track the growth of the sport at the youth level on up.
The Pittsburg Wrestling Club brought the second-largest contingent Saturday with 38 participating wrestlers, behind only East Kansas, a wrestling conglomerate from Lenexa which encompasses wrestling talent from all over that suburban area.
"We're doing really well," Pittsburg Wrestling Club head coach Jon White said in a quick interview before hustling over for his son's next match. "This is a really tough tournament. We have probably the toughest subdistrict in the state so a lot of the people that will place in the top four here will be top four in the state of Kansas. This is the largest subdistrict in the state. For the numbers that we have, we're doing really well. We're fighting hard and they're wrestling against some of the best competition in the state today."
PWC wrestlers range from 8-and-unders Tyler Bailey, J.J. White, Corbin McIntier, Jackson McKechnie, Gabe Beaman, Justice Compton and Matthew Smith to high schooler William Johns.
Tanner Hitchcock (14U, 90 pounds) took first with victories over Gage Matlock of the SEK Jr. Comets (5-0 decision), Corbin Russell of Pittsburg (pin in 1:43) and Dylan Gowin of East Kansas (6-0 decision).
Tyler Kester (14U, 110) won first with victories over Jared Hartzell of Red Devil (pin in 1:14), Ricky Norval of Ottawa Mat Masters (18-6 major decision), Thomas Lisher of East Kansas (3-2 decision) and Case Pemberton of Linn Co. Twisters (3-2 decision).
Dylan Prince (14U, 175) defeated Zack Thompson of Red Devil (pin in 13 seconds), Mason Koechner of Louisburg (11-2 major decision) and Wyatt Sandness of Fort Scott (pin in 1:04).
The Pittsburg High wrestling program has experienced its greatest success in recent years: consecutive league titles (2011, 2012), its first regional title (2012) and its highest state tournament finish (fourth, 2012). Recent years have also brought the first two-time state champion in Aaron Seybold and the first brothers to win state titles, Beau and Broc Bennett, both state heavyweight champions.
This success begins at the youth wrestling level.
"Those individuals were once a part of Pittsburg Wrestling Club," White said. "That's part of the stream of athletes. That's the type of people our kids look up to and they want to be like those individuals. We try and promote as much as we can to watch the high school wrestlers. Coach Rieck's (PHS coach Scott Rieck) done a fantastic job with that team."
One can see the cyclical nature of wrestling and sports in general at a big wrestling tournament.
"Wrestling's been a big part of my life since I was their age," White said. "It's something that I look forward to every year. It's a very intense sport for a young individual, watching them achieve their goals and just watching them find themselves compete. It's rewarding. It's probably the most enjoyment I have, watching how hard they work and then have the opportunity to perform."
PWC district qualifiers: J.J. White (8U, 61), Justice Compton (8U, 70), Matthew Smith (8U, 73), Damon Konecny (10U, 100), Caleb Redd (10U, 120), Logan Ledbetter (10U, 130), Gabriel Clothier (12U, 68), A.J. Lair (12U, 84), Ethan Tomasi (12U, 115), Cade Southard (12U, 130), Crispin VonWinklepleck (12U, 150), Tanner Hitchcock (14U, 90), Corbin Russell (14U, 90), Tyler Kester (14U, 110), Mack O’Dell (14U, 140), Keyshawn Jones (14U, 145), Dylan Prince (14U, 175), Gage Hudson (14U, 205), William Johns (HS, 126).
Frontenac Youth district qualifiers: Wil Jameson (10U, 82), Storm Niegsch (10U, 85), Riley McDaniel (12U, 80), Mason Jameson (12U, 84), Brendan Ishimura (12U, 115), Wes Jameson (14U, 105), Brandon Mlekus (14U, 120), Tanner Craig (HS, 138), Ethan Hess (HS, 145), Chase Turner (HS, 160).
The full list of clubs: Allen County, Blue Valley, Burlington, Central Heights, Chanute, Columbus, Cougars, East Kansas, Fort Scott, Frontenac Youth, Gardner-Edgerton, HD Wrestling, Jayhawk-Linn, Kansas City, Kansas Thunderstruck, Labette Jr. Grizzlies, Linn Co. Twisters, Louisburg, Olathe, Olathe East, Olathe Northwest Kids, Olathe Southside Falcons, Osawatomie, Ottawa Mat Masters, Paola, Parsons, Pittsburg, Red Devil, SEK Jr. Comets, Sidewinders, Spring Hill, STA, Wellsville Kid Matters.
