Senior settles for silver at state

7/21/2019 Senior settles for silver at state

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Weybrew settles for silver at MSHSAA Wrestling Championsips

At 9:46 p.m., Mizzou Arena was nearly empty as Maryville senior Brendan Weybrew and

the rest of the 285-pound finalists made their way to their respective mats. Weybrew and Trevor

White of Brookfield made their way to Mat 1 for the Class 1 championship bout, a rematch from

the Class 1 District 4 final that ended in a 1-0 decision in favor of White.With the lights to Mizzou Arena off, spotlight on Maryville’s two-time state medalist and

‘Enter Sandman’ playing through the speakers, Weybrew would need a Mirano Rivera-esque

performance to win the first state championship for Maryville since 2010, including the first in the

heavyweight division.

After a scoreless opening period, White scored two points in the second round for riding,

leaving Weybrew the chance to score from an offensive position. With 10 seconds remaining in

the third period, Weybrew tipped White onto his shoulders received two points to send the match

to overtime, scored 2-2.

After one scoreless overtime period, the Class 1 championship was the lone remaining

bout. With all eyes on Mat 1, White chose to go in the offensive position in the first sudden-deathperiod.

With Weybrew unable to escape in the 30 second period, he went to an offensive position

for the second sudden-death period, and was unable to score a point. In the ultimate tie breaker,

Weybrew got within inches of breaking the grip of White, but was unable to escape in the end,

giving White the 3-2 victory in the Class 1 championship.

“You can always do better,” Weybrew said, with the emotion of a second consecutive

state finals loss setting in. “You have to get better and learn from your mistakes. Just gotta work

at it.”

In the overtime periods, head coach Conner Kellerstrass and former head coach Joe

Drake were advising Weybrew to stand up quickly to escape White’s grip and score crucialpoints, as White was able to stall for much of the match.

“(White’s) tough on top and he has been all year,” Kellerstrass said. “We knew we would

have to get out to win and unfortunately we just weren’t able to in the last 30 seconds.”

Unable to do so, Weybrew said what he would have changed simply.

“I should have stood up faster,” he said. “I couldn’t really hear Conner until the break

happened. Right when the break happened, he (the referee) called stalemate on us.”

In comparison to his district finals bout with White, Weybrew was able to score two points

and felt he improved from the defeat, despite walking away with a silver medal.

“I think I did better,” Weybrew said. “I think I worked pretty well on top, especially scoring

those last two points. Instead of sitting there, doing nothing and crying about it, I did my best to

keep it going.”

Being his head coach for three years, Drake made the trip throughout the postseason to

watch the Spoofhounds. After Weybrew’s loss, the two friends shared a moment that summed up

the bond the two made in his time at Maryville.

“I tried to give him a little encouragement,” Drake said. “He’s pretty disappointed and I told

him he’s got nothing to be ashamed of. It was a tremendous match. I said ‘You never quit. You’ve

accomplished alot in four years and you’ve got to be proud of what you’ve done.’



“I thought he wrestled an excellent match. He never quit out there – he kept trying. That’s

all you can ask of any kid out there that’s competing.”

Looking back on his career, Weybrew emassed a record of 162-14, made four state

appearances and won three medals – including two second place finishes (2014, 2015) and one

fourth place finish in 2013.

Despite his career, which is among the best in program history, Weybrew summed up hisfour years by saying “There’s always more you can do.”

By his senior season, Weybrew was used to the pressure that came with facing the state’s

best wrestlers at Mizzou Arena. As a freshman, Weybrew made it to the third round of

wrestlebacks before being eliminated. As a junior, Weybrew snagged Maryville’s first

heavyweight medal when he placed fourth. His junior year, he found himself in the state

championship bout, where he fell, earning a second place medal – all experiences that he feels

helped him to his result Saturday.

“Being here definitely is a confidence booster,” Weybrew said following his semifinals

victory Feb. 20. “Freshman year, being my first match, I was pretty scared because I had a kid

that was ranked ahead of me and I had no idea what was gonna happen. It was my first timehere, I just started, I had a decent season.

“Just getting the courage to come out here and do it is amazing,” Weybrew continued.

“Once you come here once, you won’t be nervous too much anymore.”

Following the state final loss, many of the Maryville community took to social media to

encourage the wrestler who finished his senior season 39-7.

Prior to the Class 1 champiobship, Weybrew began the MSHSAA Wrestling

Championships Thursday with a first-round victory by fall 1:16 into his first match against Drake

Higgins (35-16) of Lathrop in the 285-pound division. In Friday’s quarterfinals, Weybrew pinned

Kennan Carnes (26-1) of Cleveland NJROTC 3:49 into the match, securing a spot in the

semifinals. Facing Chance Cumpton (21-7) of Blair Oaks, Weybrew was able to dominate thematch in the first two periods and pinned Cumpton at 5:13 mark to secure a place in his second

consecutive state final.

After his Class 1 final loss, Weybrew said he is still undecided on what his plan is for

college – he has the opportunity to play football and wrestle and has not set a timetable for when

he will decide.

At the 113-pound division, junior Jacob Partridge was pinned 3:12 into his first career

match at the MSHSAA Wrestling Championships. Partridge’s season would end in the first-round

wrestlebacks on a 7-1 decision, ending his season with a record of 15-33.

Junior Trevor Zimmerman lose his opening match in the 160-pound weight class after

placing third at districts to earn a state bid. Zimmerman earned a pin in just 59 seconds in his

first-round wrestleback, only to be pinned in the second period the following round. Zimmerman

ended his junior season with a record of 30-21.

Kellerstrass said the experience of the first time at state for his juniors will hopefully propel

Maryville back to stronger showing at the 2016 MSHSAA Wrestling Championships.

“Hopefully those guys will step up and be our team leaders next year and hopefully pick

up some of the weight that Nathaniel and Brendan carried all year,” Kellerstrass said. “Hopefully

that can bring back some of the other younger guys with them. We could bring six more again



next year, hopefully a bit more than that, too. We could come down here and have a few more

guys on the podium.

At the 126-pound class, senior Nathaniel Alexander, a two-time medalist, won his opening

match by fall in the first period. In the quarterfinals, Alexander battled his way to an 8-2 defeat,

which would be his last bout of the tournament after being forced to forfeit his second-round

wrestleback due to a shoulder injury.“It’s a real unfortunate thing to happen,” Kellerstrass said. “It’s a terrible way to end your

career. He had several other accomplishments and still had a great season. Unfortunately, he just

couldn’t get it done down here.”

Alexander finished his senior season 39-8 and was a state medalist his sophomore and

junior years.

At 132 pounds, sophomore Cayden Dunbar returned to Mizzou Arena for his second state

appearance. Dunbar lost his first-round match, getting pinned in the opening period. Dunbar was

eliminated from the tournament after getting pinned 54 seconds into his second match. Dunbar

finished 35-17 on the season.

Sophomore Matthew Twaddle snagged his second appearance at the MSHSAA WrestlingChampionships after placing fourth in Class 1 District 4 at 152 pounds. Twaddle lost his opening

match by major decision, 10-0, only to come back with a 11-7 victory in his first-round

wrestleback. Twaddle’s season would end with a record of 23-13 after a 6-3 loss in his

second-round wrestlrback.

Looking back at his first season as head coach, Kellerstrass was pleased with his team

and hopes his returners step up in place of Alexander and Weybrew.

“We definitely would’ve liked to get a few more guys on the podium, get a few more wins –

but for two of our guys it was their first tournament, their first time being down here,” Kellerstrass

said. “It was just a learning experience and they’ll be back next year.”

“We had a really young team and we competed pretty well… Qualifying six to state was agood accomplishment. Hopefully we can build on that next year.”

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Senior settles for silver at state