Summit Wrestling Poised to Produce State Champions

High school wrestling programs vary widely in their success and consistency. Some programs are forced to rebuild after years of strength while others consistently field top teams year-in and year-out.

But all programs started from scratch at some point, and this is obviously more evident in the area’s newer schools, such as Rockwood Summit, which opened in 1993.

As Summit has supported the educational needs of its community, the school’s wrestling program has also began to maintain a steady course of growth. This effort is beginning to pay off as the Falcons are breaking out with some top-notch individual and team wrestling results.

Last weekend Rockwood Summit staged the fifth annual Route 141 Rumble Wrestling Invitational. The Falcons’ first-class hosting of an established, major tournament almost said as much as their third-place finish in terms of the school’s arrival as a force in the Missouri wrestling community.

“Putting together a tournament takes a lot from the coaches, the parents and the school and I think we’ve built it up to the point where we are becoming known for the tournament and our wrestling program and that’s taken a lot of work,” said Summit coach Brent Batcheller.

That’s not to say Batcheller and his coaches want to be known as just good hosts rather than strong competitors. Summit hopes to place some champions in the 2011 state finals this year, and judging from individual performances over the past couple of weekends that may not be a stretch.

At the inaugural All-Suburban Conference Wrestling Championships, hosted by Hazelwood Central on Jan. 7-8, the Falcons took second place to red-hot Seckman in team competition.

As hosts of the 141 Rumble last weekend, Summit finished in third place overall and saw five wrestlers reach the finals, with three taking championship titles.

Summit’s recent tournament performances reflect a significant advancement for the program, but Batcheller reminds fans his team is still not where it needs to be.

“Really we still have not had a single event where all 14 kids who are starters have been available at the same time, so we have not yet fielded our whole team.

"We are looking to get two or three of our wrestlers where they are supposed to be in terms of weight and health so we can make a big push at districts,” said Batcheller.

Of those who have performed this season, perhaps none has been stronger than 189-pound weight class wrestler Drew Lance. A senior, Lance is 23-1 on the season and won the top prize at the All-Suburban. Lance took fourth place at the state finals last season and he finished as the runner-up at the 141 Rumble. Clearly, the Summit 189-pounder is in the hunt for a state title.

Senior heavyweight Abram Reynolds took sixth place at state in 2010 and claimed the first-place medal at last weekend’s event. Another 141 Rumble champion was senior Aaden Aaden, who has successfully moved down to 112 pounds from 119 since last season.

Junior Spencer Matthews (215 pounds) is someone the team cited early in the season as a potentially strong contributor and he has proven the coaching staff right. Mathews notched Summit’s third 141 Rumble championship title.

The depth of the Summit squad is complemented by the team’s experience as several wrestlers will be making their third or fourth trip to district and state finals this season. Batcheller sought to combine the seasoning of his top wrestlers with tournament environments reflective of what the squad will see at districts to best prepare the team for what’s to come.

“Several of the teams at our tournament are in our district, so basically this is a district preview and it helps us assess where we stack up,” said Batcheller, “we’re setting ourselves up to try and produce some state champions,” he added.

So far so good for the Falcons, who head next to the SEMO Conference Tournament in Farmington January 21-22.