Wrestling Season Ends On a High Note

The Mehlville wrestling season officially concluded Friday afternoon when senior Jimmy Brockman fell to Lee’s Summit West’s Andrew Niehaus. 

While Brockman lost the bout 8-2, Coach Chad Coleman said that it was actually one of his better performances of the season.

“He warmed up good, I think he wrestled good,” Coleman said. “Obviously, there were a few mistakes here and there, like every kid does though. He made a couple of mistakes that cost him his first match, and he made a couple mistakes in his second match as well, but they weren’t as big. His third match he wrestled well even though he lost.”

Brockman’s win in the first round wrestlebacks was against McCluer North’s Delvin Hutson. 

“I think it was important for him to get that win,” Coleman said. “He needed that to show him that he can beat some of these kids. Every kid here is pretty solid. They’re not pushovers here. Getting that win really showed him that he does know what he’s talking about when he’s out there.”

What made Brockman’s state championship run even more impressive was that he had only competed in two matches prior to the district tournament because of both weight struggles and some off-the-mat issues.

“I got to see him on a very limited basis this year. I think that hurt him a bit. He might have done a little better had he wrestled all year long,” Coleman said. “For somebody who only had two matches going into this tournament, he did really well.”

Despite only sending one wrestler to the tournament this season, Coleman is confident that his team can make a better run next year.

“We definitely improved from last year,” Coleman said. “We’ve got handful of kids who will be juniors next year and I think they should be above .500 or right around there and competing for tournaments. I’m excited about it. We’re definitely headed in the right direction, and we hadn’t been the past couple of years.”