The Tigers were open at 119 pounds. The rest of the team combined for a total 55 wins and 29 losses - a .655 winning percentage. Bonus points again played a significant factor in where the team finished. 30 of the Tigers' 55 wins included bonus team points with 5 majors, a tech and 24 falls! That means 55% of the Tigers' contested matches (does not include 13 matches forfeited to them) included bonus team points. With Francis Howell and Troy finishing only 7 points behind them, it's not hard to realize what a huge difference those extra 38.5 points earned on for working extra hard and smart on the mat can make.

Francis Howell Central took the team trophy home and Blackfoot, ID finished 2nd after winning last year, with Liberty taking 3rd and Jefferson City 4th.

Coach Graham introduced a special guest for the finals - World Champion Greco-Roman and Olympic wrestler Spenser Mango. Spenser was on hand to watch his little brother Ryan, who won the championship at 125#.]]> http://www.tigerswrestling.net/lshs/seasons/2008-2009/results/2008_1219_XmasTourney.php # The Tigers suffered their second dual loss of the season to a Wildcat team ranked 2nd in the state and including ten ranked wrestlers. They wrestled their opponents very tough and only gavae up 7 team bonus points, besides spotting them 12 points on two open weights. http://www.tigerswrestling.net/lshs/seasons/2008-2009/results/2008_1217_BlueSprings.php # Tigers Wrestling placed all 13 wrestlers they brought to the 2008 Lee's Summit North Bronco Invitational on their to way a 3rd place team finish. Junior Dylan Case went undefeated, including 3 falls and a major, on his way to securing first place. Junior Spencer Courier pinned his way to the championship before being defeated and taking 2nd place. Sophomore Steven Kingsolver had 4 pins on his way the championship before bringing home 2nd place. Unseeded Junior Justin Bruce upset seeded and state-ranked wrestlers on his way to a 3rd place finish. Senior Corey Lockwood had 2 falls and 2 tech-falls on his way to 3rd place. Senior Andrew Lattner and Junior Josh Packard finished 4th. Junior Josh Howard and Freshmen Jesse Morris and Josh Aguilar all finished 5th. Sophomore Nick Mahon placed 6th and Freshman Adam Lemmer finished 7th. The story behind their team success, besides the obvious one of placing 13 grapplers, may well be the bonus points scored. By one count, the Tigers scored bonus team points in 66% of their matches, including fofeits. Not including forfeits, that percentage remains over 50%, including 24 falls, 3 tech-falls and 5 majors. Take away those 56.5 bonus points and the Tigers would have just barely placed 3rd by about 5 points, instead of nearly taking second. That's a huge credit to the coaching staff and the aggresssive style of wrestling, hard work and extra conditioning the team has bought in to.]]> http://www.tigerswrestling.net/lshs/seasons/2008-2009/results/2008_1213_LSN_Tourney.php # Coach Graham, his sons Austin and Thomas, and I traveled to the mecca of wrestling, Carver-Hawkeye Arena at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Saturday to watch #1 Iowa host #2 Iowa State. It was an amazing night as we were part of nearly 16,000 fans decked in black yelling for the Hawkeyes who set a new collegiate wrestling dual attendance record and cheering the Hawkeyes to a 20-15 win.  The referees on the night were Kansas City's own Mike Hagerty and Gary Mayabb.  We sat 10 rows behind the personification of wrestling, Dan Gable, who gracefully signed the boys' t-shirts and shook hands and pontificated on the outcome.]]> http://www.tigerswrestling.net/lshs/seasons/2008-2009/photos_videos/iowa_dual/index.php # The Tigers got their claws wet in roaring fashion at the season opener, beating Truman 54-24. Of the 10 matches contested, Tiger wrestlers won them all. Most importantly, they scored bonus team points in 9 of the matches. Tigers wins included 7 pins, a tech fall and one major. Not only the Tigers as a team, but each individual wrestler has opened the season with a win. Beyond that, 3 freshman - Alex Swartz at 135#, Josh Aguilar at 140# and Jesse Morris at 112# - opened their high school career with not only wins, but with falls. Alex Swartz had the added duty of opening the dual competition on the night. Seniors Corey Lockwood at 152# and Andrew Lattner at #160, Juniors Josh Howard at 171# and Spencer Courier at 125# also recorded pins. The only points put on the board by the Patriots were for the 4 open weights on the Tigers roster.]]> http://www.tigerswrestling.net/lshs/seasons/2008-2009/results/2008_1202_Truman.php # Bobby Narron starts his first year as freshman wrestling coach at Lee’s Summit High School. Narron was previously an assistant varsity coach for Grandview High School from 1987-1990, as well as an assistant varsity football coach during that time. Bobby Narron has been an assistant varsity coach for the Lee’s Summit baseball team since 2001 and coached freshman football for Lee’s Summit from 2001-2006. Narron attended Southwest Missouri State University from 1976-1982 and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Education. He played for the SMSU Bears baseball team where he was co-captain and an All-American Honorable Mention. He holds 12 Golden Gloves titles, two of which are for the Novice and Open champions of the Kansas City Golden Gloves. He obtained his Masters in Education from Lesley College. He is married to his wife, Susan, of 25 years, and they have two children, Kaylee 20 and Cody 20.]]> http://www.tigerswrestling.net/ # Matthew Braaten is entering his first year as Tiger’s freshman wrestling coach. In high school, Braaten was an All-Conference wrestler in 2000. He graduated from the University of Central Missouri in 2008 with Bachelor’s in Physical Education. Currently, Braaten teaches Physical Education at Boone Elementary in the Center School District. He is also working on a Master’s degree at Webster University.]]> http://www.tigerswrestling.net/ # Don Graham enters his seventeenth year as a Lee’s Summit wrestling Coach. This marks his fifth year as head coach. Graham finished 3rd in state as a senior at Lee’s Summit High School, on a team that also collected a third place trophy in 1983. Coach Graham competed at the University of Missouri before a transfer to the University of Nebraska where he earned his undergraduate degree in Physical Education in 1989. He has since earned his graduate degree from Central Missouri State University in Secondary School Administration. He is married to his wife Jennifer of fourteen years and they have two sons, Austin 8 and Thomas 4.]]> http://www.tigerswrestling.net/ # Mark Hertzog begins his inaugural year at his Alma Mater as the Tigers Junior Varsity Coach. The youngest of the Hertzog wrestling and football pipeline, Hertzog enjoyed great success while at Lee’s Summit High School. A three time state qualifier at 275lbs, Hertzog went on to 4th place finish as a junior. As a Senior after losing a close match in the semis to eventual undefeated champ Jeron Baston, Hertzog wrestled back to a 3rd place finish gaining valuable points for the Tigers overall 6th place finish. Both his junior and senior years he was the Tigers “Most Valuable Wrestler.” As a football player Coach Hertzog was equally impressive gaining 1st Team All State honors that ultimately led his selection to the Mo-Kan All Star game. Hertzog spent two years playing football at UCM. He is currently a junior at UCM majoring in Education.]]> http://www.tigerswrestling.net/ # Robert Courier enters his fifth year as a LSHS wrestling coach. He has coached the Lee’s Summit Wrestling Club for eleven years- coaching Coach Sheets and Coach Hertzog as young wrestlers. Robert has been voted the Missouri USA Wrestling District Coach of the Year in 2005 and 2008. He was also Liberty Nationals Most Valuable Coach in 2005. Robert is currently the Coaches Coordinator for Missouri USA Wrestling and is on USA Wrestling’s National Coaches Council. He is married to his wife, Miki, of nineteen years and have two children, Ryan- 19 and Spencer-17.]]> http://www.tigerswrestling.net/ # Jesse Sheets enters his first season as the Tigers varsity assistant. At Lee’s Summit High School, Sheets was chosen as the Most Valuable Wrestler his junior and senior years. As a senior he finished 2nd place in State at 171lbs for the Tigers. While competing at UCM Sheets was a two time NCAA qualifier. In 2006, Sheets became one of only four former Tigers wrestlers to gain All American status in college. Earning his degree in Industrial Technology at UCM in 2008, he is now teaching at Summit Lakes Middle School. Sheets is planning a May wedding with his fiancé, Amber Yoder. Yoder herself was an athlete at UCM, earning four letters for the Jenny’s volleyball team.]]> http://www.tigerswrestling.net/ # Two Tiger wrestlers have caught the eye of MissouriWrestling.com ranking prognosticators. Senior Andrew Lattner is ranked 6th at 171# and Junior Spencer Courier is ranked 8th at 125# (both are returning state qualifiers). Anyone involved in this sport realizes that rankings are fleet and often not worth the paper they're written on. The Tigers' dedication and success during the off season, as evidenced by the record 7 Fargo Nationals quailifers, and the entire team's committment and work ethic this season will be proven out at state. Look for the rankers to have to shuffle their lists as the season unfolds and more Tigers make a name for themselves. Tom Brands, Iowa Hawkeye head coach, 3-time NCAA champion and Olympic gold medalist, when asked about one of his young wrestlers chances against the #1 ranked wrestler in the nation, was famously quoted, "I've never seen two pieces of paper wrestle, so I guess we'll have to see what happens on the mat." His wrestler proceeded to destory that highly ranked opponent. http://www.tigerswrestling.net/ # Congratulations to Josh Howard for his 6th place finish at the 2008 Fall Brawl held at the new Staley High School. http://www.trackwrestling.com/opentournaments/VerifyPassword.jsp?tournamentId=706009 http://www.trackwrestling.com/opentournaments/VerifyPassword.jsp?tournamentId=706009 On Sunday, October 19th, 2008, 24 of Lee's Summit wrestling's finest golfers descended on Shamrock Hills for the 3rd annual LSKWC wrestling golf outing. Participants included current high school coaches, Don Graham, Rob Courier and Jesse Sheets. Kids club coaches, Corey Hanson, Rick Drake and Tom Sennif. Current LSHS wrestlers Spencer Courier and Alex Swartz and former wrestlers Craig Bears and Brackon Lundy. The weather was perfect. 2 time champ Craig Bears showed up wearing "the belt", determined to keep it. Team Sennif wrested control of the belt shooting an eye popping 8 under in the windy conditions. Prizes were awarded for closest to the pin, longest drive and longest putt. Winners included Jesse Sheets (longest drive) and Rick Drake (longest putt). A putting contest was held with the winner holing a 50' putt good for $50 cash! Proceeds from the event in years past have gone to buy new team singlets. This years proceeds will be applied to buying new mats for the wrestling room and to help cover travel expenses for team trips. Many thanks to our sponsors, participants and to Shamrock Hills for making the event a wonderful experience. We are looking forward to next year and an even better turn out! http://www.tigerswrestling.net/ # Top Row: Dylan Case, Justin Bruce, Andrew Lattner, Corey Lockwood
Bottom Row: Chris Lattner, Spencer Courier (All-American), Conner Williamson]]> http://www.tigerswrestling.net/ #