Lion hearts: Goddard sprints away for fourth straight wrestling title

Goddard won its fourth straight team wrestling championship Friday, but couldn’t make it official until Saturday.

The Lions won the Class 5A title by 125.5 points. Coach Bret Means gave credit to kids who aren’t even on the team yet.

“These kids have been well-trained before I get them by our Kansas Young Guns youth wrestling program,” Means said. “By the time I get ’em, I just gotta try to mold the team chemistry.”

Troy Fisher, the 2018 Kansas Wrestler of the Year, was part of the program, and his dad led it. Fisher said walking from a Young Guns practice into a Goddard practice would be a little different but not drastically.

“It would be a lot more amped up, but technique is pretty much the same,” Fisher said. “We run basically the same system.”

Fisher was outstanding in the Class 5A tournament. In his four matches, he earned four pins in 4:02, including his 1:16 pin of Valley Center’s Tyler Boone in the 170-pound final to cap a 49-0 season.

He was far from the only lion-hearted wrestler on the mat for Goddard.

Sophomore Jason Henschel won at 106 pounds. Logan Pirl won at 132, Garrett Lange at 160 and Austin Andres at 182.

After four straight team titles, individual titles are less of a goal and more of an expectation.

When Henschel won his final bout, a 6-2 decision over Mill Valley’s Zach Keal, he shook hands and walked off the mat.

“I’m not really a showboater, just try to keep it calm,” Henschel said.

Henschel said sometimes the freshmen can get caught up in the excitement of the stage at Hartman Arena. And if they win, their emotions come out much stronger. He also said last year’s team helped curb his enthusiasm.

“The seniors from last year were three-time state champs, and they always just kept building us up to being state champs,” Henschel said.

Means said it’s important for his team to travel and wrestle against the best possible competition throughout the year.

Just this season, the Lions went to tournaments at Valley Center, Kansas City, Derby, Basehor, Garden City and Owasso, Okla.

“Our administration allows us to travel to tournaments that are tougher than this tournament,” Means said. “When you’ve been challenged throughout the year, I feel like this doesn’t seem like such a big deal to the kids.”

Goddard returns a solid chunk of its lineup, including Fisher. The Lions’ juinor star is already talking to national collegiate powers such as Oklahoma State, Air Force, Northwestern and South Dakota State.

He said there is no reason five straight is impossible. It’s expected.

“It’s truly one of a kind,” Fisher said. “You only get so many opportunities, and it’s a great opportunity to be a part of this team.”

This story was originally published February 24, 2018 at 9:27 PM with the headline "Lion hearts: Goddard sprints away for fourth straight wrestling title."