As two Derby wrestling legends leave, their brothers are set to blaze their own paths
Triston Wills has gone through so much in his high school career, from a state championship to beating some of the best wrestlers in the country, but he said only one thing stands out for him this year.
It is likely the last time Wills will be on the mat alongside his brother, Taidon. He said nothing compares.
“The biggest thing is that I try to tell him how proud of him I am,” he said. “It’s got to be hard. I don’t know what it’s like having an older brother having success. I tell him, ‘You don’t have to be like me. You can do your own thing, be your own wrestler, your own person, go wherever you want and find your own path.’”
Triston Wills isn’t alone. Fellow senior Cade Lindsey also has a brother on the team. Cason is a sophomore. Both seniors are headed to Oklahoma State after their graduation. Their successes can put a target on their brothers’ backs, but Cade said that is the last thing he wants.
“I’m not going to restrict my success for him, and he wouldn’t either,” he said. “People don’t need to hold his standards to what I’ve done. He’s a completely different wrestler with a completely different mindset. There really is no pressure on him, and there definitely shouldn’t be. I’d even say he’s better than me from where I was as a sophomore.”
The four got off to a hot start Friday at the 2019 Kansas Class 6A state tournament. They helped Derby to 43 team points after the first round of matches. Every Panther wrestler won, and 11 got bonus points.
Derby last won a state wrestling title in 1986. The Lindseys’ dad was on that team. The Panthers have been on the cusp since but haven’t broken through. Coach Bill Ross said this could be the one.
“It’s just kind of something we know, nothing we really have to talk about,” Ross said. “Talking to my own son at home, (Cooper) knows what’s at stake. He’s not going to wrestle in college, more than likely, so for him and some of the other guys, they know this is the last go around. And we want to end with something very special.”
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Lindsey and Wills are the headliners but not the whole cake. The Panthers have 11 wrestlers ranked in the top six of the latest Kansas Wrestling Coaches Association rankings, including both sets of brothers and senior 152-pounder Crew Squires.
In the quarterfinal round, three of the brothers got through. Taidon, who has been battling a shoulder injury and concussion for most of his junior season, lost to Wichita South’s Kalachi Karibo, ranked No. 2 at 160 pounds.
Triston was lined up at the border wall to watch every second.
Cade and Triston are confident, composed wrestlers. They don’t celebrate many wins with emotion and exude a winner’s mentality. At last year’s state meet, Cade reached the championship bout and finished runner-up, and Triston upset Manhattan’s Jalin Harper, who is now at Oklahoma State, to become a state champion.
Ross said it has been a pleasure watching those two grow as competitors and champions over the years. That makes 2019 even more special, he said.
“This group has been together since they were five or six years old,” he said. “I follow these guys all the way through, so we’re a close-knit group. We try not to think about it too much because I get a little teary-eyed thinking about it.”
Cade said with his brother on the roster and on the mat at state in his final go around, he has tried not to get too emotional.
The Lindsey brothers are as close as any pair. When they get home, they bicker and fight, Cade said, but if anything or anyone came between them, he comes to his brother’s defense. But soon, Cade will be in Stillwater, and Cason will become one of the leaders of the Derby wrestling program.
“You blink, one year you walk in as a bug-eyed freshman,” Cade said. “It’s kind of scary how comfortable you get. You get here as a senior and compare that with how intimidating it was as a freshman. The time between, it just feels like it’s warped.”
Triston said he and his brother have the same relationship. With that, he said he is wrestling with added motivation Friday, and that will carry over to the state championship round if he reaches it again.
The past few weeks have become more real with every day, Triston said, and though his brother won’t be a state champion this year, he made sure to give him a message ahead of the state tournament.
“I got soft on him and said, ‘Man, I just want to tell you how much I love you, and I’m proud of you,’” Triston said. “I’m just happy he’s here. I’m happy he’s having fun, and I hope he can get his name on the wall next to mine.”
This story was originally published February 22, 2019 at 5:19 PM.