Freshman brother of a two-time state champion wrestler already ‘better’ at Newton
Nick Treaster is already achieving like he state champion brothers never did.
A freshman wrestler at Newton, Treaster won the Newton Tournament of Champions, considered to be among the top tournaments in Kansas. He has only one loss this season, and it came against a regional powerhouse in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
His career is young, but he hasn’t lost to a Kansas wrestler, and Thursday, he beat one of the best.
Newton beat Derby 40-36 at its home dual meet. It was coach Tommy Edgmon’s first time beating Derby, the defending Class 6A champions. The dual came down to the final match as it has each of the past few years, and freshman heavyweight Rio Gomez pinned his Derby opponent to seal the win.
But the night started with just as much drama.
Treaster opened in the 106-pound match against Derby junior Cody Woods. Last season, Woods finished fourth in Class 6A and entered the Newton dual as the No. 1 wrestler in the classification at his weight class.
Treaster won 17-1 by technical fall in perhaps the most impressive result of the night, and that included a win from his older brother.
Grant Treaster is a two-time state champion going for No. 3 in 2020. He is the No. 1 wrestler in Class 5A at 120 pounds after beating the No. 2 wrestler, Goddard’s Jason Henschel, at the TOC last week. Grant won his bout Thursday against Derby freshman Troy Allen with an 18-3 technical fall.
Grant has become the leader of the team as one of two seniors in the starting lineup alongside Sawyer Mock. Even he said it’s hard to deny what his brother has become in just his first season.
“He’s good,” Grant Treaster said. “If I was a freshman against him now, I don’t know how it would go. I feel like he would have the upper hand on me. TOC champ his freshman year, that’s something I never did. I took third my freshman year. Right now, if you compare stats, he would be a little better.
“5A is a tough class, and tonight just goes to show, if you win 5A, you are the best in the state by far.”
Nick is the third Treaster to come through Newton’s wrestling program. After Grant won his second title last season with a 6-3 decision over Goddard’s Lucas Glover, he said he has always been compared to his older brother, Logan, who now wrestles for the Naval Academy.
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When Logan was a Railroader, he won one state championship, as a sophomore in 2015. Grant said it was a huge weight off his shoulders to double Logan’s mark. Edgmon has had a lot of great wrestlers come through Newton, including two-time champion Wyatt Hendrickson, who is now at the Air Force Academy.
In terms of achievements, Grant is among the best.
“He wrestled over the summer and picked up a Fargo All-American honor,” Edgmon said. “He just came back a different person on his feet. Mentally and on his feet, he’s pulling the trigger and making things happen.”
There is a chance Grant finishes with three titles, but with how Nick has started his career, there is also a chance that won’t be the most in the family.
Nick has won 10 tournaments since March, according to TrackWrestling. He has wins over the No. 3 and No. 6 wrestlers in Class 5A at 106 pounds, but he is still chasing the top spot in the coaches’ rankings behind Kapaun sophomore Bubba Wright, who finished fourth at state last season.
Nick has the luxury of having his brother in the wrestling room, he said. The two are close enough in weight to spar in practice, but Nick’s primary partner is 113-pound freshman A.B. Stokes, who spoke with an Air Force wrestling representative after Thursday’s dual.
Stokes is the No. 2 wrestler at 113 pounds in Class 5A. He is among the shortest wrestlers in Kansas, but he is built like a bowling ball. It’s a case of iron sharpening iron, Nick said.
“A.B. has got a heck of a gas tank,” Nick said. “He pushes me every day. He takes me down a lot, but it only helps me get better and better. He is so much bigger and stronger, so he helps when I get into a regular match to see the other kids aren’t as good.”
Newton might not win the team title in 2020. The Railers are seventh in the coaches’ Class 5A team rankings with three teams in the Wichita area alone ahead of them, including five-time defending champion Goddard. But come Feb. 29 at Hartman Arena for the state championships, Newton might finish with as many as four individual champions, which would be the most in more than a decade.
“We’re growing,” Grant said. “I wish I was a junior, same with Sawyer. I wish we had an extra year to come back because we would be really good next year.”
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