Free-Style and Greco Season are upon us!

Gentlemen,
If you are planning on making that jump to the next level then you must spend more time on the mat refining your skills!  To make the jump from J.V. to Varsity, Varsity to Placer, Placer to Champion and (3rd to Champions) we must get the work done!

Free-Style and Greco season has begun!  You must be willing to get outside your comfort zone to get better and this will do it for you!  Practices began on Tuesday April 7th at 6:30 p.m.

Schedule: (5 week schedule)

Time: Tuesday, Wed, Thursday (6:30 - 8:00 P.M.)
Location: Wichita Heights High School

National Training Sessions (Sundays) Mandatory for athletes training for National Teams:

Apr 18
Emporia High School, Emporia
St. James Academy, Lenexa
Fort Hays State University, Hays
Wichita Heights HS, Wichita
Pratt Community College, Pratt
Garden City High School, Garden City
Colby Community College, Colby

May 2
Emporia High School, Emporia
St. James Academy, Lenexa
Fort Hays State University, Hays
Wichita Heights HS, Wichita
Pratt Community College, Pratt
Garden City High School, Garden City
Colby Community College, Colby
Pittsburg High School Pittsburg

May 23
St. James Academy, Lenexa
Fort Hays State University, Hays
Wichita Heights HS, Wichita
Pratt Community College, Pratt
Garden City High School, Garden City
Colby Community College, Colby

Jun 13
Gardner Edgerton High School, Gardner
Fort Hays State University, Hays
Pratt Community College, Pratt
Garden City High School, Garden City
Colby Community College, Colby
Pittsburg High School, Pittsburg

Jul 11
Emporia High School, Emporia
Gardner Edgerton High School, Gardner
Fort Hays State University, Hays
Wichita Heights HS, Wichita
Pratt Community College, Pratt
Garden City High School, Garden City
Colby Community College, Colby

"YOU CAN EITHER JOIN US, OR BE A VICTIM!!!!"

Banquet Time Changed

I apologize for the inconvenience, however, the Wichita Heights Wrestling Banquet has been moved to a different time. 
Date: Wed, March 31st, 2010
Time:  6:30-8:30 p.m.
Where: Hometown Buffet
            6820 W. Ridge Rd.
Who:  Anybody
Cost:  $11.69 + Tax  (I am working on changing that price)
           Children 4-7 is $3.29  Ages 8-11yrs $4.59
            

FALCON WRESTLING BANQUET INFO:

Wichita Heights Wrestling Banquet: (3-31-2010)

Heights Wrestling Banquet

Where: Hometown Buffet (Central and Ridge Road)
When: Wed. March 31st, 2010
6:30pm-8:30pm
Cost will be based on prices at Hometown buffet. I am going to try and work a better deal with them.

Awards will be given, stories will be shared, it will be a great evening.

Wrestlers should dress nice! Polo or button down shirts are acceptable.

No T-shirts please....

Contact Coach Jeff Watkins 316-806-9772 or jwatkins@usd259.net, Shelly Neal 316-650-4912 if you have any questions.

FALCONS FINISH 3RD IN STATE

This is a very hard post for me to put up this week.  I want to start off by saying I am very greatful and believe I am one of the most blessed coaches in the world with the fans, staff, and athletes that I get to work with at Wichita Heights.  So when I type the title of this blog as "Falcons Finish 3rd in State" a whirlwind of emotions run past me. 

It was a very action packed and fun filled week-end at Intrust Bank Arena.  There was a lot of good wrestling that took place and on Day 1 the Falcons really shined!  After the first round the Falcons were 10-3 and in 1st place at the State Tournament.  That next round allowed us to put 5 athletes in the Semi-Finals and then 3 more athletes made it to the State Championship Match.  Walking out of Intrust Bank Arena I had a different feeling than I have ever had as a coach. We had a shot!  However, Day 2 I watched stunned as the State Championship Trophy slipped through our hands and we fell to Third Place when all the dust settled. 

I am proud of all of these young men for having the guts to finish this season with the amount of pressure put on a Wichita Heights Athlete.  It's not easy wearing the Falcon Black and Red as you become the target of many boo's and are put under a microscope for 4 months while you compete in the sport of wrestling.  So to finish how we did is a testament to you as a person.  If you finished this season you have been through one of the hardest grinds a human can have on their body.  This is a mans sport and during this season I watched many of these young boys mature into men!

It's Monday now and all I can think about is "What can I do as a Coach to get you guys that Championship?"  Where can I improve?  Where can I work harder?  What can I learn to teach you to make you jump to the next level?  I am going to spend some time reflecting on this past week-end and what went right and what went wrong.

However, All 13 wrestlers scored points for the Falcons so it was truly a team effort to bring home that team trophy this week-end.

Winning Matches were:  Mike Ashpole (1-2) - Senior, Dalton Maier (1-2) Senior, Khary Jones (1-2) - Junior, Justin Reynolds (1-2) Junior, Christian Duckens 3-2 (Senior)

State Placers
6th Place:  Barry Newton-Sophmore
6th Place:  Dominique Henderson-Junior
5th Place:  Trey Schrimscher-Junior
4th Place:  Conner Neal-Sophomore
3rd Place:  Matt Reed-Sophomore
2nd Place: Uylesses Deshazer-Sophomore
2nd Place:  Hunter Jameson-Junior
State Champion (2X) Daniel Deshazer-Sophomore

Top 3 Teams:  Goddard 149.5, Derby 148, Heights 141

State Wrestling Itinerary Feb. 25th-27th

Thursday (2-25)

• 3:25 Final Work-out (30-45 min of work)
• State shirts will be given out after work out
• Wrestlers may leave when they are within 1 lb of weight.

Friday (2-26)

• 5:30 A.M. (SHARP!!) Meet at Heights to check weight
• 6:00 A.M. Leave Heights for Intrust Arena
• (Athletes will be with coaches)
• 7:00 A.M. Weigh-In at Intrust Arena
• 8:15 A.M. Team Warm-up
• 9:30 A.M. Team Line-up for Parade
• 10:00 A.M. First Round of Wrestling
• 1:30 P.M.  Championship Quarter Finals
• 3:30 P.M.  First round losers
• Semi Finals follow immediately
• As soon as wrestling is done and athletes have made weight we will go to Pacific Coast Pizza on 37th and Rock and have a team meal.  Families and Friends are welcome to come but I am only paying for athletes.
• After meals wrestlers are excused to go home.

Saturday (2-27)

• 8:15 A.M. All athletes how have a loss report for team warm-up
• 9:00 A.M. Wrestling Begins - All day no breaks
• 2:00 P.M. Championship Finalist Warm-up
• 4:00 P.M. Championship Finals (Televised on Cox 22)
• All Athletes are to remain at Arena until Finals are over and awards have been presented.

Falcons move up to #3 in Final KWCA Rankings

Our Wichita Heights Falcons moved up one spot to #3 in the final Kansas Wrestling Coaches Association Rankings.

Team Rankings:
1. Derby  2. Garden City  3. Wichita Heights  4.Goddard
5. Dodge City6. Wichita NW  7. Junction City  8. Maize
 9.Lawrence  10. BV West

Ranked Falcon Wrestlers:

103lbs Conner Neal  #5
125lbs Daniel Deshazer #1
135lbs Uylesses Deshazer #2
145lbs Dalton Maier #6
152lbs Dominique Henderson #2
160lbs Hunter Jameson #4
171lbs Matt Reed #3

As I personally believe rankings are nothing more than a guess and can't be counted on. It is very nice to see the hard work paying off for these young men in the recognition and respect they are beginning to obtain.

Regional Championships: Perfect 13 for 13

Yesterday the #4 ranked Wichita Heights Falcons Wrestling team made the trip to hostile Manhattan, KS to compete in the Regional Championship.  After the seeding meeting on Friday the Falcons were picked to have state qualifiers at 11 weights of the 13 they were taking.  However, the Falcons showed their determination for this season as they qualified all 13 wrestlers for the State Wrestling Championships at Intrust Bank Arena  this coming Friday.  The Falcons did fall short in the team race finishing second behind #2 ranked Derby High School who qualified all 14 wrestlers for State. There was a different Aura about this team however... you can tell they are genuinely excited and confident that good things are going to happen at the state championships.  They are not competing for themselves but instead their teammates, families, fans and their school.   It is truly a great day to be a Falcons

Regional Top 4: Derby 227½, Wichita Heights 206, Junction City 145½, Manhattan 133, Washburn Rural 63, Wichita Southeast 55, Topeka 38, Wichita East 28

Regional Champions:  Conner Neal 103, Daniel Deshazer 125, Uylesses Deshazer 135, Dominique Henderson 152

Second Place:  Trey Schrimscher 140, Dalton Maier 145, Hunter Jameson 160, Matt Reed 171

Third Place:  Barry Newton 119, Mike Ashpole 130, Justin Reynolds 215

Fourth Place:  Christian Duckens 189, Khary Jones HWT

Special Note.  Heights did have a few upsets this week-end in route to qualifying all 13 wrestlers.
Barry Newton (Unranked) defeats #5 ranked Brijon McCullough
Dalton Maier (Unranked) defeats #5 ranked Cody Harrison (Topeka)
Dominique Henderson (unranked) defeats #5 ranked Vontez Long (Derby) and #2 ranked Dillon Charland (Junction City)
Christian Duckens (unranked) defeats #6 ranked Josh Presgrove (Washburn Rural)


Great day in Falcon Country.  Time to get ready for the State Championships this Friday and Saturday!
GO FALCONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

GWAL CHAMPIONS "Back-to-Back"

I am once again a little late in writing about this however, there have been some very exciting times recently in the world of Wichita Heights Falcon Wrestling.  Last week the Falcons finished up the dual season with a pounding of Wichita North High School.  In doing that, the Falcons finished the GWAL dual season 8-0 and had clinched at least a share of the league championship.  However, our men believed sharing the league would be as bad as taking second and knew that they needed to win the tournament outright to become the sole champions of the City League.

After watching their J.V. blow out the J.V. City meet by over 60 points on the Friday before and crown themselves league champions the varsity then stepped up and finished off the job.  The varsity grabbed a commanding lead in the tournament after the semi finals and never looked back.  The Falcons won the City League Tournament by 60 pts over runner up Northwest and Third place Kapaun.  This makes the Falcon wrestling team 16-0 over the past two seasons in duals as well as champions of the league tournament to make them outright Back-to-Back League Champs.

Champions:  Conner Neal 103, Daniel Deshazer 125, Mike Ashpole 130, Uylesses Deshazer 135, Trey Schrimscher 140 and  Matt Reed 171.  
Second Place Finishers:  Dalton Maier 145, Hunter Jameson 160
Third Place Finishers:  Dominique Henderson 152, Justin Reynolds 215  
Fourth Place Finishers:  Barry Newton 119, Khary Jones HWT.

To this point the Falcons have been on a roll winning back to back tournaments and were looking forward to the Regional Tournament in Manhattan, KS.

South High Freshman/Sophomore Invitational 2-6-2010

I believe this tournament is a great opportunity for our young athletes to show their talents against other people their age in the sport.  Our wrestlers did a great job of at this tournament and did not disappoint.

103 Kody Reed 2nd

119 Jordan Ray 3rd

130 Mason Rasmussen 1st

152 Michael Christie 4th

160 Juwan Peart 3rd

171 Jonathan Wilcoxon 1st

189 Grant Watkins 4th

215 Steven Walker 2nd

This group of athletes worked hard through these brackets and their work paid off.  I am excited to see these awesome young men in the future on the mat for the Falcons!!!  Their varsity time will come and I can guarantee you this.. they will be ready to shine.    

GWAL CHAMPIONSHIP WEEK - TENATIVE ITINERARY

Today we have snow and USD 259 administration says we can't practice.  Therefore, here is what he have for the rest of the week:

Tuesday:  Practice 3:25-5:15
Wednesday: Practice 3:25-5:15
Thursday:
  -Morning:  7:00 weigh in for North High Dual
  -Afternoon: Practice 3:25-4:30
  -Evenings:  North High Dual.  Senior night.  All parents need to be ready 6:30 p.m.
                    -Team of Hard Knox Recognition Night (TOHK) Free admission.
Friday:  J.V. 7:00 a.m. Weigh-In
             J.V. GWAL Tourney TBA (at east in afternoon)
            Varsity:  Practice TBA
Saturday:  Varsity GWAL  6:30 a.m. weigh in

This could easily change due to weather, time constraints etc.
  
 

Heights improves to GWAL 7-0 after defeating Bishop Carroll 43-12

It was the dual of the year a year ago.  Now it was just a dual as the Falcons stepped on the mat at Bishop Carroll and proved that we are not just a one hit wonder but instead a "Program".  The boys were tough and I am very proud of them.  To have practice and then go out and dominate a team by over 30 points two hours later is a proof that the City League Championship we are trying to defend was not a fluke, but instead a product of our hard work and dedication to the sport.

The Junior Varsity also kept its undefeated GWAL dual record alive with a 36-24 win over BC.  With dual wins over North High Varsity and J.V., the Falcons will have clinched at least a tie for the league championship going into the GWAL tournaments on February 12th (J.V. at East High) and February 13th (Varsity at Heights).  Lets pick up our tempo and grind out this final stretch of the season with League Championships.  

J.V wrestlers successful at Garden Plain Varsity Tournament

It's always nice to that there is talent on the horizon and the J.V. squad proved that when they stepped on the mat at the Varsity Garden Plain tournament on Saturday 1-30-2010.

Placers from Garden Plain:

103 Kody Reed – 3^rd

^{112 Tommy Tran – 4th}

119 Jordan Ray – 3^rd

135 Dalton Haskins – 3^rd

140 Jesse Hill – 4^th

152 Juwan Peart – 4^th

285 Sammy Balbuena – 3^r

^{Coach Jeff Watkins and Coach Zac Poague took these young men to the tournament and had the following to say about their performances.} 

"Our team gave great effort; wrestling for many of them in their 1^st varsity tournament.  If you have wrestlers who are willing to leave it all out on the mat, then you can teach them the technique which will lead them to them being very good wrestlers."  Jeff Watkins 

Heights defeats KMC and wins Junction City BIG!! 1/30/2010

I am a little late on this however, I needed to let the Heights Falcons know that the wrestling team won the Junction City Invitational by more than 40 pts.  This was the first time all season long that we took our complete line-up to a tournament minus a 112 pounder.  However, the lack of that weight class as proved not to matter that much as the men have all stepped up to make up that void in points.  I am extremely proud of all 13 men that competed at this tournament as they are buying into the program and it is paying off with an upswing in performance late in the season.  We are trying to peak at the right time and if we continue at this pace, we will be very tough to handle in February!

103-Conner Neal 2nd   119 - Trent Newton  4th   125-Daniel Deshazer 1st  130-Mike Ashpole 4th  135-Uylesses Deshazer-1st  140-Trey Schrimscher 2nd   152-Domonique Henderson 3rd  160-Hunter Jameson- 2nd   171-Matt Reed 1st  189-Christian Duckens 3rd  HWT-Khary Jones 4th

Top Three Teams:
1st Wichita Heights
2nd Junction City
3rd Wichita Northwest

This performance followed a huge win over the Kapaun Mt. Carmel Crusaders which put the Falcons up to a 6-0 GWAL record and a 7-4 overall record.

KMC Dual, Junction City & Garden Plain Week

Monday 1/24 - Practice 3:25
Tuesday 1/25 - Practice 3:25
Wednesday 1/26 - Practice 3:25
Thursday 1/27 - 7:00 a.m. weigh-in, 5:00 P.M. Set up, 7:00 P.M. Dual @ Heights
Friday 1/28 - 3:25 Practice
Saturday 1/29 - Junction City Tournament (Varsity) 4:45 a.m. Weigh-in  Bus @ 5:00 a.m. Wrestling Begins 9:00 a.m.
Saturday 1/29 - Garden Plain Tournament (JV/Varsity mix) 6:00 a.m. Weigh-in

**The Garden Plain tournament is a Varsity tournament where we mix our line-up with J.V. and Varsity wrestlers.  This gives J.V and unexperienced Varsity wrestlers some good varsity experience.

Schedule could change on Saturday depending on bus schedule etc.

J.V. Wrestlers Take the Mat at Goddard J.V. Invitational

Our Heights J.V. wrestlers had their work cut out for them on Saturday and came through with some success at the Goddard J.V. Tourney.  As I watched each kid I paid close attention to what was being done right and wrong and noticed something.  We are getting better!!!  We are not perfect and we have a lot to clean up, but there are plenty of J.V. wrestler at that tournament who will fight for some varsity time in the future.  


Placing in the tournament were:

171 - Jonathan Wilcoxon 1st
140 - Jesse Hill 3rd
152 - Juwan Peart 3rd
285 - K'hare Jones 3rd

152 - Michael Christie 4th
215 - Steven Walker 4th

Keep working Falcons..  Your hard work is building the foundation of a great program!

Next Competition v. KMC @ Heights 1/28/10

We have a week off to just practice and get better.  We are going to work hard and spend a lot of individual time on all wrestlers this week.  J.V. wrestlers will be competing in the Goddard Invitational on Saturday 1/23/10.  Weigh-ins will be at 6:30 a.m. and wrestlers will be responsible for their own transportation to Goddard.

Parent Meeting Thursday 1/21/2010 6:00 P.M.

It has been brought to my attention that parents have some issues that they would like to inform me about. I am going to give them all the opportunity to speak and discuss these issues with me at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday January 21st, 2010 in D-103 at Heights High School. Bring your questions or concerns then and be prepared for honest answers from me. 

NEWTON RE-CAP

I have a lot of thoughts about Newton.

Things I know:  We did not have Daniel Deshazer, Domonique Henderson and Hunter Jameson.  Therefore there is about 35-40 points missing from the team score for us.  We had some horrible draws in the tournament from our unseeded wrestlers grabbing the #1 or #2 seed in every match from a non-seeded wrestler.  There were a lot of factors that inhibited us from breaking the top 10 in this tournament.  However.......

It's now time for wrestlers who have been in the program to start picking it up......
Conner Neal is a large 103 pound wrestler who started out strong with big wins in Valley Center and a 3rd place finish at Bishop Carroll who has underachieved for two weeks in a row.  It is now time for a gut check and start using that talent to compete with upper level kids and start winning some of those matches.

Barry Newton is a tough kid who tries hard but becomes very sloppy at times.  When he learns to hold position and not try to flip flop with kids he will begin placing in these tournaments.  He needs to get out of his comfort zone and try new things in practice to become better.  Back to the basics is going to be huge for him.

Mike Ashpole is another tough kid who is on the verge of breaking out.  He needs a confidence boost on his wrestling but if will stick to leg attacks and being tough on top can do some damage.  He has 1 month left in his wrestling career and needs every second and some to get better.  It's possible good things will happen from this kid but he has to get it done.

Uylesses Deshazer showed up to compete this week-end.  He finally made the transition from a 112 pounder to a 135 pounder realizing he is not going to land his head lock or snake on these big kids but if he wrestles them he is good enough to beat them.  Closing the gap from 9-1 to 6-4 on Kash Biddle from Ark City was very nice.  I am looking for great things to come out of Uylesses in the last month.

Trey needs to become more consistent for sure.  He is so hot and cold it is unbelievable.  When he is hot he is amazing and unbeatable.  However, when he is cold he is bad.  Trey needs to clean up his technique and be ready and in enough shape to compete for 6 minutes and not just 2-3 minutes.  He fixes those problems he will be good to go and make a run at a high state medal if not a championship.

Dalton Maier had a year off of his career and you can tell he is not comfortable with the grind of a tournament.  He needs to seek out better competition in the practice room and spend a lot of individual time with coaches.  He is capable of placing and doing great things but a rise in fire in his intensity is much needed out of Dalton.  Attitude takes you a long way in this sport.

Matt Reed has been a beast.  I was happy to see him technically take apart his opponent in the finals.  That was a high quality wrestler and that was a nice win.  I see him getting better in every single match he competes in.  February will be a great month for Matt Reed if he continues to get better.

Christian is doing enough to get by and on the brink of stepping it up a level.  He has placed in the top 6 of the two toughest tournaments we attend.  If he can get himself into better shape and put together 3 periods of wrestling he has a shot at getting a high medal in the state tournament.

Jeremy Schrimscher wrestled very tough this week-end for just being thrown into the fire.  I am real excited about Jeremy in the room and he is going to push for a varsity spot on the team.  If he can put together some offense he will be pretty good.

Sammi Balbuena had a bad break with the injury during warm-ups.  Sammi is competing with high level kids and in there with most of them.  Sammi needs to keep training and working hard and he will be ok.

Overall I believe we underachieved and those guys that are not seeded in tournaments need to pick it up now and start competing in the back door of tournaments.  You guys are going to be the ones that make or break us.  Get better mentally and physically and you will have success.

Practice Tuesday January 19th at 3:25 p.m.  Be ready to work hard!!

Itinerary for January 11th-16th, 2009

Itinerary for January 11th - 16th, 2010
Monday:  Practice 3:25 p.m. (business as usual)
Tuesday:  Practice 3:25 p.m. (business as usual)
Wed:  Weigh in 7:00 a.m., Warm-up 5:00 p.m. @ Heights, Dual at Southeast 7:00 p.m.
Thursday: Practice 3:25 p.m.
Friday: Weigh in for Newton 7:00 a.m.
Newton Invitational All day Friday - Saturday

2010 Kicks off with success

This was a rough week for the Falcons as we had a very busy schedule.  The week started off with a dual against Maize South High School on Tuesday.  Due to our busy schedule this week I mixed the line-up with varsity and junior varsity wrestlers. The young up and coming's stepped up with a dominating win 62-15  over the Mavericks.

On Thursday the Falcons hosted the Wichita East Blue Aces.  While I believe the legs were a little shaky from a rough week of 2-a-day practices and holding their weight down for the following day weigh in, the Falcons again stepped up again and finished off their first home dual of 2010 with a win over East 59-15.

On Friday-Saturday, the Falcons went to the Derby Tournament.  This tournament is highly regarded as one of the tougher tournaments in the state of Kansas.  The  week-end was a roller coaster week-end of success and failures but ended nicely with a 5th place team finish, 7 placers and 3 individual champions.

Derby Medalist Include:
125 lbs  Daniel Deshazer (Champion)
130 lbs  Michael Ashpole  (6th Place)
135 lbs  Uylesses Deshazer (4th Place)
160 lbs  Hunter Jameson (Champion)
171 lbs  Matt Reed (Champion)
189 lbs  Christian Duckens (5th Place)
215 lbs  Justin Reynolds (6th Place)

The team will be in action on Wednsday January 13th, 2010 at Wichita Southeast High School for a league dual.  The dual will begin at 7:00 p.m.  The Varsity will then attend the the 20+ team Newton Invitational on Friday and Saturday with action beginning on Friday at 11:30 a.m.

January 4th-9th Itinerary

Monday January 4th


• Practice 3:25 – 5:45 P.M.

Tuesday January 5th

• 6:00 – 7:00 a.m. (Make –up Practice)

o Athletes who owe practice time from break must work out during this time.

• 7:00 a.m. Weigh-in for Maize South Dual

• 3:25 p.m. Practice for all athletes

• 6:15 p.m. Athletes should arrive at Maize South High School

• 7:00 p.m. Maize South dual @ Maize South High School

Wednesday January 6th

• 3:25 – 5:45 p.m. Practice for all Athletes

Thursday January 7th

• 6:00 a.m. – 7:00 a.m. practice (Make-up Practice)

o Athletes who owe practice time for missed practice must work-out during this time.

• 7:00 a.m. Weigh-in for East High Dual

• 3:25 – 4:45 p.m. Practice

• 5:00 p.m. Set up for duals

• 7:00 p.m. East High Dual at Heights

Friday January 8th

• 6:00 a.m. Gym will open for Weight Check and work-out

• 7:00 a.m. Weigh in for Derby Tournament (1 lb allowance)

• 11:12 a.m. Varsity Wrestlers will be excused from school to travel to Derby

• 3:30 p.m. Wrestling begins at Derby

o Wrestlers must weigh in again after wrestling (2 lb allowance)

Saturday January 9th

• 6:30 a.m. Weigh in for NW J.V. tournament

• 8:00 a.m. wrestlers who are in consolation matches arrive at Derby

• 9:00 a.m. Derby Invitational wrestling begins

• 9:00 a.m. J.V. Duals at Wichita Northwest begins.

• 5:00 p.m. Finals Championship Finals