BY ISAAC DEER
TopSports.news
OVERLAND PARK -- Washburn Rural’s boys wrestling team earned a clean sweep on Saturday, with three Junior Blues earning Class 6A state titles in their respective weight classes as Rural claimed the third-place team trophy.
Washburn Rural senior wrestling star Easton Broxterman won his third straight Class 6A state championship Saturday in Overland Park. [Photo by Mac Moore/KSHSAA Covered]
Washburn Rural junior wrestling star Landen Kocher-Munoz (top) captured his second Class 6A state championship Saturday in Overland Park, helping Rural finish third as a team. [Photo by Mac Moore/KSHSAA Covered]
Washburn Rural senior Kristjan Marshall won his second straight Class 6A state championship Saturday in Overland Park. [Photo by Mac Moore/KSHSAA Covered]
Easton Broxterman (41-2), Landen Kocher-Munoz (34-3), and Kristjan Marshall (37-5) left Overland Park as state champions. After their efforts at the Advent Health Center, all three wrestlers now have multiple state titles.
“I’m super proud,” Washburn Rural boys head wrestling coach Josh Hogan said. “These boys are champions on the mat, champions in the classroom and they’re champions in their community. These guys are leaders in our room and it’s no surprise that they did what they did today.”
With Saturday’s victory, Broxterman has won three titles in his four years at Washburn Rural. The 144-pound senior defeated Centennial League rival Brecken Crist-Funk by a technical fall to secure his third straight title. He was filled with gratitude for the place that helped him become who he is today.
“This really means a lot,” Broxterman said. “I was kind of expecting to win all year even though it was a really stressful year for me. We’ve been talking all week about just attacking and not wrestling timid just because I don’t want to make mistakes. I’m glad I went out there and set the pace and scored a lot of points.
“I’ve learned over the years that winning is not as important as I make it out to be. Before the match, winning is the only thing I think and care about. But now, you win, and it goes away real fast. All of a sudden it’s like what’s next? I’m still learning just to take everything in and enjoy it. Because now that it’s over, it’s definitely real. I’m emotional and sad about it.”
Up next, Broxterman is heading to Army West Point after completing high school.
“Easton didn’t come in as a mega stud,” Hogan said. “He came in as a kid who just hated to lose. Could not stand to lose. He’s worked as hard as anyone I’ve ever seen. He’s 100% self-made. From seven years old to now, the dude’s put more work in than most of our guys combined.”
Kocher-Munoz avenged his loss from his sophomore year in the state championship by defeating Roman Clouse of Gardner-Edgerton with a 16-9 decision. The 138-pound junior won a state title as a freshman.
“Ten years ago Landen won a 6U championship in Salina and now here we are ten years later to the day, he’s winning his second high school state championship,” Hogan said. “He’s a three-time finalist now so I know he will be looking to at least match Easton next year and get his third title. Landen is as solid of a wrestler as they come. He doesn’t get out of position and he knows how to wrestle.”
Marshall, a 157-pound senior, won his second consecutive state title. He pinned Olathe North’s Braiden Frey in 3:03 on Saturday. Marshall’s next stop will be at Avila University where he will continue to wrestle.
“Kristjan didn’t start wrestling until he was in the seventh grade,” Hogan said. “I’ll never forget the first day he came in at a TBT practice and I’m looking around like ‘who is this new guy over here?’ I knew he was going to be a state champ and I told and promised him that he would do just that. Sure enough, here we are, a two-time state champion. He’s just a phenomenal natural athlete.”
Rural finished with a team score of 169.5, finishing third behind Centennial League rival Manhattan (189) and Garden City (176). The Junior Blues edged Maize for third by a point.
In addition to the three state champs Rural got third-place finishes from junior Cooper Stivers (132) and sophomore Jadyn Baum (190), fourths from sophomore Brodye Kocher-Munoz (150) and freshman Kaiden Marshall (215) and a sixth from junior Ryder Harrison (120).
Washburn Rural senior Molly Spader finished second in Class 6A for the second straight season Saturday at Overland Park. [Photo by Mac Moore/KSHSAA Covered]
For the girls team, Washburn Rural’s Molly Spader (37-6), a 105-pound senior, fell just short of winning a 6A state title. Spader lost a 10-2 major decision to Dodge City junior Elizabeth Ramirez. Spader was looking to avenge last year’s 6A state runner-up finish.
Washburn Rural girls coach Damon Parker doesn’t tag wins and losses on his team, there is a bigger message. Although Spader may be disappointed in the outcome, Parker said he is extremely proud to be her coach and a representative of Washburn Rural.
“She was awesome,'' Parker said. “She over-performed on what she was supposed to do. One of the more challenging things about this sport is people have more of a recency bias. Whatever happened is what they remembered. What they don’t remember is the quarterfinals yesterday when Molly Spader pulled off one of the biggest upsets that has happened in this entire tournament.
“A girl that whooped her in regionals and Molly gave her the business and stuck her in the third period. Molly not winning the state title today… I know she’s disappointed and we don’t put a whole lot of stock whether you win or you lose, but I know it matters to the kids. But there’s not a single person associated with our organization that thinks any less of her because she didn’t win a state championship. She is one of the most relentless wrestlers I’ve coached, boys or girls. She has left some enormous five-and-a-half-sized shoes to fill. I don’t know who is going to do it.”
No disagreement or losing a wrestling match stops the girls team from progressing. 62 girls started with this team to begin this season and 40 of them were in Overland Park on Saturday. Parker is not sure how they got there, but he believes that this team is a true family and that they would do anything for each other.
“Every sports team comes together after a game and says ‘one, two, three, family’ but are they really investing and talking about what a family is? A family is not everything is perfect all the time. A family is having disagreements sometimes. Sometimes we have outright fights. But at the same time, we put this forcefield around this program to where it’s like no disagreement or loss in a stupid wrestling match is more powerful than the love we have for each other.
“When you go through something as difficult as this sport is with someone else who is doing it for you and not for themselves, it’s impossible not to love that person.”
The Rural girls had their two-year 6A title streak snapped by Garden City (219.5), but the Junior Blues still finished a strong third with 166 points, with Dodge City second with 190 points.
In addition to Spader's runnerup showing, Rural got third-place finishes from junior Emmerson Blanco (140) and junior Elia Smith (170), fourths from senior Maddy Blow (115), junior Lacey Middleton (120) and senior Ashley Schwarz (155) and a sixth from sophomore Justice McBurney (235).
