By JASON TARWATER
jason.tarwater@examiner.net
Most spectators at the state wrestling meet love watching the championship matches.
Oak Grove’s Dylan Meisenheimer isn’t one of them.
After failing to win a medal last year after being all-state the year before, Meisenheimer’s reaction to the finals was a bit more visceral.
“It made me sick watching it,” he said. “That kid in the finals (Tyler St. Louis of Platte County) I had wrestled all year in the finals of tournaments.”
But with the disappointing showing for Meisenheimer, he was only a spectator as his Panthers missed a state championship by 10 points, finishing tied for second place.
And it all started with his first match, where he was pinned by Jessiah Chard in the first round – a wrestler he beat by technical fall earlier in the year.
Then, with a chance to clinch a medal, Meisenheimer lost to Odessa’s Conrad Hooper, another wrestler he had defeated earlier in the year.
“I just thought it was a bad dream,” he said. “I got beat that first match and couldn’t get back. It was a nightmare.”
Now, being a senior, Meisenheimer is ready to make amends. And his goals start and end with winning an individual state championship in the hopes of helping Oak Grove grab a team state title.
“I learned that you don’t underestimate anyone,” he said. “You have to be ready for anything. You have to wrestle your heart out every match. State, dual, it doesn’t matter. You have to wrestle as hard as you can.
“(Winning state) can definitely happen. It depends on how hard I work. That’s definitely my main goal as an individual.”
Oak Grove coach Bob Glasgow said the two have not really addressed what happened at state last year, partially because he doesn’t think they need to.
“We still don’t talk about it,” he said. “He knows he didn’t reach his goals he set or I set for him.”
But Glasgow said Meisenheimer has been working a lot harder in the weight room this year and in the practice room through the first couple of weeks of practice, and he predicts a special year from his senior.
“This senior class has been very successful,” Glasgow said. “Dylan’s been a four-year starter. Kodie Morgason’s been a four-year starter. Riley Glasgow’s been a four-year starter. Darrick Smith’s a four-year starter. This group of seniors has a lot of experience, and they want to finish the run they started as freshmen.”
Three years ago, the Panthers had a disastrous state meet and missed a state trophy for the first time in years. The next year, Oak Grove was fifth before tying for second last season.
“When these boys were freshmen, we know this was a group that had a chance to win multiple state titles as a team,” Bob Glasgow said. “We were a step away last year.”
The first step for Meisenheimer is to figure out what weight class he’s going to be at, as he and good friend Smith are both in line to be either at 160 pounds – where Smith was last year – or 171 pounds.
“I’m iffy on both,” Meisenheimer said. “I think 160 would be more my weight, but at 171 I’d be able to eat more. We’ll probably talk it out and figure it out. I’m positive there won’t be a wrestle off.”
Regardless of where Meisenheimer ends up in the lineup, he wants to make sure his spot is a win for Oak Grove every single time out.
He says that he was disappointed with how football season ending, but all that meant was it was now wrestling season. And with wrestling season, Meisenheimer can seek his redemption his senior year.
“Football’s over, and I’ve put it behind me,” he said. “Now it’s time to get ready for wrestling.
“I want to win a (team) state championship. We had it in our grasp last year. We need to get it this year.”
