Gavyn Colbert a warrior on the mat for New Madrid wrestling

There aren’t many high school wrestlers in Missouri that sport a tattoo quite like New Madrid County Central senior Gavyn Colbert.

Like the hood of a cobra, Colbert’s tattoo of St. Michael covers his entire chest, with angel wings spanning from shoulder to shoulder and the sword of the archangel pointing down the sternum. The patron saint of the military, draped in full armor, stands on top of the base of Colbert’s heart in protection with a presence serving to intimidate opponents before the match even begins.

“My dad has felt I was the warrior for my family,” Colbert said. “St. Michael was one of God’s warriors so I felt it represented me in the family.”

Colbert got the tattoo during his sophomore year, where he went 27-12 and appeared in the Class 1 state tournament. He took a major step forward last year by going 38-6 with a district championship and two wins in the state tournament.

“I kind of earned the tattoo,” Colbert said.

New Madrid Country Central wrestler Gavyn Colbert shows off his tattoo as he flexes for a photo on Dec. 5, in New Madrid, Mo.Tony Capobianco ~ tcapobianco@semoball.com

After multiple appearances at the state tournament, Colbert is confident that he can make it to the top in his final season at New Madrid.

“I feel like I can make it to finals at state,” Colbert said. “If I just keep pushing, keep working, getting to it my hardest.”

Colbert said he has improved his approach to matches this season. If an opponent goes for his legs on a shot, instead of letting him score the takedown knowing he can score a reverse, Colbert will aggressively fight off the shot and battle for the first points.

“I’m working 100 percent all of the time,” Colbert said. “I feel like compared to last year, I’m going at it more. I’m not trying to pause in matches. I’m always finding to better myself in positions that I’m in.”

Colbert said part of achieving that improvement came from, “being versatile with my legs on top and riding hips out, causing them not to score as much.”

“Them getting points off my mistakes,” Colbert said. “I’ve cut that out.”

Colbert seems to have a future after high school. He cut down to the 150-pound weight class from 165 to better position himself for a college career. So far he has talked to Division II schools such as Quincy University and NAIA programs like William Woods University. He feels that if he can finish strong in the state tournament, Division I programs might notice him.

“By then, there’s no telling what colleges are doing,” Colbert said.

Colbert started the season going 3-1 with a second-place finish in the Esmond Ford Memorial Tournament at Affton High School in St. Louis on Dec. 2. An arm injury has gotten in the way of his progress but his presence is still felt as a team leader.

“To me, it’s family,” Colbert said. “I’ve been wrestling for so long, I grew up with most of these kids on my team, and we’re all there for each other.”

Colbert is one of only three seniors on the team in a sport that nearly requires them to be assistant coaches in practice, a role in which they revel.

“They’re really pushing the kids in the room, making sure they’re doing the right things,” first-year New Madrid head coach Rhiley Smith said. “If they’re doing the move wrong, they’ll go in and help them so they’re really making sure everybody’s doing the right things.”

The rest of the Eagles have held their own recently and some are even standing out. Caleb Moore (7-0) took first place in the 113-pound weight class in the Tower Grove Classic on Saturday, Dec. 9. Theron Harper (8-2), Ethan Markam (5-3), Christian Williams (6-3), and Connor Henderson (9-2) all placed second and pushed the Eagles to a third place overall finish.

“It’s a young team and a lot of them really stepped up, Smith said. “They stepped up to the challenge.”