Jackson senior wrestlers set lofty standards

Levi Rayburn appeared to make an odd transition from senior to senior citizen as he overlooked the Jackson wrestling room after practice Monday.

Rayburn was observing the next few generations of Jackson wrestling as the Jackson USA Wrestling program overtook the room with wrestlers ranging from kindergarten to eighth grade.

"They remind me of me when I was young," Rayburn said. "It reminds me of all of us when we were young."

Rayburn started USA wrestling when he was 5 and has traveled a long way since. He is 23-1 this season and the state's top-ranked 112-pounder in Class 4, according to missouriwrestling.com.

"I'm glad I stuck with it, but I'm kind of glad it's my senior year," Rayburn said. "It's been a long road."

Jackson's Levi Hobeck tries to roll Ste. Genevieve's Josh Pinkley during their 145-pound match Wednesday in Jackson. (Kristin Eberts)

Rayburn is not the only Indians wrestler who has stuck with it. He's part of a senior-dominated Jackson wrestling team that rolled through the 2010 portion of its schedule in impressive fashion. Rayburn is joined by seven fellow seniors in Jackson's 14-man starting lineup.

"I just can't remember eight seniors staying with our program," said Jackson wrestling coach Steve Wachter, who has spent 29 seasons with the program. "Wrestling is a tough sport for tough people, and to keep eight seniors is pretty outstanding."

Senior classes typically account for about three or four wrestlers at Jackson.

But Jackson's senior class has done more than hang around. They've been hanging wins with regularity.

The Indians are 6-0 in dual meets and won the 10-team Parkway South Patriot Classic with the seniors leading the way.

Jackson's Jordan Reisenbichler, bottom, waits to make his move against Ste. Genevieve's Travis Jones during their 125-pound match Wednesday in Jackson.

But Jackson's most memorable feat was a second-place finish at the Tiger Classic. The Indians somehow finished 12.5 points behind Christian Brothers of Memphis, Tenn., despite winning seven of the 14 championship matches.

Six of the Indians' Tiger Classic titles were won by seniors who went into the meet seeded first in their weight class.

Rayburn, Jordan Reisenbichler (125), Levi Hobeck (145), Blake Hooe (152), Ryan Marble (171) and Michael Riney (189) all won titles along with sophomore Kodi Byrd (103).

"I feel like we get a lot of leadership from them," 160-pound junior Cody Morgan said. "I really look up to them because I've been wrestling with these guys ever since I was like 4.

"It seems like they're really trying to finish hard their last year to just make sure they don't leave anything behind."

Rayburn and Riney encountered their first losses last week in an elite field at the Granite City (Ill.) Holiday Classic. The six seniors who won Tiger Classic titles -- all state qualifiers as juniors -- have compiled a combined record of 123-13 this season entering's Wednesday's home match.

The other two seniors, Aaron Delph (130) and Luke Slinkard (HWT), also were at .500 or better.

"I think this class will stick out in a lot of people's minds," Delph said. "I feel like this is a pretty good senior class."

Staying power

Hooe estimated that his senior wrestling class began as a group of about 20 freshmen.

The numbers usually are reduced by outside interests, rigorous training demands and wrestling's version of King of the Hill. The latter plays out when a wrestler is blocked out of the varsity or JV lineup by a superior teammate in the same weight class. Sometimes the block comes from a member of a wrestler's own grade, and sometimes it's applied from a younger teammate.

Wachter refers to the rigors of training as "the grind." Jackson has two-a-day practices -- one before school and one after.

"You go to school when it's dark and you leave school when it's dark," Hobeck said. "You never get to see the daylight. And Christmas break, you don't really have much of a Christmas break. You always have got two-a-days, and Thanksgiving break you've always got two-a-days. And weight cutting."

Then there is the offseason running, weight lifting, wrestling workouts with teammates and camps throughout the summer.

It's a life of diet and discipline, and it's often tempting to quit.

"I guess it runs through everyone's mind," Hobeck said. "You think about it and then you realize that's just stupid, ridiculous. The next day you feel fine."

And there's a reason there is not a back pocket on a singlet: There's not much need for a wallet with little free time to earn cash.

"I've been doing it forever, so it's not that hard to stick with it," Delph said. "I'd say the hardest thing is getting money up throughout wrestling season. Whereas before, I'd keep a job and make quite a bit of money. Now I don't really make that much."

Delph has seen other wrestlers grow tired of the cash shortage and get jobs. Jackson's seniors try to work when possible, which is usually on a Sunday during wrestling season. Hobeck works at a local movie theater, while Delph delivers pizzas and Hooe bakes them.

"I can work only one day a week -- Sunday night," Hooe said. "I don't ever have much money, just enough to fill up my car with gas and make it to practice and stuff."

While the wrestling commitment may look like masochism to some, the sacrifices and past hardships can have a hold harder to break than one ever encountered on the mat.

"I think the more time you put into it, the harder it is to quit," Riney said. "You just don't want to throw all that time you put into it away. You don't want to feel like you let your teammates down that you put in so much time with, too."

Reisenbichler also feels the hold.

"It's a long season and you've got a lot of offseason stuff, too. It's hard to stick with it that long," Reisenbichler said. "I feel like I have to, kind of."

Adds Hobeck, "I feel like if you quit, then you're letting everyone else down. And that's how everyone feels."

But the Jackson seniors have found out there is more to wrestling than diet and a grueling routine. There are the rewards that go well beyond having one's arm raised by a referee after a victory.

"It's a brotherhood. We're a family. We really are," said Marble, who will wrestle next year at the U.S. Military Academy. "We're around each other more than our family most of the time to be honest with you -- school, practice, weekend stuff. That's who we hang out with is our wrestling team for the most part. We're all just really good friends. It's like a brotherhood now."

That bond turns the 14 individual matches into a team event.

"We work so hard together," Marble said. "We all want each other to win. We know the work we've put in."

The seniors have compiled years of experience on the mat and are finding the strength that comes with maturation. They've all had intimidating matches against older opponents in the past, and now that factor is working on their side.

"It makes you a little more confident knowing this guy can't be any more older than I am," Hobeck said. "Last year I remember, a senior, he just felt bigger. This year you know you're the big dog, and I guess it gives you a little confidence."

"It's always nice to send a lot of experience out on the mat," Wachter said. "You can't beat that part of it, having those eight seniors."

And in addition to the experience and physical maturation, the seniors are there for leadership.

"I think we kind of feel like we're in charge of the team," Riney said. "We kind of have a big impact on how we do at tournaments and how good we'll do at the state tournament. It's kind of our team."

Byrd, who was a state qualifier as a freshman, said the seniors sometimes will stay after practice to help with a technique or move.

And then there's the watchful eye during practice.

"If we're sluggish or something, they'll tell us to pick it up and get us through the practice," Byrd said.

Wachter said his practices run smoother this season.

"Sometimes you have seniors and you don't have leaders, but in this case we do have some leaders," Wachter said. "We've got a couple really outstanding leaders. It makes it a lot better. It should be like you have eight assistants as long as they've been in the program. They should be like mentors to the other wrestlers, and they should be like assistants, and to be honest, we have several that really are. It's a big plus."

The six seniors that won Tiger Classic titles all are ranked among the top four wrestlers in their weight class in Class 4. The Jackson team is ranked sixth in the state.

That has the Indians' eyes set on a bigger highlight than the Tiger Classic.

"That was a big accomplishment," Hooe said of the seven titles at the Tiger Classic. "That's never happened before. We've still got a long way to go. Hopefully we'll win state, and if we do, that would be our biggest legacy."