Tyler Beyatte earns place in Jackson wrestling lore with state silver

The wrestling room at Jackson High School also serves as its hall of fame, a symbol of the Indians’ tradition of excellence.

Every Jackson wrestler who places in the state tournament gets their picture on the wall of the wrestling room. There have been so many wrestlers to accomplish that feat that the row extends outside of the room and down the hall.

On Saturday, Feb. 25 in Columbia, Tyler Beayatte became the first Jackson wrestler to finish in second place since 2013.

Beyatte won the semifinal bout by a 2-0 decision over Draven VanGilder of Joplin to secure the silver medal and his 40th win of the season. He was denied the state championship by Brennan Carey of Nixa, who is also a Fargo Greco National Champion, on a 5-1 decision in the final round.

“Not exactly how I wanted to finish was always going for that first place but least setup now that I know I’m on the wall and I’m the next finalist since 2013,” Beyatte said. “It feels good because I can see my uncle on the wall four times and I get to see all these kids that I’d wrestle with on the wall and didn’t know if I was going to make it up there. So now that I know, I’ll be in this room forever.”

Making it on the wall means a lot to Beyatte, who now shares a spot with his coach and uncle Lance Schlick, who made it on the podium in the state tournament multiple times during the late 1990s. Beyatte spent his first two years under Cole Parker and Garnar Horman in the depth chart. Both of them finished their careers with their place on the wall. Bayette learned from Parker to use his strength as a weapon against heavier competition.

Beyatte made it to the state tournament last year during his first year on varsity, and although he came up short of placing, he knew it was attainable.

“Last year was a big realization that I could be on the wall and be a state medalist,” Beyatte said.

Beyatte (40-4) won by a 2-1 decision over Jacob Stockard of Liberty North in the first round. He then defeated Hank Natali of Lee`s Summit North 4-2 in sudden victory in the quarterfinal round to secure his place on the podium, and the wall.

“At first it was kind of confusing because we went to triple-overtime,” Beyatte said. “I didn’t really know what outcome was going to be, and as soon as it happened, I was just excited and ready to be there and have a good time knowing I was going to place and be on the wall finally.”

Beyatte already went into the postseason feeling free enough to let it all out for one more run. Once he made it to the semifinal round, all the pressure was gone.

“I feel like a lot of pressure was taken off,” Beyatte said. “As soon as I knew I placed no matter what, then it’s a lot more fun and I kind of just enjoyed the experience.”

Beyatte plans to attend college at Mississippi State in the fall.