Fredonia High School senior Brogan Humphrey started to wrestle around the age of five or six. Fredonia has a wall with all of the state placers, and Humphrey looked up and said he would be there four times. At first, Humphrey never said what placing, but as the years went by and the better he became, the more he wanted to win four Class 3-2-1A state titles.
Humphrey traveled all around as a youth, including to Oklahoma, Chanute and Wichita where he competed for longtime youth coach Charlie Knox and his team “School of Hard Knox.” Knox’s program has produced multiple state championships, including the well-known DeShazer family.
“Still is today – one of my favorite coaches of all time,” Humphrey said. “He put me to the point where go out there, wrestle as hard as you can and have no regrets. Just do what can do, and leave everything else behind.”
In the 2011 Class 3-2-1A state tournament, Humphrey entered as a freshman at 125 pounds. The bracket was loaded with Plainville’s Cole Werner, a four-time state placer, Hoxie’s Calvin Ochs, an eventual two-time champion and two-time runner-up and Wellsville’s Zach Hoehn, a defending state champion.
Humphrey won his first two matches 17-4 and 10-2 before he faced Hoehn in the championship semifinals.
“I thought that was the finals match in my book,” Humphrey said. “I was scared to death. All my dad could say to me was ‘At least, the lowest place you can get is sixth now.’ I just kind of went based off that. Wrestled and didn’t really think about much.”
Humphrey defeated Hoehn 6-3 in a match he called “probably the biggest turning point in my career.” Then, he beat Ochs 2-1 for the championship, the last match Ochs ever lost at state.
“Probably the happiest I have been,” Humphrey said. “Couldn’t believe something that I had been working for my whole life was starting to come true.”
This past weekend, Humphrey, known for his speed, won his fourth straight state championship, this time at 138 pounds.
“My Team of Hard Knox coach calls me ‘Speedy,’” Humphrey said. “They always have just because how fast I am on my feet, and I can get around anybody as quick as possible. People have told me – I don’t know if I believe it yet – that I have one of, if not the best single leg in the state of Kansas.”
In addition, Rossville senior Tagen Lambotte, a University of Iowa commit, delivered his fourth title at 152 pounds last Saturday night at Fort Hays State University. Lambotte and Humphrey became the first wrestlers in 3-2-1A history to win their fourth crown on the same day.
“When he steps on the wrestling mat, he is the same kid,” Rossville coach Curt Brecheisen said. “Practices the same way - the same thing you get in the finals is the same thing you get in the first round. He stays pretty even.”
Lambotte helped Rossville take second for the best finish in school annals. The Bulldogs took third two years ago. Lambotte easily won his first three matches by fall, major decision and fall before he faced Centralia’s Andrew Beck in the championship. Lambotte had beaten Beck 17-5 at regionals, but had to come back and win 4-3 in the championship. He was upset with his performance after the match, but the result put him among the best ever.
“We have had a tough schedule,” Brecheisen said. “As tough as I can get. Try to get to where (championships) happens.”
Lambotte has had his brother, Cody, as Rossville’s assistant throughout his career. Cody wrestled and learned at Labette Community College and University of Nebraska-Kearney, a Division II powerhouse.
“Cody’s attention to detail has helped Tagen tremendously,” Brecheisen said. “…That rubs off not only on Tagen, but also on the rest of the room.”
They became the sixth and seventh wrestlers to win four crowns at the 3-2-1A ranks. Humphrey (38-1) also broke former Smith Center standout Colt Rogers’ classification record for winning percentage when he finished 157-3. Rogers finished 149-3. Lambotte (41-1) finished 164-5.
“I have known Lambotte pretty much since my eighth grade year when we wrestled with a middle school duals team together,” Humphrey said. “We never really practiced together, but we have always been good friends and ever since freshman year, we have gotten closer just because we were both going for the same goal and we knew that we could both get it.”
Around eight or nine, Humphrey first started to wrestle for Chanute. A few years later, he started to wrestle for Team of Hard Knox. When Humphrey was in eighth grade, he started to travel down to Collinsville, Okla. and practicing with them.
“There is a few guys down there that got me to where I am today as well,” Humphrey said. “Now, I am just so sick of traveling. I hate driving now because of it. It wears me down. It was all worth it, as you can see. It’s pushed me to the point where nothing else matters. ‘Four hour drive, OK, let’s go.’”
During the season, Humphrey lost to Grand Island (Neb.)’s Andrew Rojas 3-0 in the final of the Newton Tournament of Champions, considered the best Kansas tournament.
At state, Humphrey won his first match by fall, then his second won by technical fall.
“It’s been fun, but at the same time, it’s been stressful,” Humphrey said.
In the semifinals, he defeated Hoisington freshman Jonathan Ball 3-2, before he beat Norton senior Alec Hager, a two-time state runner-up, 15-6 in the championship.
“It’s been exciting because of all the hype, but at the same time, college is coming around the corner,” Humphrey said. “I don’t know where I want to go yet, and then on top of this. My biggest relief was losing a match this year. It just kind of lifted like ‘All right, I am beatable,’ but let’s show everybody I won’t want to lose again.”
Wuthnow, Ball complete dominant seasons
Arguably the most anticipated final came at 182 pounds with Riley County senior Gavin Grater and Sacred Heart senior Nick Wuthnow, both defending state champions. Wuthnow scoured the Internet, talked to wrestling observers, watched film on Grater and noticed he was a strong upper-body thrower.
Wuthnow controlled the match and easily won 11-4 and completed his second straight undefeated season at 38-0. He was 40-0 last year.
“My plan was to go out there, ‘attack, attack, wrestle my match,” Wuthnow said. “Create angles and take my shot. From what everybody has been telling me and all the experiences that I have had with him, they say that once you take him down a couple of times, his spirit is going to be broken.”
“I can kind of feel it in the third period, because he was going for desperation moves,” he added. “I just kept low, stayed out of everything that he wanted to do.”
Hoisington 132-pounder Brandon Ball also posted his second straight dominant season when he finished 44-0 at 132 pounds. Three of his matches, including the finals, were pins in the first period. Ball was 43-0 at 126 pounds last season.
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