Nearing perfection
Suburban Journals photo | Fort Zumwalt East senior Alex Larson has a record of 35-0 and is the No. 1 ranked wrestler at 135 pounds in Class 3. Larson finished third in the state last yeasr at 125 and is a two-time GAC North champion.
Fort Zumwalt East senior Alex Larson has a record of 35-0 and is the No. 1 ranked wrestler at 135 pounds in Class 3.
At first glance, Alex Larson seems an unlikely candidate to join the pantheon of undefeated state wrestling champions.
Larson weighs around 135 pounds, has a mop of curly, dark hair, and a face with gentle eyes and lacking the scars of a 10-year veteran of the mats.
He answers questions slowly and deliberately. Kind of like all 35 opponents have lost matches to him this season: slowly and deliberately. Larson isn’t a pin machine, but he’s also too technically savvy to get caught on his back. After finishing third in the 125-pound weight class at the MSHSAA Wrestling Championships last season, Larson is 35-0 and the No. 1 ranked wrestler in the state at 135.
“My goal — if at all possible — is to win every match, but I don’t think about it,” Larson said while at practice on Thursday.
“I haven’t been down in any matches, but had a couple of one-point matches. I got the first takedowns in those matches and then wrestled smart.”
Larson’s victories this season are against a roll call of 2009 state qualifiers and medal winners. He has beaten Rolla’s Chris Sanders; Kearney’s Tanner Minder; Neosho’s Jared Brock; Oak Park’s Gage Harrison; and Fort Zumwalt North’s Josh Hall.
With districts just two weeks away, Larson has to decide whether or not he’s going to make a run at 135, or drop down to 130. He said he wants to stay at 135. The Lions will be at Timberland for the Class 3 District 2 tournament.
“He has the potential to go down if he wants to. We’re getting close to having to meet that certification,” said Lions coach Wade Horn.
Zumwalt East is still a relative newcomer to the varsity wrestling circuit. Larson is the Lions’ only state medal winner, and senior, but as he’s risen through the state ranks, the team is about to follow. Teammates Landon Reading (152), Conor Vortherms (171) and J.T. Young (285) are all ranked in the top six in Class 3.
Reading and Larson both won titles at the Kyle Thrasher Tournament last week. Reading is Larson’s main battle buddy in the wrestle room, and Larson said Reading’s size advantage has helped him this season.
“I’ve got good partners that push me harder because they’re bigger,” Larson said. “I want to keep getting better and win a high school state title.”
An ability to be any kind of wrestler makes Larson hard to take down and beat. He’s always looking for opportunities score. If a wrestler wants to play defense, he’ll wait and wait, then attack. If his opponent doesn’t do anything, he’ll attack.
“What you give him, is what he’s going to take,” Horn said. “We’ve competed in some tough tournaments and he’s accepted the competition and said, ‘hey, if you want to wrestle me, you’re going to have to beat me’ and he’s wrestling hard and always gives 110 percent.
“He has a determination to be successful at anything he does, whether it’s in the classroom or the wrestle room.”
There will be changes to the conference next season, but the Lions will stay in the GAC North where Zumwalt North has won eight straight titles. Even though Larson can’t help wrest the conference away from the Panthers, he said he thinks the rest of his teammates are heading in that direction.
In three weeks, Larson’s high school wrestling career will end. He said his phone has been ringing with offers, but isn’t even sure if he wants to wrestle after high school. Picking the right college will depend on whether or not it meets his academic needs.
But undefeated state champions usually don’t walk away from the sport.
“I’m keeping my mind and options open,” Larson said. “I’m not going to rule anything out. I’ve been wrestling my whole life. I want to get my education and start a different life. Depending on the offers I get, I might take wrestling up if it’s a good idea.”
