Van Buren senior racking up wins, eyeing state title in 126

Mason Hayes has already accomplished quite a bit in his wrestling career at Van Buren. He finished as a state runner-up in the 120-pound weight class as a sophomore and took third in the state 120 a year later. Hayes has also won more than 40 matches as a senior this season, wrestling in the 126 class, and is on track to become the Pointers’ all-time leader in wins. “I’ve had a lot of success just from coaches and just other teammates helping me out,” Hayes said. Not bad for someone who took up wrestling just five years ago. Hayes’ first love was actually baseball. But it was a hunch from his father which steered Hayes to another sporting endeavor. “I had just got done with baseball practice and my dad had heard about some wrestling going on here at the high school, and so he just wanted me to come and try it,” Hayes said. “I came to practice and didn’t really like it so much, but then I just stuck with it and ended up loving the sport.” One of the things which enticed Hayes — who still played baseball until giving it up last year in order to focus more on wrestling — to stick with wrestling is the competitive nature the sport provides. “It was an individual sport; it’s team also, but it just builds you into being a different person really that matures you, it feels like,” Hayes said. ?(I also like) that it’s really competitive, because there’s always that one guy that’s been working and they might have more tricks in their bag than you do, and you can go back and forth and you just never know who’s going to win.” Hayes is proof of the element of surprise. Despite a record just barely above .500 as a Pointer sophomore entering the 2017 6A/7A state tournament, the unseeded Hayes — after finishing fourth in the 113 class at state as a freshman — won three matches to get to the 120 finals before falling in the championship. There was another surprise in the works for Hayes a year later, in the arrival of a new coach, John Petree. “He’s just staying honest, making us grind and keep going and pushing, motivating us,” Hayes said of Petree. “He’s just been showing us moves that we’ve never seen before and so we go over them and practice them, and it’s been helping everybody out.” Petree knew the potential Hayes had but wanted to see more results in his matches. Hayes obliged, going 35-9 as a junior and returning to state in the 120, where he placed third. “He ups his game when the stakes are the highest,” Petree said. “When it counts, he turns it on.” This season after moving up to the 126, Hayes has gone 41-3 and is four wins away from setting a school record for career wins. His season was highlighted by a first-place finish at the recent Pulaski Academy tournament in Little Rock. “I’ve just been coming into practice and grinding and trying to get better. I come in and coach always has something new for us every day,” Hayes said. “Just (also worked this off-season on) being a little quicker and having my mind open to other moves that are out there other than just having a tunnel vision and focusing on one thing.” Petree believes Hayes could possibly get as high as the second seed at next month’s state tournament. “He’s wrestled really well so far this year; what I’ve really been more impressed with is he makes everybody around him better,” Petree said. “He elevates those people around him that he works out with. He understands he’s only going to be as good as his workout partners, so why not make his workout partners better which in turn makes him better.” Hayes, who has a 3.2 grade-point average and is considering wrestling at the collegiate level, would like to complete the personal five-year journey into his now-favorite sport by becoming a state champion. “I just always have to stay hungry and stay motivated, just keep practicing and getting better, so I can win that state title,” Hayes said. Hayes is also one of only two seniors on Van Buren’s squad. The other is Christian Carney, who has a 37-6 record in the 160. ?(Carney is) wrestling good, but he’s probably in the toughest weight class, though, in Arkansas,” Petree said. “There are some good kids there; he’ll have to wrestle pretty good.” The Pointers will be among several area teams which will compete at this weekend’s Maverick Conference Tournament, which takes place at Paul Post Fieldhouse in Sallisaw Friday and Saturday, with the finals scheduled for approximately 6 p.m. Along with Van Buren, other local schools participating include Northside, Southside, Sallisaw and Poteau.

THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
Van Buren High School Athletics

VAN BUREN SENIOR RACKING UP WINS, EYEING STATE TITLE IN 126

BUCK RINGGOLD

Times Record | 1/25/2019

PHOTO CREDIT: Submitted Photo