Dodge’s Barker perfect in Sr. year
In 11 seasons of coaching the Garden City High School wrestling program, Carlos Prieto has seen his Buffaloes have a wealth of success in most seasons, some disappointments in others and rarely a bad year.
Such is the case with one of the strongest traditions of any sport at the large western Kansas Class 6A school.
So, when the Buffs were able to compile a 4-0 dual record in the Western Athletic Conference to repeat as champions, Prieto knew his team had enjoyed a modicum of success that would prepare them for the postseason.
It’s the postseason that has always been the big prize for Prieto and the Buffs. After all, in 11 seasons, his teams have only finished out of the top five at the Class 6A state meet three times. And never out of the top 10.
“The WAC is pretty competitive and I think it was even more so than in the past,” Prieto said.
Take for example, Great Bend’s 5A squad nearly upset the Buffs in their WAC dual back in January and the Panthers would eventually place fourth at the 5A state tournament.
“They gave us a scare,” Prieto said of the Panthers. “Even Liberal had some of its better wrestlers in quite a while and had a nice season.”
Garden City used the WAC crown as the launching pad to place second to Derby in both the regional and state tournaments, having led both events after the first of two days.
“Dodge City is always the big match for us,” said Prieto after seeing his team retain the coveted Bell, which the teams have battled to hold for a number of years. “They bring out the best in us and I’m sure we bring out the best in them.”
The 4-0 mark earned Prieto WAC Coach of the Year honors for the boys’ (he also won the girls Coach of the Year with a second-place finish to Dodge City), and Prieto credited his assistant staff and the hard work of his team for bringing success to the 2022-23 season.
“The WAC is in good hands,” said Prieto, noting that the high level of coaching is one reason for the league’s success. “It’s very competitive and I’m really proud of our kids. The WAC prepares you for regional and state.”
Prieto also took his team to a number of out-of-state tournaments this year, twice to Oklahoma, twice to Colorado and once to Nebraska. That tough campaign was another factor in his team’s success.
“I think we toughened the kids up and showed them different styles of wrestling, which I think helped us in the postseason,” Prieto said.
There were other postseason honors that came to Prieto and his coaching staff.
The Kansas Wrestling Coaches Association named Prieto the 6A Boys Coach of the Year, the 6-5A Girls Coach of the Year and then tapped his assistant’s staff of Paul Lappin, Jacob Waller, Kevin Perez, Anthony Calderon and Tylee Biera as 6A Assistant Coaches of the Year.
LUKE BARKER, DODGE CITY, SR., 175-LB. DIVISION – WAC BOYS’ WRESTLER OF THE YEAR
Luke Barker wanted to complete his senior season with memories that would last a lifetime.
Something special, considering that he already had two state wrestling championships under his belt and a runner-up finish his sophomore season between state titles his freshman and junior campaigns.
So, what would be a special way to go out?
“I wanted to see if I could go undefeated and I wanted to see how many tech (technical) falls I could get and see if I could beat the state record,” said Barker, who was named the WAC Boys’ Wrestler of the Year after making his senior year memorable with a 45-0 record and surpassing the state tech fall record of 25 with 36 of them. “It was a great season and I don’t think it could have been any better.”
Consider that to get a tech fall victory, a wrestler has to win by 15 points within the time frame of the three, two-minute periods.
Barker was dominant at the state tournament in Park City, recording three victories by his patented tech fall and one pin of his 4-0 sweep. In the finals, he dominated Denton Dobbins of Blue Valley with a 20-4 TF triumph.
“It all went so fast,” Barker said of his four-year career with the Red Demons. “My freshman year at 152, I didn’t think I was all that good. I didn’t have that great a record but managed to win.”
He remained at the 152-pound division his sophomore season and said that cutting weight hurt his strength and agility when he lost to Carson Lindsey of Derby in a tough 4-3 decision.
“I knew I had to move up a weight to keep my strength and my weight at a more normal level,” Barker said. “Once I got my weight back up, everything felt so much better. I was stronger, quicker and I had more energy in the later periods.”
Barker said he considered himself to be somewhat of an unorthodox wrestler in that he didn’t see himself as a traditional wrestler.
“I do all the different (wrestling) styles (freestyle, folkstyle and Greco) and I think I am best at the folkstyle,” Barker said. “I like scoring points and really take pride in being able to dominate my opponents. I just push myself to be the best wrestler I can be.”
Barker said he prefers to wrestler when both he and his opponent are in the neutral position which is how each match begins.
“I’m okay being on the bottom because I can get an escape and be right back up,” Barker said. “If they’re bottom and I’m on top, I can ride them until I can get some back points (2 and 3-point near falls).”
Going into his final state tournament Barker said he didn’t feel any more pressure than he did in his earlier seasons.
“I think once you’re on the mat, you just forget everything else and go out and wrestle,” Barker said. “Now that I can look back and see how things went, I’m happy that I was able to accomplish most of my goals.”
Barker was one of four WAC wrestlers to claim a state individual title. Along with his 175-pound gold medal, Liberal’s Trystian Juarez (who Barker defeated his junior year) won the 6A at 190 pounds. Colin Kleysteuber of Garden City claimed the 6A 165-pound crown and Hays High’s Harley Zimmerman won the 5A title at 132 pounds.
First-Team All-Conference Selections
| WEIGHT | NAME | YEAR | SCHOOL |
|---|---|---|---|
| 106 | Braydon Pacheco | 10 | Garden City |
| 113 | Elijah McCullough | 11 | Hays |
| 120 | Matt Long | 10 | Garden City |
| 126 | Frio Vontress | 12 | Dodge City |
| 132 | Harley Zimmerman | 11 | Hays |
| 138 | Skyler McMullen | 12 | Great Bend |
| 144 | Dakota Smith | 12 | Garden City |
| 150 | Cooper Liles | 11 | Great Bend |
| 157 | Dalton Meyers | 10 | Hays |
| 165 | Colin Kleysteuber | 12 | Garden City |
| 175 | Luke Barker | 12 | Dodge City |
| 190 | Trystian Juarez | 12 | Liberal |
| 215 | Brayden Hill | 10 | Garden City |
| 285 | Sebastian Lopez | 11 | Garden City |
Coach of the Year: Carlos Prieto – Garden City
Second-Team All-Conference Selections
| WEIGHT | NAME | YEAR | SCHOOL |
|---|---|---|---|
| 106 | Tristan Tomlinson | 9 | Great Bend |
| 113 | Julius Medina | 11 | Garden City |
| 120 | Tacoma Augustine | 11 | Hays |
| 126 | Kaiden Hoffman | 11 | Great Bend |
| 132 | Ryan Heiman | 12 | Garden City |
| 138 | Robert Corrales | 11 | Garden City |
| 144 | Alejandro Ramirez | 12 | Dodge City |
| 150 | Kaden Garvalena | 12 | Dodge City |
| 157 | Ethan Allen | 11 | Garden City |
| 165 | Alan Flores | 10 | Dodge City |
| 175 | Matthew Johnson | 11 | Great Bend |
| 190 | Alan Chairez | 12 | Garden City |
| 215 | Keyven Schroeder | 11 | Great Bend |
| 285 | Edgar Hernandez | 11 | Dodge City |
