Saturday, August 31, 2013

Ragsdale Makes Early Commitment to HLGU Wrestling


 

By Clint Mitchell


For Marshfield senior Micah Ragsdale, all of his years of hard work and dedication have finally come to fruition.

The Blue Jays senior wrestler secured a college future last Friday in the Marshfield High School library, signing his National Letter of Intent to wrestle at Hannibal-LaGrange University next season.

“This is such a good day for me,” Ragsdale said. “It’s very exciting. Overall, they have such a nice campus at Hannibal, and the coaches are all good guys. It was just a perfect fit for me.”

A large crowd of family, friends and coaches piled into the high school library to witness Ragsdale’s signing. And as one-by-one they came to shake the senior’s hand, he admitted, the support was overwhelming.

“That means a lot to me,” he said. “I really didn’t expect to see that many people show up. To have that kind of support, that just means so much to me, more than I can explain.”

Ragsdale is coming off a 44-8 junior campaign, in which he won the Class 3, District 3 title in the 195-pound weight class. He qualified for the state tournament, compiling a 2-2 record en route to a second-place consolation-bracket finish. The 6-0 senior also racked up a 31-14 record as a sophomore, just missing out on state qualification.

But it was a trip to the Hannibal-LaGrange wrestling camp in the summer leading into junior season in which Ragsdale made the biggest impact on the Trojan coaching staff.

“He was such a hard worker, and she showed us that he wanted to be a student of the sport,” said Hannibal-LaGrange University head wrestling coach Scott Hawes. “He worked really hard, and really focused on taking on the technique that we taught him.”

Hawes and his staff — who have qualified 10 wrestlers for the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics National tournament since 2008 — stayed in touch with Ragsdale over the following seasons, watching him improve each time on the mat. But just as important as wins and losses, Hawes said, was Ragsdale’s work ethic.

In fact, Ragsdale’s hard work was enough to earn him a spot on the Missouri National team last summer, after the he finished fourth at the State Freestyle/Greco tournament.

Though Ragsdale finished 0-4 at the National Freestyle/Greco tournament in Fargo, N.D. — the premier event for high school wrestlers — his participation alone in the highly-prestigious tournament was enough to leave an impression on Hawes.

“That’s one thing we really look for,” Hawes said. “We saw him out there wrestling in some big summertime tournaments. A lot of guys are at home enjoying the summer off, but Micah was out there working. That’s important to us.”

The fact that Ragsdale’s work ethic has carried him so far comes as no surprise to Marshfield head wrestling coach Chris Teed, who has seen his senior’s growth and maturity firsthand.

“It’s so exciting for me to see this for Micah,” Teed said. “I’ve seen him put a lot of time and effort into getting this far. I have no doubts he’s going to succeed at the college level, just because of how hard he works.”

Teed took over as the Jays’ head coach this summer, after spending two years as an assistant, and he admits, without Ragsdale, the Marshfield program would not be where it is today.

“Micah is such a good leader,” he said. “He’s not always the most vocal, but he leads by example. That’s very important for a coach to have somebody like that who’s going to take on some sort of leadership role. He’s helped build this program up, and people have come out for us just because they’ve seen how Micah handles his business.

“I’ve enjoyed seeing Micah go from where he was when I got here, to where he is now. I’ve felt him getting better and getting tougher. I know it’s encouraging to him to see all his hard work pay off.”

In addition to wrestling this winter, Ragsdale is also a standout offensive lineman on the Blue Jays football team. And though he said he enjoys his time on the grid iron, Ragsdale knows when the winter rolls around, he’ll be putting in countless hours on the mat to ensure not only a successful senior campaign, but an optimistic start to his college career.

“I really feel like I’m prepared (for college wrestling),” Ragsdale said. “But I know I have a lot to work. I need to get better in the top and bottom positions. But I have confidence in myself, and I know I can do good and be successful when I get to Hannibal.”

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