Fayette High School could add boys and girls wrestling to the roster of sports it offers. The district’s Board of Education heard a proposal last week from James Briggs, a parent and youth wrestling coach, who would like to see the sport adopted at Fayette.

Briggs, a former college wrestler and current pastor at the First Baptist Church in Fayette, addressed several items of concern raised about starting a program and presented a sample proposal to the school board during its regular monthly meeting on Wednesday, June 22. He even said he would pledge his own money toward the start of a program.

“About eight months ago we had kind of given up on this endeavor until our two oldest sons asked if we could try again,” Briggs said. He told the board that he had emailed Mike James, the district’s athletic director, several times over the last four or five years about starting a high school wrestling program in Fayette.

“We always got the same message back that this wasn’t an option, and there was no pursuit of it,” Briggs said.

Briggs dispelled several concerns about starting the program, such as Title IX issues, the lack of facilities, and the effect on other sports. 

He explained that both boys’ and girls’ wrestling programs are sanctioned by the Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHAA). Due to the steady growth of girls wrestling in Missouri, MSHAA is expanding the sport into two classes. Currently, boys wrestling is divided into four classes.

Briggs said he would expect to see up to 15 boys, and between five and 10 girls on the Fayette teams.

With regard to available facilities, Briggs explained that wrestling teams do not need large places in which to practice. “We don’t need facilities, we just need space,” he said, and suggested the foyer between the band room and the high school gym would provide more than enough space and would not disrupt basketball practices. Teams only need enough space for mats, which are portable and can be stored elsewhere when not in use.

Wrestling and basketball seasons are scheduled concurrently, which raises another concern: will athletes quit basketball to wrestle? 

“Basketball players don’t wrestle, and wrestlers don’t play basketball,” he said. “It’s just a different mindset, a different sport.”

Not only will wrestling teams not take away athletes from the basketball programs, Briggs said, but they could also enhance other teams such as football and softball. He cited Fayette rival and Class 2 football powerhouse Marceline as a prime example.

“Football and wrestling go hand in hand,” Briggs said. “I believe there is a reason Marceline is as good as they are (at football). A lot of their kids have been wrestling for a long time. It creates balance and stability. It’s a great cross-training thing for our football players.”

Briggs also explained that there are enough schools within a 75-mile radius against which to compete and that the wrestling teams would not need to be in a conference. The size of the schools is unimportant, unlike sports such as football and basketball. 

Briggs told the board he estimates it would cost around $18,000 to start a wrestling program, but only cost around $5,000 a year to maintain it. “I believe that if the board would give approval to pursue fundraising, that the $18,000 could be fund-raised, both from inside the community and inside the wrestling community,” he said.

In fact, Briggs pledged a $5,000 matching gift to the school to the start of a program. “We’re willing to put our money where our mouth is,” he said.

A competition mat costs around $6,500. Schools must own at least one in order to host competitions. Briggs presented options for mats during the proposal. He said that mats usually last at least 10 years if properly taken care of. Similarly, uniforms often hold out for several years as they are only worn during competitions. 

Other issues addressed by Briggs included transportation and the number of competitions in a season. Wrestling teams would have far fewer competitions compared to the basketball teams, he said, resulting in fewer bus trips.

The push for a wrestling program at Fayette is gaining ground. Briggs is not the only advocate for the proposal. Howard County Sheriff Jeff Oswald, whose son wrestles at the club level in Columbia, said he would love to see Fayette begin a program. “I think it would be great for our community and school,” he said in a conversation with this newspaper on Friday.”

Sheriff Oswald is one of 60 members of the Facebook group, “Community support for Wrestling at Fayette H.S.,” which was launched in February by those interested in starting a high school wrestling program here.

Members of the Central Methodist University athletic community are also in favor of the proposal. The university instituted men’s and women’s wrestling three years ago. Dr. Joe Parisi, CMU’s Vice President for Enrollment Management and Athletics, told this newspaper on Friday that he fully supports the implementation of wrestling at Fayette High School.

Dr. Parisi, an All-American wrestler in his own right, holds a comprehensive background in high school and collegiate wrestling. He has coached 120 All-Americans, 28 national champions, and 21 academic All-Americans in 15 years of coaching. His teams have won the national championship seven times and he is a six-time NAIA Coach of the Year.

Dr. Parisi led the effort to bring wrestling to Central Methodist. He said when he arrived in Fayette he was surprised that there was not a wrestling program here or at many of the nearby schools. 

Central’s Director of Wrestling and men’s coach, Sam Schmitz, said that he would love to see wrestling grow in the area. “As a wrestling community, we would love to help.”

The board ultimately took no action on the proposal since the matter was not a part of its agenda. It could, however, take up the issue at a future meeting. The board traditionally does not meet during the month of July. Its next meeting will be at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, August 17. Meetings are open and the public is invited.