Blue Raiders win Cleveland Duals, 34-33, over Bradley Central

Cleveland High School wrestler Colton Landers, top, flips Baylor's Luke Fraley before pinning him during the Cleveland Duals on Saturday. Landers was undefeated during the Blue Raiders' championship run.
Cleveland High School wrestler Colton Landers, top, flips Baylor's Luke Fraley before pinning him during the Cleveland Duals on Saturday. Landers was undefeated during the Blue Raiders' championship run.

There is no bed in the Jones Wrestling Center at Cleveland High School; otherwise Colton Landers might be tempted to relocate.

"Well, there is a couch," the senior said, hinting that he had considered the idea.

Landers is one of only a couple of seniors in the Blue Raiders' wrestling room this season, and he has offered more than inspiration to a team whose makeup is 75 percent freshmen and sophomores.

"We have vocal leaders and then we have Colton," new Cleveland coach Josh Bosken assessed. "He's been a blessing for me in my first year. He mimics what we want our program to be. It's great to have him in the room."

Landers went undefeated Saturday, leading Cleveland through a loaded field to the championship of its own duals tournament. The Raiders won 34-33 over rival Bradley Central, which is ranked No. 1 in the state and is the defending Division I-AAA state champion.

A two-time state finalist, Landers does what it takes to help assure a successful program. Despite disappointment in each of the last two traditional state tournaments - finishing runner-up first to best friend and West Point-committed Knox Fuller of Bradley Central two years ago and then to Walker Valley's Joseph Munoz - Landers has absorbed losses and continued to work and to lead.

"He's a leader by example," Bosken said. "He's been good enough to have won it the last three years. A lot of things haven't gone his way, yet he comes in and works and doesn't sulk about the past."

That doesn't mean Landers has forgotten past losses. He recalls each of the eight setbacks in his high school career with much more clarity than any of the 100-plus wins he's notched since stepping into the lineup as a freshman 106-pounder.

"And I've avenged all of them," he said. "I don't know about the wins. I guess somewhere between 120 and 130, but the losses, that's what you focus on."

That focus has kept him on a path where leadership has come naturally.

"When I was a younger guy, the leaders were guys like Chris DeBien and Austin Stevenson. Nowadays I just try to keep (younger wrestlers) on the right path, and if they need help in practice, I try to help," the team captain said.

The everyday actions from Landers are especially fruitful for Bosken, who wants the younger Blue Raiders to emulate them. Only one B keeps him from a 4.0 grade point average, and he may be headed to a college wrestling room and eventually a career in biomedical engineering.

"He's what every coach would want in his athletes," Bosken said. "First and foremost, he takes care of his schoolwork. He works hard. He's respectful. He's a great example of what you have to have as a student-athlete - the schoolwork, the weight room in the mornings before school, and he's usually the first one in the practice room and the last one to leave."

Contact Ward Gossett at wgossett@timesfreepress.com or 423-886-4765. Follow him at Twitter.com/wardgossett.

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