A Class 6A state runner-up last month at 135 pounds, Lawrence High senior wrestler Sean Patton will represent Team Kansas at 130 pounds tonight at the ninth annual Metro Classic at Kansas City, Kan., Community College.
The dual, which features top senior wrestlers in the Kansas City metro area, will begin at 7 p.m. KCKCC is located at 7250 State Ave. Tickets cost $7.
"That's kind of the way the team worked out," Patton said of dropping to 130, last year's weight class. "There's a seven-pound weight allowance, so coaches asked me if I could make 137. I said I could make it and I kind of volunteered."
Patton, 37-4 his senior season, will wrestle Grandview's Johnny Blake (13-2) at 130 pounds.
Eudora senior standout Brian Harris will wrestle at 135. He finished his senior season with a 37-1 record and placed third at the 4A state tournament. His lone loss came to the eventual state champion in the state semifinals. Harris compiled a 118-27 overall record.
Patton has been able to maintain his weight despite the temptations from his job as a cook at Dairy Queen.
"Right now I'm eating a salad," Patton said during a work break Sunday evening. "When you're cutting weight and you're making a double cheeseburger, it takes a lot of will power not to indulge on any food. I've gotten used to it. I've worked here about a year."
Since his sophomore year, Patton had hoped to receive a bid to the Metro Classic.
"Right now Kansas is 2-6 against Missouri," Patton said. "We're trying to fight back. This is definitely a privilege to wrestle in this."
Patton also was privileged to be accepted to West Point, where he wants to wrestle.
"Last spring I got stuff in the mail," said Patton, who plans to be commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Army after graduation. "It really sounded like a place I could get my education, wrestle and develop. I had a chance to improve my leadership skills and that's why I applied."
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