A heavyweight wrestler from Shawnee Mission West High School was threatened by Lawrence High School cheerleaders and fans after a match earlier this year, according to a lawsuit filed by the athlete’s father.

Michael D. Van Deelen also alleges LHS Principal Dick Patterson refused to protect him from the crowd because of an unrelated suit Van Deelen filed in December against one of Patterson’s colleagues, Shawnee Mission West High School Principal Karl Krawitz.

The Lawrence school district has moved to dismiss the suit, filed Jan. 10 in Douglas County District Court.

“The administration and Board of Education are aware of the petition filed by Mr. Van Deelen and believe the petition to be wholly without merit,” Julie Boyle, a spokeswoman for the school district, said in a prepared statement.

The wrestling meet in question was Jan. 7 at LHS, 1901 La.

At the time, Van Deelen’s son, Matthew, weighed about 200 pounds. He was scheduled to wrestle an LHS heavyweight who weighed 274 pounds, according to the lawsuit. But at the last minute, Shawnee Mission West’s coach decided to pit him against a 215-pound wrestler.

Van Deelen pinned the LHS wrestler, which sealed the meet for Shawnee Mission West.

Michael Van Deelen, a Eudora resident, claims a group of fans later threatened him and his son, swore at them and asked them to fight.

He said that when he asked for help getting to his car, Patterson told him, “We don’t protect people who file lawsuits against high school principals.”

Patterson declined to comment on the lawsuit.

Van Deelen also alleges a group of LHS cheerleaders — named in the suit as “Jane Does” — followed him to his car, yelled obscenities and threatened to harm him and his son.

James Sparkes, an 18-year-old member of the LHS wrestling team, doesn’t remember the atmosphere being that tense.

“It was like any other meet I’ve ever been to,” he said.

Sparkes said he remembers a few “groans” from the crowd after the roster switch. He also remembers one teammate making an unsportsmanlike comment to Matthew Van Deelen and getting reprimanded by a coach.

“I don’t remember any comments that were real bad,” Sparkes said. “I don’t remember people booing or anything.”

The day after the match, Van Deelen claims, Patterson accused Van Deelen and his son of using abusive language and provoking crowd members by “mooning” them. Van Deelen’s son was suspended from school based on Patterson’s allegations, the lawsuit claims.

“Patterson falsely accused both me and my son of improper acts, and we had witnesses that we did not commit those acts, and the school chose to ignore them,” Van Deelen said.

Van Deelen is seeking damages of at least $75,000 each from Patterson, Krawitz, Krawitz’s attorney and others.

Van Deelen alleges Patterson complained about him and his son after the meet in an effort to influence the lawsuit Van Deelen filed in December against Krawitz and other Shawnee Mission School District officials. That suit alleged, among other things, that the school district improperly handled a broken leg and a broken hand his son suffered during sporting events.

A Johnson County judge dismissed that suit Feb. 20 because Van Deelen, who’s representing himself, failed to give the notice required by state law before suing a public body.

Lawrence school officials are seeking to dismiss the suit against them on the same grounds. A hearing on the motion to dismiss is scheduled for May 2.