De Soto ? Neil Erisman won 64 of 67 wrestling matches during his first two years at De Soto High. Unfortunately for the Frontier League and the rest of the state’s 152-pounders, the DHS junior somehow found a way to get better.

“He’s always been dominant,” De Soto coach Matt Jones said. “I think this year he’s kicked up the intensity.”

Erisman entered winter break 19-0 and has won 18 of his matches by fall. The only wrestler to avoid getting pinned by Erisman was Olathe East’s Cameron Mitchell, who was trailing 4-0 in the first period at the Johnson County Classic when he suffered a back injury and lost by default.

Mill Valley’s Earl Johansen was the only opponent to make it past the first period, and Erisman pinned him in the second period.

Erisman isn’t worried about pins, just wins.

“A win is a win, no matter how it happens,” he said. “It’s nice when you go in there and get a pin because you don’t have to work as long. … You do what you have to do to get it done. I worked hard in the summer, and it shows I’ve improved a lot.”

Erisman was 33-1 as a freshman at 145 pounds, rolling through an undefeated season until Colby’s Eric Luedke stopped him in the state finals. Last year, Erisman moved up to 152 and lost only once in the regular season, suffering a lopsided decision to Oklahoma state champion Shane Vernon of Broken Arrow at a tournament in Sapulpa, Okla.

Santa Fe Trail’s Justin Wiscombe, a competitor Erisman had defeated at the league tournament, handed the Wildcat his only other loss when Wiscombe managed an escape in the final seconds of double overtime and pulled out a 2-1 victory in the state semifinals.

Erisman, who finished 31-2, settled for third.

“He’s extremely competitive,” Jones said. “If he doesn’t come out on top, he tries to figure out what happened so he can make himself better from the experience.”

A year after finishing third in the state wrestling tournament, De Soto junior Neil Erisman is 19-0 with 18 pins. The only wrestler to avoid getting pinned by Erisman was Olathe East's Cameron Mitchell, who was trailing 4-0 when he suffered a back injury and lost by default at the Johnson County Classic.

Erisman shook off the disappointment of losing in the state finals after his freshman year and won the 152-pound class at the Cadet National Championship in Fargo, N.D.

“That made up a lot for not winning state,” said Erisman, who has been wrestling since he was 5 and competes year round across the country.

Erisman’s skill and experience have helped his teammates, too.

“We have him demonstrate things,” Jones said. “He helps the young kids and even some of the more experienced kids. The other kids really respect him.”

Erisman hasn’t met an opponent that can match up with him yet this season, and Jones has a similar problem in De Soto’s wrestling room at practice.

Jones matches Erisman in practice with 140-pounder Adam Faircloth (8-4), 171-pounder Leif Goleman (11-1) and 215-pounder Alex Mercer (16-1) among others.

“The guys I’m going to wrestle aren’t even close to as fast or experienced as Neil,” Goleman said. “He makes me better than I was the week before.”

Mixing things up has been good for Erisman, too, because he practices against wrestlers who vary in size, speed and strength. That includes Jones, 27, who was a four-time state qualifier and two-time medalist for Olathe South.

“I could keep up with him the last two years,” said Jones, who weighs 150. “But he has matured and improved, and now it takes everything I have just to stay on the mat with him.”

Erisman’s success in wrestling has helped him on the football field, where he was a first-team all-league quarterback.

“In big games, I don’t get nervous,” he said. “I’m used to pressure.”

Erisman passed for 765 yards and seven touchdowns and rushed for 368 yards and 12 TDs for the Wildcats, who finished 7-3. But there are no doubts about which sport Erisman favors.

“Wrestling is definitely what I want to do,” said Erisman, who has been contacted by Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, Missouri, Iowa State, Nebraska, Cornell, Stanford, Harvard and Penn among others. “There’s nothing I’d rather do.”

He still has some unfinished business, though, and two more chances to stand atop the medals stand at the state tournament in Wichita.

“It’s definitely one of my goals to win state this year,” he said. “I think about it all the time. I know how bad it feels to lose at state two years in a row. It makes you work a little bit harder every time you think about it.”