By Richard Smith
Twitter: @rsmithYWV

At this point, the way Liberty wins a state wrestling title is more of a story than if the Peoria powerhouse lifts the trophy.

The Lions’ third championship in five years, earned on Feb. 14 in Prescott Valley, was their most dominant performance yet. They finished the Division I meet with 228 points, 55 more than second-place Yuma Cibola.

And after catching some flak for winning the 2019 Division I title without an individual state champion, Liberty boasted four this time around.

“People kind of ragged on us for winning a title without a state champion. As a whole, when we look at this season, it was about sending our seniors out the right way. There’s not many teams that have gone back-to-back lately. We wanted to be part of that exclusive club,” Liberty wrestling coach Eric Brenton said.

Sophomores Zander Phaturos (113 pounds), Tyler Sauter (138 pounds) and seniors Kamyn Stonebraker (160 pounds) and Matt Stevenson (182 pounds) were the favorites — or in Phaturos’ case ranked No. 2 — in their weight class and won individual state titles with relative ease.

Stevenson said merely winning a team state title was the goal in 2019. This year it was something the team was supposed to do and the main goal was to see how many Lions reached the finals of their weight.

In those finals:
• Phaturos beat his brand new rival Noah Kasprowicz of Boulder Creek 5-2. The Jaguars junior dropped down to 113 pounds with coaches sensing the opportunity to snag a state title.
“All year I didn’t have much competition at all in my weight class. And this kid dropped down from 120 at the end and I wasn’t expecting it. It was kind of a slap in my face. He wasn’t giving me respect,” Phaturos said. “So it was good at sectionals barely beating him. And then I ended up controlling the entire match at state and earned it.”
• Sauter completed a 41-3 breakout sophomore season after making his name by going undefeated at The Clash in Minnesota.
“It was a lot better than last year, when I took fifth. Right after that I told myself, ‘I’m going to win state. All year I was ranked No. 1. There was pressure to keep that ranking. It made me happy because as a sophomore, it’s a big thing to do,” Sauter said.
• Stonebraker said winning his first title in his last opportunity relieved the pressure he built up.
“It was honestly a great feeling. I’ve been wanting it a long time and it’s way past due for me,” Stonebraker said. “It feels really good to get it done. It’s definitely a relief. I did not want to leave high school without it.”
• Stevenson defeated a West Valley rival, Valley Vista senior Makai Obregon, to culminate a long youth career.
“It kind of made my 14 years of wrestling worth it. Once I got it, a rush of joy filled me,” Stevenson said.

The team was a heavy favorite, with only two seniors graduated from the 2019 squad.

Even the lack of several injured returnees and the disqualification of 126-pound sophomore Jonathan Rodgers for not making weight were minor obstacles.

Twelve Lions placed, which is a program record.

“Yeah, we were the heavy favorite but one of our guys that was expected to score points missed his weight. That gave us a last-second scare,” Stonebraker said. “All of us needed to work for bonus points. That first day, we were trying to rack up as many pins as we could.”

The other eight Liberty wrestlers to place in the top six of their weight class included one freshman, two sophomores and five seniors.

“It shows how great the coaches are, to have this success as a program in such a short time. It also shows how great we’ll be in years to come. I think about how people will talk about this 2020 Liberty team and I get happy,” Phaturos said.

This year, with the winter break trip to the Midwest and the team’s performance in the two big in-state invitationals, was when the Liberty program arrived on the national map.

At times Phoenix Desert Vista and Mesa Mountain View have made a splash. But Tucson Sunnyside is the first program that springs to mind when talking Arizona high school wrestling.

Sunnyside struck first, winning the Peoria Invitational by a slim margin over Liberty. But the Lions struck back, taking the Flowing Wells Invitational in Tucson by more than 50 points.

“It was nice, especially because the previous week they had come up and won by 8 1/2. You heard the guys, they can cite the point values,” Brenton said. “I think there’s a lot of people that would like to see the top teams go at it in a super duals or whatever. Our state team went down to Flowing Wells and won it, so that was good to see.”

Unlike last year, a large senior class is graduating.
Yet Stonebraker said the pipeline is flowing and that he hopes the program only improves from here

“I think it set the standard going out of state for the next teams. Like Kamyn said, when we come back in 10 years, I hope that team is better than what we had,” Stevenson said.

There are a lot of holes to fill, with seven state placers graduating.

But because of injuries and competition Breton said four wrestlers good enough to place at state this year did not even wind up as the top Lion in their weight class.

Brenton said Liberty is not locked into another major out of state tourney for next year. In all likelihood, however, another trip to the Midwest is imminent.

“All we have to do is stretch our lineup and I think there a lot of guys that are devoted to that and adding muscle. If we’re cutting weight, we’re not getting better,” Brenton said. “But nothing’s going to replace this senior class and nothing’s going to replace this team. This is a unique team. The banquet is going to be tough. But the freshman class we have now is almost a mirror image of this senior class in terms of the raw talent.”

Richard Smith
Associate Editor | Surprise & West Valley Preps
@rsmithYWV

rsmith@iniusa.org

Richard Smith has been with Independent Newsmedia since 2016, and worked at a Sun City-based news outfit covering the Northwest Valley for 22 consecutive years.

An NAU alum and lifelong Arizona resident, Richard began as a copy editor and page designer at Surprise Today and the Daily News-Sun, then rekindled his love of sports writing by taking the reins on West Valley Preps in 2008.

For most of the mid-2010s he was the Surprise editor and West Valley Preps reporter. Now he’s the West Valley Preps Editor and Surprise Associate Editor.

As COVID restrictions slowly lift, Richard is cautiously optimistic he will visit book stores, football fields and gyms again this fall.