Hurt Set To Wrestle At Missouri Valley

Ethan Hurt was a key member Sullivan’s wrestling team the last few seasons and the 2022 graduate will head to the next level.

Hurt, a two-time state qualifier, has signed to wrestle at Missouri Valley College.

Hurt only started wrestling his sophomore year, but by his junior year, he was already on his way to state.

Hurt’s junior year saw him finish third place at districts. He pinned Levi Wiengand of Ste. Genevieve at 2:31 to secure his trip to state. Hurt just kept improving every single year on the mat.

Hurt wrestled in the 152-pound weight class his sophomore year, but his junior and senior year were when he shone after dropping to 145.

Hurt said he chose Missouri Valley because that’s where head coach Carl Lawrence graduated college.

“They have a really good wrestling program,” Hurt said. “They gave me a really good offer.”

His junior year, Hurt just barely fell in the first round of state. He had a long, hard fought battle in the second round. He was pinned by Kale Weber of Harrisonville after almost five minutes of grappling on the mat.

Hurt worked harder his senior year and finished in second place in his weight class at districts. He fell at 1:49 to Brock Woodcock of St. Clair in the championship match.

Hurt is very excited to grow in his wrestling career at Missouri Valley. He had other options, though.

“I was also looking at UCM in Warrensburg and Hannibal LaGrange,” Hurt said. “Missouri Valley was definitely on another level of how good they put out people and how good they work.”

Hurt said he will gain lots of exposure to different styles.

“They have a lot of good wrestling potential to get better because they have so many different types of wrestling partners,” Hurt said. “I probably will have like fifteen wrestling partners there.”

His main goals are to start and be an all-American.

Hurt’s biggest strength is his go-getter attitude. He puts in a lot of work in his matches and he knows how to work against his opponents’ weaknesses once they are tired out. Hurt said what he will be working to improve on his bottom work on the mat. He said he will work on his technique and to get better at conditioning.

Hurt said his favorite high school memory was his semifinals match at districts. Hurt was projected to fall to Cody Wilfong of St. James. Wilfong was up and had Hurt down in the first two rounds. Hurt was not going to let that stop him. His resilience shined through and he overpowered Wilfong in the last round. He was able to score enough points to win the match by 13-2 major decision.