By: J. Daniel Pearson
Photos Courtesy Davidson Athletics
For the first time in Osceola High School wrestling history, a Kowboy has the chance to earn Division-I All-America honors—and 2024 graduate and three-time state champion Anderson Heap will take his shot this weekend at the NCAA Championships at Rocket Mortgage Arena in Cleveland. A top eight finish at nationals would secure Heap All-America status.
He automatically qualified for the tournament by winning the Southern Conference (SoCo) 149-lb. championship with a thrilling 8-5 sudden-victory overtime decision over Citadel’s Carson DesRosier.
It was his second decision in a month over DesRosier, beating him in overtime in a dual meet two weeks earlier. And although Heap could have still made the NCAA Tournament with an at-large bid, he felt it necessary to win the SoCo tournament and remove any guess work.
“Our conference is not considered one the top ones in the country and is given just one automatic bid to nationals. There was a chance I still could have got an at-large bid, but I certainly did not want to rely on that process. I felt winning the conference tournament was a must but I knew it would not be easy,” Heap said. “Carson is a gritty, tough competitor. He’s smart and seldom makes mistakes. I liked my chances but still felt some pressure.”
While just making the NCAA field of 33 is a tremendous accomplishment, Heap (20-9) – who is seeded 26th overall for the tournament and will face North Dakota State’s Max Peterson in the first round — says the goal is to become Osceola’s first Division-1 All-American.
Heap joins five other former Osceola High wrestlers who have made it to the NCAA Tournament. They have included Malyke Hines (Lehigh); Joe Locksmith (US Naval Academy); and Javier Maldonado, Levi Clemons, and Nikko Brown (all who competed for the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga). Maldonado came the closest to reaching All-America status, making it to the final 12 his senior year.
“It’s so hard to even get to the tournament and I think some of the lower seed guys who make it are happy with that just sort of check out,” Heap said. “For me, I want to make it to the podium (top eight finish) earn All-America, it’s a lofty goal and there’s so many great wrestlers at the tournament, but my attitude is anything can happen.”
Heap, who led Davidson with 19 wins as a freshman and now has 39 in his career, has already made some history. He is the first Wildcat wrestler in 11 years to advance to the NCAA Tournament and was the school’s only Southern Conference champion this season. Heap played a major role in helping Davidson to its highest conference finish (4th) in 59 years.
He says the adjustment from high school to college wrestling was a difficult one to make. Unlike football, where there are 777 teams at the college level, there are roughly only 350 college wrestling teams. Not only is the competition for roster spaces tougher, but the style is different.
“The overall talent level is so much tougher at this level but how the matches are competed is different. You’re required to concentrate on your technique and rely on your defense a lot more. Every point is critical and you don’t see a lot of pins, technical falls or major decisions. There’s a lot more matches that end in final scores of 2-1 and 3-2 instead. It really took me a year to get used to the college style.”
Although he becomes just the sixth former Kowboy wrestler to make it to nationals, he was almost joined this week by two former teammates Cooper Hasse and Gunner Holland. The trio, who won nine state championships between them. where labeled “Triple H” at Osceola. In their final season together in 2023, Haase and Heap took state titles; while Holland was second.
Haase would enroll at the Military Academy Prep School and as a sophomore this year he led Army in both matches wrestled (36) and wins (22). By finishing fourth in the Eastern Intercollegiate Westling Association Tournament, he came up just one win short of automatic NCAA qualification; as did Holland – who finished second for Arkansas Little-Rock at the Pac-10 Championships.
“I still talk to those guys a lot,” Heap said. “I’m proud of their successes this season and it would have been great to have all three of us at the tournament.”
Former Osceola Coach Rick Tribit says the success of the three, especially Heap, does not surprise him. “When he was in our youth programs, he probably went a year without a win, but rather than being discouraged, he kept coming back and worked harder, He knows how to handle adversity. Back in high school, Anderson became a really good technical wrestler. Add in his intelligence and I knew it would serve him well at the next level, Overall, I believe he has beaten five ranked opponents this year, so anything is possible this week,” Tribit said. “I’m super proud of all three of those guys. They are all making their mark on the college wrestling scene.”
