Senior Perkins County wrestlers set tone for program

Seniors Colton Pouk, Austin Meyer and Ashton Meyer made up one-third of the Perkins County wrestling squad, and the three helped the team grow and improve throughout the season.
PCS Head Coach Tanner Collins said Pouk has grown a lot over his high school career.
“As a freshman he struggled some academically and got himself in trouble a few times. Each year he matured so much and became a man in front of my eyes,” Collins said.
Collins credited Pouk as being a good leader and working hard for his accomplishments.
“I am very proud of what he has done and can’t wait to see where he goes after high school. He will be deeply missed in the practice room as well as at the youth club practices as he ran a lot of the young kids,” Collins said.
Pouk finished sixth at the state tournament and ended his senior year with a 28-9 record after battling injuries at times this season.
Austin Meyer hit his goal of 220 lbs. this season.
Collins said Austin Meyer came a long ways physically and mentally in his four years of high school wrestling.
“He took it as a personal challenge to get himself into better shape and lose some weight. As a freshman Austin came in weighing all of 285 lbs. This year as a senior he reached his goal of wrestling 220 lbs. He never did anything unhealthy to lose weight. He ate healthy and worked his butt off everyday in the weight room and practice room to get to where he did,” Collins said
With a change to his wrestling technique, Collins said Austin Meyer really started gaining confidence in himself.
“It blows my mind to see pictures of him four years ago. He will be deeply missed in the practice room as well as at the youth club practices as he ran a lot of the young kids,” Collins said.
Austin Meyer went 30-13 on the season and finished fifth at the state meet.
Ashton Meyer battled injuries throughout his high school career and Collins said the fact that Ashton Meyer had as much success as he did is unbelievable.
“The kid didn’t even get two full seasons of wrestling in the four years of high school due to injuries. I think he only got to wrestle in one camp in the summer as well,” Collins said, adding Ashton Meyer’s determination in the weight room and practices when he was able to is the sole reason he was so successful.
“Ashton has always been a good student of the sport. He didn’t lose the weight that his brother lost, but he did turn a lot of fat into muscle. He lost about 15% of his body fat throughout the four years,” Collins said.
Ashton Meyer finished the season with a 31-11 record and was a match short of a medal at state.
Collins said one of the most fun things to watch was the two Meyers constantly pushing each other to the max to make them better wrestlers.
“There were multiple times I had to tell them to back off a little so there wasn’t a fight. They were both so determined and hard working and neither one was ever going to back down,” Collins said.
Joining the seniors at state were junior Tony Lyon (20-19) and sophomores Mason Toner (29-19) and Juan Perez (21-12).
The group kept their coaches busy at state wrestling. Helping throughout the season were Austin Thelander, Jace Wid and Garrett Toner.
“We knew with some guys so close together in weight that we would probably have two guys wrestling at once. I did not expect to have three though! Thankfully I had two guys with me that I trust to do a good job in the corner,” Collins said. Wid and Thelander were both at state.
Also on the team were junior Brient Wood (15-15), sophomore Henry Taylor (7-18) and freshman Issian Dunn (1-23).
Collins said his favorite part of this season was seeing his athletes compete as a team and wrestle for their teammates as much as themselves.
“They all did a great job holding each other accountable and grew as a group,” Collins said.