Greater Heights Wrestling originated in 2014 after Team Central-Park Hill disbanded after several successful seasons including multiple team and individual state titles. The original club started out as Park Hill Youth Wrestling with its founders Frank and Cindy Moyer who brought on Coach Jason Keck to assist with the program while he was finishing up his undergraduate degree at University of Missouri-Kansas City. As Frank and Cindy’s boys moved into high school, Coach Keck took over the Park Hill Youth Wrestling program and years later connected with Bryan Elam who owns Wrestling Central, a sports and apparel business. Coach Elam’s business sponsored the club moving forward and thus the club’s name changed to Team Central -Park Hill. Team Central-Park Hill won its first Missouri youth state title in 2003 and put together over a decade of dominance winning state team titles for the next eleven years. As Coach Elam’s boys were about to enter high school at Staley High School, he and Coach Keck agreed to amicably part ways and at that time the Greater Heights Program was born. Our club has continued its dominance since 2014 with winning another twelve consecutive team state titles and its first girl’s state team title in 2023. Greater Heights has now won three consecutive girls Missouri team state titles. In 2019, Greater Heights Wrestling expanded obtaining an official Kansas USA Wrestling club charter. Since that time, the direction, vision and mission of the program has continued to evolve with the goal of remaining one of the top tier programs in the country while creating a culture built on a high standard of excellence in everything we do.
Discipline is one of our foundational pillars that our athletes learn and come to understand its importance in finding success. They soon realize that without discipline one cannot build consistency or long-term growth. Our wrestlers learn to climb forward and understand that often the more difficult path is the most rewarding and sustaining. This learned, characteristic triat is something our athletes will carry on with them long after their competitive wrestling ends. It is one of many life skills that our program teaches which is crucial to success on the mat and in life beyond our club. It is an example of Embracing The Climb which is our program’s mantra!
The season begins with practices starting in November that will run into late January/sometimes early February for the Little Climbers (4-6 years old) group and into March for the Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3 groups. We have both a Missouri and Kansas club charter through USA Wrestling which means that it does not matter if you live in Missouri or Kansas to be an active club member of our club.
Missouri holds its 6U State Tournament on January 20, 2024 and the Rookie State Tournament (First year wrestlers only who are in the 8U-14U division) on January 21st of that year in Springfield, Missouri.
Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3 groups will have the opportunity to wrestle in the MO USA Wrestling State Series which is comprised now of Districts and the State tournament. KS USA Wrestling State Series for those that are Kansas residents will be the same in that there will be a qualifying tournament and then State tournament. The State Series is similar to the playoffs in other sports where you advance depending upon your performance and placing at the qualifying event.
Please do not schedule vacations during this time frame as your wrestlers will be working all season for an opportunity to compete these final two weekends. We always have Level 1 athletes that qualify for the State Championships so don’t count out your wrestler from the possibility of making it to state.
