Floyd County High School wrestlers look to state meet

With the regular season behind them, FCHS wrestlers Tyler Beckner and Max Lander are looking ahead. The seniors are hoping their hard work will again pay off as they’re headed into district and hopefully regional and state competition.
Beckner, who was second in the state last year, and Lander, sixth in state finals, have already passed an important milestone this season. Both have rolled over the 100-mark in matches won.
For the upcoming challenges, however, the two are not dwelling on past successes.
“I work as hard as I can every second I’m on the mat,” says Lander, who wrestles in the 152 lb. weight class.
“Once you get to post season, you have to start to perfect your technique and work harder than you did the day before,” adds Beckner, a competitor in the 130 lb. weight class.
The two wrestlers have been playing the sport since eighth grade. Lander actually made it to state in his sophomore year, but he says he didn’t believe it had given him an advantage when he returned as a junior. “He (Tyler) did much better than me at state. Definitely there’s an experience factor…but it didn’t guarantee how I was going to wrestle.”
Both wrestlers started this season with their careers equal, at 81 wins each. “I got to 100 before he did,” remarks Lander. “He had much harder opponents than I did. His weight class, in Virginia as a whole, is harder.”
Beckner says the toughest opponents he has faced play for Radford, Glenvar, Cave Spring, Fort Defiance and Pulaski. The first two are also his only competitors in the Three Rivers District, which has only three schools with wrestling teams. But, Max comments, even though it is the smallest district, “it is the hardest district in the whole state.” Last year, Glenvar won at state, and Radford placed fourth.
“Also, Region C is really tough this year,” says Lander. The Hogoheegee district is now part of Region C and has added six more teams to the region tournament.
In wrestling, there are 14 weight classes (starting at 103 and up to 285). Players win by pinning their opponents or if a pin doesn’t occur, by accumulating the most points. Lander says his winning matches have mostly come by pins. For Tyler, it’s been about equal, with a few more pins.
Wrestling is “a mental sport,” Lander comments. “How you prepare and have moves perfected is much more important than how much you can lift in the weight room.”
Lander, who has won 115 matches at this point, is just two matches away from tying a record set by another FCHS wrestler Lorenzo Rios. Rios, who wrestled in the 119 weight class, went on to win state. He and another wrestler, Kamal Chantal, who won state twice (in the 145 class in his junior year and in the 152 class in his senior year), are the only other FCHS wrestlers to top 100 matches.
Lander says he credits his wrestling to Rios. “He was amazing.”
The two wrestled together in practice during Lander’s sophomore year. “He was the guy that beat me up every day. He was so much better than me.”
Lander and Beckner also compliment their coach, Mike Murphy, for helping them to raise their playing level. “He definitely pushed us harder and showed us how to perfect moves,” Becker explains. “He is an extraordinarily qualified, experienced and knowledgeable coach,” adds Lander. “You have respect for a coach that can beat you up….He has the ability to beat each and every one of us.”
Beckner has also played football as a tailback and outside linebacker and he says those two sports have complemented one another. The son of Mark and Jodi Beckner of Pilot, he plans to study engineering at Virginia Tech.
A former penthathalon competitor, Lander, son of David Lander and Susan Icove of Floyd, rides horses, runs and swims, but riding is his greatest passion.
He plans to attend a four-year college, and after graduation from high school, he may first take a year off from school to work as a volunteer in Africa or South America. He would like to work with a Peace Corps-like group, but one that doesn’t require a long commitment. (The Peace Corps has a 27-month commitment.)
The high school wrestling team also includes three other wrestlers who went to state last year – heavyweight Josh Penn (seventh in state), Adam Arno and Josh Cluxton. The team goes to district competition today (February 21) at Glenvar. From there, the top four in each weight class advance on to the regional tournament.
Lander and Beckner say they share a common goal as they head down the home stretch in their final days of high school competition. “We have the same mindset,” explains Lander. “We’re willing to do what it takes to win state.”