Once Missouri Military Academy cadet Trae Griffiths was captivated by the mat, it has been hard to pull him away.

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The sophomore and junior Ryan Miles qualified for the Class 1 state wrestling meet at Mizzou Arena in Columbia this past week, making them the first cadets to compete on that stage since 2021. Like that year with Christopher Bryant, MMA came back with a state medalist as Griffiths earned fifth place at 157 pounds.

“It’s a really good feeling,” Griffiths said. “With the work I did during the summer, I’m really happy it paid off.”

The Champaign, Illinois, native knew there was work to be done after going 0-2 in districts last season. Griffiths said he attended a camp in Pennsylvania in the offseason, improving his quickness and ability to chain moves together along with his mental game. After regarding himself as an “underdog” last season, Griffiths won 43 matches and finished third at districts this time.

Head coach Levi Iman isn’t surprised that Griffiths looked for more time on the mat in the offseason as that seems normal for him.

“He lives and breathes wrestling,” Iman said. “It’s hard to keep him out of the wrestling room. He always wants to be on the mat. Having a driving passion like that makes him a tough competitor against anybody.”

Griffiths admits it wasn’t always like that in the career before MMA. He said he wrestled in a youth program for a couple years initially to spend time with a friend but then found value in the sport.

“Originally, I absolutely hated wrestling,” Griffiths said. “It was not my thing. Looking back on it, I’m really glad he got me into it. It’s a sport you can’t quit. My first year, did not want to do it. I ended up taking a break, coming back to it in eighth grade and I qualified for the state tournament. It was an eye-opener.”

In his next trip to state this past week, Griffiths finished with four pinfall victories in two days but had to overcome an early 8-5 loss to Warsaw’s Drake Murrell in the quarterfinals. Murrell finished fourth and then Griffiths’ other loss happened against third-place Rex Bryson, of Centralia, via pinfall.

Griffiths thought he could have won against Murrell but accidentally let his opponent up in the final 30 seconds that led to the closing moments of the match. He didn’t let that result discourage him, however.

“As long as I work as hard as I did in that match and keep the right mentality going and know I’m still alive in the tournament, I can still wrestle back,” Griffiths said. 

Eventually, it was time for Griffiths to give everything he had when he wrestled Holden’s Trent Stout for fifth place, and he pinned Stout in the second period. Before that, Griffiths was reminded by coaches that he should try his absolute best to win his final match to end the season on a high note.

“To come back and win your last match at state is a huge win for the mental state for going into the offseason and coming back into next year,” Iman said. “The last little bit of positiveness is an awesome feeling.”

The week started positive with the Colonels appearing at state for the first time in three years and ended positive with a medal. There was even some positive in Miles’ performance despite going 0-2, Iman said. Miles was pinned quickly in his first match against No. 1 wrestler and eventual state champion Marco Dalakishvili, of St. Pius X (Kansas City), and then fought hard to a 3-1 loss to St. Francis Borgia’s Adam Ashworth.

Iman said Miles shouldn’t be too disappointed since he has another year left. He said the positive outlook on Miles’ second loss was that he was evenly matched with Ashworth and the future can be changed with more offseason work.

“He spent a lot of time in the offseason getting stronger, physically and mentally,” Iman said. “He was all about lifting weights. He wanted to be in the gym any chance he could get. Even during wrestling season it was hard keeping him out of there.”

MMA had Griffiths and Miles (33 wins) as 30-match winners along with Deonte Kerns (30 wins) and will have them and about 70 percent of the team back next season, Iman said. The Colonels have shown enough dedication to carry over into next year, expressing a willingness to Iman to lift weights in down time during their spring seasons and summer, after stepping on the state mats to help prepare Griffiths and Miles. Iman and Griffith both would like to see them there next year as competitors.

“Several of these young guys got to go to state to watch and stepped out on the mat as good practice partners,” Iman said. “They got to experience a little bit of that, and several of them came back and said, ‘Coach, we’re wrestling there next year.’ Seeing the look in their eyes, 100 percent I believe those kids.”