Lisbon returns to mat for first time since controversy

DURANT - The Lisbon High School wrestling team returned to competition for the first time since having a competition canceled two weeks ago.

The Lions have been surrounded by controversy since mid-December, resulting from what Lisbon Community School District Superintendent Brad Laures said was a “student behavior issue.”

Lisbon competed in a quadrangular against Davenport Assumption, Durant and West Liberty last night at Durant High School. It was the Lions first competition since Dec. 17.

Lisbon Coach Jamie Kamberling said the last two weeks have been tough, but the kids have tried to persevere the storm of allegations.

“It's been hard, but the kids are staying focused, working hard in the room,” Kamberling said. “We still have a lot of goals set. We haven't changed much. We're going day-by-day.”

Despite the situation, the Lions went 2-1 Thursday night, improving to 14-3 despite four forfeits. Kamberling said he expects to fill some of those weights later. The Lions, who were ranked to open the season but fell out of the latest rankings by The Predicament, were missing starters including Vinny Benyshek, Hunter Hutchison, Tait Simpson and Dacota VanDyke. Hutchison was ranked ninth at 120 pounds in Class 1A in The Predicament's December 15th rankings, while Simpson was second at 152. Neither were ranked in the newest edition released by The Predicament on Thursday.

“I can say they haven't been practicing with us,” said Kamberling, noting some wrestlers have missed practice due to vacation or injury.

The Lions withdrew from duals at Delhi and suspended practice during an investigation into the student behavior issue. According to published reports the father of the alleged victim, who was a wrestler, said his son was held down while someone urinated on him and put genitalia on his face.

The investigation led to a meeting between members of the wrestling program, including wrestlers, parents and coaches, and administrators. The meeting that lasted about 30 minutes, addressed topics including ethics, character and school expectations of student athletes.

“Lisbon Community School District takes any accusation of bullying or harassment very seriously,” Laures said after the meeting. “We will continue to follow school policy ... to make sure the school environment is safe for all students.”

At the time, Laures declined to comment about results of the investigation, possible punishments, how many were involved and whether anyone outside of the wrestling program were involved.

The situation has been investigated by the Lisbon Police Department, which recommended criminal charges be filed to the Linn County Attorney Jerry Vandersanden. He consulted with the Lisbon PD and they both decided more investigating was required before any official charges were filed.

Kamberling declined to comment about the ongoing investigation and was asked about the allegations that involved wrestlers.

“I have no comment on that,” Kamberling said.

He was also asked about whether coaches were involved in the investigation.

“I have no comment on that,” Kamberling stated.

A parent of a Lisbon wrestler was asked about the situation but declined discussing the situation. Members of the community have offered their support.

“We've had a lot of support from the community,” Kamberling said.

Kamberling said the team is fixed on the future and not the past.

“We're focused in the right direction,” Kamberling said. “We're going to work hard, keep building technique, wrestling hard and stay focused.”

The team is still as solid as ever, despite missing pieces from the lineup. He said he doesn't determine rankings and all he can do is prepare his team to compete and hopefully it works out for state.

“I think we have kids working hard and focusing on their individual goals and team goals,” said Kamberling, who said all wrestlers were instructed to refer any questions Thursday night to him. “I think we have a strong team.”

The Lions did defeat West Liberty 45-36 in their opening dual and closed the evening with a 41-33 victory over Durant. Class 2A Davenport assumption handled Lisbon, 54-16. Preston Russell (220) and heavyweight Tyler Smith were each 3-0 at Durant.

“They've been wrestling pretty good for having a lot of stuff going on,” Kamberling said.

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