Sloss does work, time for state title
Logan Sloss knows the drill on the first day of the state high school wrestling tournament.
That comes with being a veteran state championship-caliber wrestler.
The Russellville senior, who is the No. 1 seed in the 145-pound weight class in Class 6A-7A, is attempting to earn the second state championship of his career at the Jack Stephens Center in Little Rock.
“Hours. Minutes. Lots of time,” Sloss said of his preparation for the state tournament. “Lots of time goes into preparation for state, or any tournament like this. You always have kids who you can see are putting in the hours. They don’t get winded. You can see the difference between those kids and the kids who sometimes try in practice.”
Sloss won the Class 6A7A 138-pound state championship as a sophomore in
2016, defeating Searcy’s Caleb Freeman.
But last year, after moving up to the 145-pound class, Sloss lost to Bentonville’s Cash Jones in the final.
“I felt like everyone on my team expected it out of me,” Sloss said of a possible title as a junior. “I was upset, yeah. Cash is a great wrestler. But it [the loss] definitely motivated me.”
Russellville Coach Adrian Meredith said he knew Sloss wasn’t planning on moving up or down in weight class with last year’s loss. Instead, Sloss wanted another opportunity to win a state championship at 145 pounds.
“He doesn’t want to run from the competition,” Meredith said. “That’s the type of person he is. He wants the best challenge. He wants the toughest guys.”
In his two matches Friday, Sloss (42-1) pinned Bentonville’s Sean Russell in 1:25 and Bryant’s Dax Clatworthy in 1:13 to advance to today’s semifinals, where he’ll face Springdale Har-Ber’s Max Salinas.
Sloss has wrestled for six years, competing in the River Valley Wrestlers youth wrestling program (now River Valley Shooters) before joining Russellville High School’s program. He worked with Meredith with the River Valley program.
“He’s really great, having him in my corner,” Sloss said. “It’s nice to have that reassurance there if I’m ever in a bad situation.”
Meredith said he appreciates Sloss’ presence in the Cyclones’ program.
“He takes a lot of the new guys under his wing, especially the freshmen,” Meredith said. “They take right to him. Logan, just because he’s a senior and has the accolades that he does, he doesn’t walk around with the big head.
“He’s had reality checks along the way, but they’ve kept him humble.”
Sloss, who will wrestle at Ouachita Baptist University next season, said he’s expecting to compete at 149 pounds in college.
“It’s a great school,” said Sloss, who plans on majoring in athletic training at OBU. “I’ve talked to Coach [Kevin Crutchmer] and how he wants to change it [the program]. I’m excited to be part of that plan.”
The only loss for Sloss this season came against Rogers junior Jake Turner on Jan. 16. Turner pinned Sloss in 3:27. However, Sloss pinned Turner in 1:53 in last weekend’s Big West Tournament.
Losing early in the season may have been a blessing in disguise for Sloss, he admitted.
“I knew the match that I lost, I made mistakes,” Sloss said. “When I lost to Cash in conference [the Big West Tournament last February before the state tournament], I only had one week to prepare. But having so much time to prepare this year, it helped me tremendously.”
Sloss and Turner could meet again in the 145-pound state final today, but Sloss said he is trying not to look too far ahead.
“Anything can happen. You go one match at a time,” Sloss said. “But it’s exciting. If we meet again, I’m sure it will go all three [rounds]. I was really aggressive the first time and he was really aggressive the second time. If we go into this, then we’ll be a lot more calmer and watch our mistakes.”