Kellen Long debuted for North Callaway this season but has already made an impact.

Long was all-state defensive back on the football field and has already won a championship for the Thunderbirds on the wrestling mat. The three-time state medalist signed to wrestle for Augustana University in Sioux Falls, South Dakota during a ceremony on Dec. 5 at North Callaway High School. 

Long plans to study sports management or weights and conditioning. He said he also plans to be involved in the college’s RTC program, or regional training center, to be immersed in wrestling throughout the year without worrying about NCAA restrictions since Augustana is a Division II school.

“I chose to go to Augustana for all the features they had,” Long said. “One of the big things is their RTC program, which makes me able to wrestle all year round and hopefully make a world team and an Olympic team. They were willing to help me get to where I want to be.”

Long has the resume of an accomplished wrestler as he has finished third at state at 138 pounds and has been second and third at 150 pounds while he was with Butler. He has been a Missouri Nationals and Missouri USA champion when he was 14 and 16 years old. 

As a junior, Long earned his 100th career win. North Callaway expects to see a lot more victories from Long this season as he won all five of his matches to win the 157-pound bracket on Dec. 6 at the Tiger Mat Classic in Marceline to start his Thunderbird career strong. 

North Callaway has been a new place to Long, but he has had a familiar face in head coach Brock Davis. Long and Davis have known each other since Long was in sixth grade. 

“Those main reasons have been partners,” Long said when asked how he was able to become a college wrestler. “I’ve been able to wrestle with Brock since I was in sixth grade. I used to be his partner all the time. He helped me get better.”

Davis became North Callaway’s head wrestling coach last season but wrestled at Westminster College under Mike and Tony Eierman. The Eierman brothers, who currently coach at William Woods, helped launch the men’s and women’s programs at Westminster in 2017 and have trained many state medalists and national champions, including Olympic medalist J’den Cox.

While at Westminster, Davis said he would stay late to coach the Eiermans’ youth club practice. Long, who was attending Southern Boone at the time, attended those practices.

“I am very proud of both the young man that Kellen has become and the wrestler that he has forged himself into,” Davis said. “He has physically grown to tower over me now, but as a wrestler, he has not stopped getting better every day since meeting him.”

Long said he was happy to reunite with Davis because he knows who he is and how he thinks about wrestling. He said it should be a fun senior season. 

Whether he is in the weight room or practicing on the mat, Long said he has people around him who have helped him “shoot for my goals.” A state championship is definitely a goal for him before he graduates, but Long remembers what got him to this point.

“Going to Mike Eierman’s really made me open up how I wrestled and all that,” Long said. “The people around me like family have supported me.”