Kewpie of the Month, March 2008
Drae Cox, Class of 2008


Kewpie Family - Wrestler - Family Photos - from Drae - College Commitment
















































Great-grandmother
Virginia Southard Mutrux
Class of 1941


Grandmother
Jennifer Mutrux Arnold
Class of 1968


Father, Michael Cox, Class of 1982
Mother, Catherine Arnold Cox, Class of 1988
A note from Drae's mom
 


Drae's Great-uncle, Bill Cox, Class of 1968 (Kewpie Basketball History)
 


Drae's uncle, Phil Arnold, Class of 1991 (State Champion 4A Title in '90 & '91 at HHS)
 


Drae's brother, Zach Arnold, Class of 2005 (Hickman wrestler)
 


Grandpa Bob Arnold with Drae at 2006 Hickman Tournament




Drae about age 3 at a Hickman wrestling meet,
wearing Hickman headgear, pretending to be a Kewpie wrestler.


As Youth Wrestler


About 10 years later


All State Award Banquet - 2007




Zach & Drae
 


Zach, Drae, Grandma Jennifer, Grandpa Bob Arnold, J'den Cox and cousin Caleb Arnold
 


Drae (about 10)
 


J'den, Drae & Zach with baby sister Chai



From Drae's mom..........

Let's see...Drae is an awesome kid!  I don't know where to start.  He is well rounded.  He has a beautiful singing voice and plays the french horn and enough trumpet to march in HHS Marching Band - although he didn't march this year in order to focus on wrestling.  He attends Faith Family Church in Fayette, Mo.  He has been one of the sound techs for Sunday morning service.

Drae is a good kid with a positive outlook.  He plans to attend college in the fall.  He's considering going into nursing or something to do with sports medicine/training.

When Drae was a baby we used to call him "Sweet Baby Drae" because he had the sweetest disposition and always had a smile on his face.  As he got older we dropped "sweet" and just called him Baby Drae.  We still affectionately refer to him by that name.

Drae grew up wrestling with Columbia Wrestling Club where Mike Flanagan coached him.  He wasn't always successful as a youth wrestler - he never won a major tournament.  He never medaled at State.  It wasn't until High School that he received his first medal in a major tournament.  His 9th grade year, he placed 5th at Brute Nationals and was a member of the All Star team.

Drae is very determined and when he wants something, he puts his mind to it and gets it.  He worked extremely hard in the off season with Mike Eierman of Eierman Elite wrestling.  Mike coached Drae in the style of 'scrambling' - a style which requires constant movement, anticipating your opponents movements and working to gain better positioning.  This style of wrestling proved to be a great fit for Drae and he has excelled!  He worked hard to gain muscle and strength as well as agility and speed.

During his senior year, he has attended school part time, worked part time and wrestled full time!  He would leave every morning for school at 6:35 to attend zero hour.   When classes finished at 12:25, Drae would head for work at Mutrux Sinclair Station, where's he's worked for about 2 years.  Getting off at 3:00, he would head to practice with J.D. Coffman and the HHS team.  His dedication and determination paid off as he made his way to a second place finish in the Missouri High School State Wrestling Tournament!

While a little disappointed with not winning 1st at State, Drae handled himself with great maturity!  We've always taught our boys to win like men and, when you lose, lose like a man, too.  He has become a young man with more than talent!  He has also gained character and values!

On a side note - when Drae and his brother Zach were little, they talked all the time about being Kewpies!  They only wanted to wrestle wearing the purple and gold of Hickman High School!  Even as little boys, they were proud to be Kewpies - a tradition that stands strong in our family.  Our boys don't want to wrestle for anybody else!  They want to be Kewpies on and off the mats!

We are all proud to be Kewpies!

If you cut us, we will bleed...PURPLE!

Cathy Cox



Drae's Comments for the future.......
"Wrestling at Hickman has been a learning experience.  I have been able to make many friends, both at Hickman, and throughout the state.
I'm glad to have been a part of the wrestling tradition at Hickman, and plan to continue wrestling in college.  I hope to continue my wrestling success in college, and to give back to the sport as it has given to me."

Drae Cox - 2008-03-18




By RUS BAER of the Tribune’s staff
Published Sunday, May 11, 2008
COLLEGE COMMITMENTS: Hickman two-time state medalist Drae Cox signed to wrestle at NAIA power Lindenwood University on Wednesday. Lindenwood is the two-time defending national champion. … Rock Bridge basketball standout Claire Schaeperkoetter plans to continue her basketball career at Washington University. The Division III program has made 19 straight NCAA Tournament appearances. … Christian Fellowship’s Joe Cherri signed an NAIA scholarship Friday to attend Hannibal-LaGrange College and play soccer and basketball. Cherri set the soccer team’s single-season school record for points with 85 and averaged 19.7 points in his senior basketball season. … Southern Boone’s Alex Weisner signed to play baseball at Culver-Stockton on Friday. … Southern Boone’s Jacob White will hold a signing ceremony at the high school to join the NCAA Division II track program at Central Missouri on Thursday. … Hallsville will send its second football recruit to college when T.J. Sherwood signs an NAIA commitment with Central Methodist on Tuesday. … Boonville infielder Zach Ruffel recently signed to play baseball for his former high school coach, Fred Smith, at Central Methodist. … After a year at Northwest Missouri State, Eric Harman (Harrisburg ’07) plans to transfer to North Central Missouri College to play baseball next year. The junior college is located in Trenton.


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