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The Oak Grove wrestling team got both ends of the spectrum in the span of four hours Friday night.
The Panthers put three into championship matches, with Anthony Barker (103), Mitchell Bradley (112), Caleb Titus (140) winning their semifinals, and Brandon Morgason (119) guaranteed himself a spot on the podium, winning by pin in his third-round wrestleback bout with Center’s Antoine Jones.
But then came the not-so-awesome. Taylor Brinegar (135) lost his semifinal match to undefeated Steven Morey of Reed Springs, but had already clinched at least sixth place. Same went for Chase Wrisinger (152), losing his match 15-6. Taylor Danner (189) was eliminated in the third-round of wrestlebacks.
Coach Bobbe Lowe had mixed emotions after the night was over.
“I think a few of us thought we were just going to go in and the guys would fold for us,” he said. “That’s what happens when you’re not prepared. It doesn’t matter what happened before or what seed they are, if you’re not prepared you’re going to get beat.
“It’s disappointing, but it is what it is.”
The Panthers kept it close in the team standings with pins from Bradley and Morgason, but Platte County and Kirksville also had good days to keep Oak Grove right in the thick of things. Going into Saturday’s final rounds, the Panthers still have a chance at their 11th state title in 26 years. They are currently in second place with 102.5 points. Platte County vaulted from fourth to first with 116.5. Defending champion Kirksville is third at 90, while Excelsior Springs (89) and Pleasant Hill (71) round out the top five.
“It’s a tight race,” Lowe said. “There’s a lot of teams that came out and did their job tonight. We didn’t do it as good, but we need to go out and win some matches tomorrow.”
One of those in tomorrow’s finals is Bradley. He’ll take on Platte County’s Jared Burns for the 112-pound state crown.
“It was another great moment in my high school career,” he said of his semifinal win. “We just we have to do what we can tomorrow and hope for the best. We haven’t won one in six years. It would be nice to have one before I get out of here.”
It’s certainly not going to be an easy task.
“We have a lot of matchups tomorrow where we’ve seen the guys before,” Lowe said. “If we come out prepared, we could win some matches and hopefully win the team championship. But we really need to have two great rounds tomorrow and hope for some help from some other people.”
Grain Valley saw its medal chances come to an end when Jake Martin (125) lost his second-round wrestleback bout and was eliminated.
Ryan Merrifield (119) also lost his final two matches to be eliminated. After falling to Austin Roper of Kirksville, Merrifield lost a 6-1 decision to Trevor Ditto of Boonville, sending the Eagles home early and empty-handed.
The Oak Grove wrestling team got both ends of the spectrum in the span of four hours Friday night.
The Panthers put three into championship matches, with Anthony Barker (103), Mitchell Bradley (112), Caleb Titus (140) winning their semifinals, and Brandon Morgason (119) guaranteed himself a spot on the podium, winning by pin in his third-round wrestleback bout with Center’s Antoine Jones.
But then came the not-so-awesome. Taylor Brinegar (135) lost his semifinal match to undefeated Steven Morey of Reed Springs, but had already clinched at least sixth place. Same went for Chase Wrisinger (152), losing his match 15-6. Taylor Danner (189) was eliminated in the third-round of wrestlebacks.
Coach Bobbe Lowe had mixed emotions after the night was over.
“I think a few of us thought we were just going to go in and the guys would fold for us,” he said. “That’s what happens when you’re not prepared. It doesn’t matter what happened before or what seed they are, if you’re not prepared you’re going to get beat.
“It’s disappointing, but it is what it is.”
The Panthers kept it close in the team standings with pins from Bradley and Morgason, but Platte County and Kirksville also had good days to keep Oak Grove right in the thick of things. Going into Saturday’s final rounds, the Panthers still have a chance at their 11th state title in 26 years. They are currently in second place with 102.5 points. Platte County vaulted from fourth to first with 116.5. Defending champion Kirksville is third at 90, while Excelsior Springs (89) and Pleasant Hill (71) round out the top five.
“It’s a tight race,” Lowe said. “There’s a lot of teams that came out and did their job tonight. We didn’t do it as good, but we need to go out and win some matches tomorrow.”
One of those in tomorrow’s finals is Bradley. He’ll take on Platte County’s Jared Burns for the 112-pound state crown.
“It was another great moment in my high school career,” he said of his semifinal win. “We just we have to do what we can tomorrow and hope for the best. We haven’t won one in six years. It would be nice to have one before I get out of here.”
It’s certainly not going to be an easy task.
“We have a lot of matchups tomorrow where we’ve seen the guys before,” Lowe said. “If we come out prepared, we could win some matches and hopefully win the team championship. But we really need to have two great rounds tomorrow and hope for some help from some other people.”
Grain Valley saw its medal chances come to an end when Jake Martin (125) lost his second-round wrestleback bout and was eliminated.
Ryan Merrifield (119) also lost his final two matches to be eliminated. After falling to Austin Roper of Kirksville, Merrifield lost a 6-1 decision to Trevor Ditto of Boonville, sending the Eagles home early and empty-handed.
CLASS 1: St. Mary’s will have one all-state wrestler this year. Junior David Florido (171) lost his quarterfinal matchup but earned himself at least a sixth-place medal by defeating Chattan Goodson of Wentworth Military Academy 8-4 in third-round wrestlebacks.
Florido meets Lathrop’s Tyler Berg Saturday for the right to advance to the third-place match.
CLASS 3: Fort Osage’s Spencer Gearhart (152) dropped to wrestlebacks after being pinned in his quarterfinal match, but won his next match to stay in the hunt for a medal.
Tyler Naudet (160) was eliminated after losing by technical fall in the second-round of wrestlebacks.
Gearhart held on for a 7-3 victory over Paul Carey of Neosho in the third-round of wrestlebacks to earn a spot on the medal podium.
Raytown’s Dakota Stanart (145) took on Trenton Patterson of Ozark in his second-round wrestleback match and earned a 4-2 win to move on to the third round of wrestlebacks. Johnny Thomas (215) lost his quarter match 14-3 to Joel Wyman of Willard, but joined Stanart in third-round wrestlebacks with a pin of Rolla’s Trenton Boyer.
Stanart and Thomas, though, were eliminated in their next matches, however, losing 12-2 and by pin, respectively.
Raytown South heavyweight Donovan Gordon (285) advanced to the semifinals with a pin of Rockwood Summit’s Abram Reynolds but then lost a 2-1 overtime decision to Trey Grovenor of Cape Girardeau Central. He’ll wrestle Brandon Campbell of Windsor in fourth-round wrestlebacks.
