Bradley title completes perfect day for Panthers

Mitchell Bradley (103) capped a perfect day for Oak Grove.
The sophomore held on for a 7-6 win in the Class 2 MSHSAA Wrestling Championships finals, earning his first state championship Saturday.
The win helped Oak Grove clinch third place as a team, scoring 106 points.
“That was the toughest match I’ve ever wrestled,” Bradley said. “To be on the edge like that, I knew I couldn’t screw up it was so dang close.”
Bradley, who was ranked No. 1 all year, is the first state champ for Oak Grove since Tyler Russell in 2007. The Panthers did not have a finalist last season.
“Hopefully I‘ll get two more,” he said. “It hasn’t (sunk in) yet. It will. I just need to sit down and relax. I’m too pumped up now.”
After the semifinal win Friday night, Bradley said his mom was probably freaking out. What was her reaction to his first state title?
“I have no idea,” he said. “She probably wasn’t able to watch. She gets really worked up. I don’t know if she watched it all. She probably is bawling her eyes out.”
Oak Grove coach Bob Glasgow said he was proud of what Bradley was able to accomplish.
“This was huge,” he said. “Mitchell’s come a long way. Last year, he was fourth at district, fifth at state to being a champion. He worked really hard and got himself into a weight class he knew he could compete in. And I think our schedule prepared him.
“This has to give him a lot of confidence.”
The title win was the icing on the cake for an historic day for Oak Grove
Entering Saturday in fifth place, the wrestleback round was huge for the Panthers, who went 8-0 in consolation matches Saturday, as four wrestlers took third.
“You go 9-0 in one day, that’s probably never happened in the history of Oak Grove wrestling where we ended a day undefeated,” Glasgow said. “It was awesome. The kids did a great job of coming back and wrestling.”
Riley Glasgow (215) became the third Oak Grove wrestler in four years to lose in the first round, then win six matches to work his way back to third place.
“I’m happy with how I handled the loss,” Glasgow said. “I came back, got third, though I thought I should have done better. You just use what cards you’re dealt.
“It’s tough to battle through like that. But I think it shows character to come back after you lose that first match.”
Other third-place medalists were: Caleb Titus (125), Kodie Morgason (130) and Dylan Meisenheimer (171).
Morgason finished third for a second straight year and earned his third straight state medal.
“I didn’t want to go down (to fourth),” Morgason said. “I wanted to be sure I at least got third. That was all I wanted, and it worked out well.”
Titus is a first-time medalist as a sophomore. But the Panthers will take a hit, as Meisenheimer, Morgason, Riley Glasgow and Darrick Smith, who was eliminated Friday, are all seniors, meaning half of Oak Grove’s state contingent is graduating.
However, they will have Bradley and Titus returning, which gives a good foundation, as well as qualifiers Brandon Morgason (112) and Taylor Danner (152).