When the state wrestling tournament starts in Columbia Thursday, a record five wrestlers from Republic will be competing. The five Tigers made history by qualifying at the district tournament last weekend at Carthage.
“As a program, it shows we’re improving,” says second-year coach Jerry Morton. “It’s also a good thing that they’re not all five seniors. We’ve got underclassmen who are doing it, so we’re building a program from the ground up.”
In fact, all four high school classes are represented among the state qualifiers. That starts with the freshman class and Cody Sandridge. Sandridge is the first freshman in Republic history to qualify for state. He took 4th at districts, and enters the state tournament with a 34-17 record. Sandridge will compete at 126 pounds.
Sophomore Dustin Eby will make his first-ever visit to the state tournament. Eby is 39-13, and took 4th place at districts to qualify. He’ll compete in the 145-pound weight class.
Three Tigers will be making return trips to Columbia. Junior Kerik Crouse makes his second trip to Columbia. He’s 32-13 this season, and will compete in the 160-pound division. Crouse is ranked 10th in the state.
Senior Jake Laswell takes a 45-4 record into his third state tournament. He’ll try to build on his school-record 153-career victories in the 182-pound division. Laswell is ranked 2nd in the state heading into the tournament.
Senior Lance Gregory is attending his second state tournament. He qualified with a third-place finish in Carthage, where he defeated the 10th-ranked wrestler in the state in his 285-pound weight class.
