Republic swept its duals against Carl Junction and Marshfield, capping the home careers of the team’s seniors, who were wrestling in Republic for the last time. The Tigers beat Carl Junction 42-31 and beat Marshfield 60-24.
Coach Jerry Morton says his five seniors — Kyle Campbell, Schyler Chott, Kerik Crouse, Nick Gideon, and Tanner Willis — have been key players at a key point in the program’s history.
“These seniors have been part of the rebuilding here at Republic. In the transition of my early years, we came in on a downslide of wrestling in Republic. These guys came in with last year’s seniors and they started building things back up and getting a little tradition going again,” says Morton.
“These guys have been wrestling together for quite a few years. We had a pretty good program going at the middle school at that time, and they kept with it,” Morton says. “Typically by the time you get to your senior year, you may have two or three guys left, and we’re sitting with five.”
The Tigers’ double-win over Marshfield and Carl Junction Tuesday helped turn the team’s momentum after a recent downswing.
“Overall, we’re starting to wrestle good again,” says Morton. “We hit kind of a lull there. It’s a long season for us. We get beat up, we get sick, we get injuries. Some of our better wrestlers have taken a little time off, trying to get healthy again so we can make this final push for state, and I think it’s going to pay off.”
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