The Republic wrestling team is headed to Columbia for the state tournament, and the van is more crowded than ever. The Tigers qualified a record six wrestlers for state — beating last year’s record-setting five qualifiers. Coach Jerry Morton says the team has out-performed his expectations.
“It’s kind of a happy surprise,” says Morton. “Once we saw the (district) brackets and how things were working out for us, our upper expectation was six or seven. But if you’d have asked us at the beginning of the season, we were shooting for five, so it’s a pleasant surprise to have six going.”
The Tigers are led by two wrestlers who have experience in Columbia. Senior Kerik Crouse is going to state for the third time in his career, and hopes to continue his steady improvement there. Sophomore Cody Sandridge was an all-state medalist as a freshman.
Morton says a trip to the state tournament means adjusting preseason goals for some of his wrestlers.
“Our goal maybe at the beginning of the season was to qualify. But now that we’ve done that, we need to change our goal,” he says. “Our goal now isn’t to qualify, our goal is placing at state.”
Here are Morton’s thoughts on each of Republic’s state qualifiers:
Kerik Crouse (42-4)
“For Kerik, his expectations are to be a state medalist this year. He’s gone to state the last two years, getting closer to medaling each year. Last year, he was a match away from earning all-state honors. This year we came into the year with the goal of ultimately being the state champion. Along the road, he’s lost a few close matches, but nothing he couldn’t have won. So we’re going into state with that same expectation that if things work out right, we should be a state champion at the end.”
Cody Sandridge (40-6)
“He’s had a season of ups and downs. He got a little sick toward the middle of the year, got a little beat up. He took a little time off. He’s coming back now, wrestling healthy. His goal at the beginning of the year was to finish higher than he finished last year (6th), and we’re on track to do that right now.”
Kyle Campbell (39-6)
“If you look at him, it’s a huge turnaround. He’s been averaging most seasons, 12-13 losses. To shave that down to six that he has now is a huge accomplishment. That goes back to his dedication and his off-season work that he did last year. Dedicating himself to the sport, just to get better every year. For him, it’s paying off his senior year.”
Tanner Willis (36-15)
“Tanner’s really improved with maturity. A lot of being a lighter weight guy, being an older guy starts paying off. He’s one of those guys that plays multiple sports, so he doesn’t have all the time to put in, but what he has done is put himself in a position to win matches and he’s taken advantage of that this year. He lost a lot of close ones last year, and just being a year older makes him that much better.”
Justin Rogers (26-15)
“He’s one of those guys, he’s a lighter weight guy that’s an upperclassman. You start seeing that pay off in benefits in match situations. Getting to wrestle some less experienced kids has its benefits, and it showed there in districts. He was able to beat some kids that had great records but didn’t have the experience that we had. He was able to go out there and dictate the pace of matches and the outcome of matches.”
Brandon O’Connell (25-14)
“He’s the freshman, so he’s the new one in the group. He came in with high expectations. I’d heard about him through USA (Wrestling)…and how he’s done. To have him end up in a bracket that he could qualify for, then to actually do it, is a great accomplishment for any freshman.”
Wrestling begins in Columbia at 5:30 p.m. Thursday and goes through Saturday.