Update: 4:40 p.m.
The Tigers qualify a record SIX wrestlers for state. They’re Justin Rogers, Brandon O’Connell, Tanner Willis, Cody Sandridge, Kyle Campbell, and Kerik Crouse. Two others, Paden Lucero and Zach Jester, fall one win short of qualifying.
Wrestling is still going on in the championship rounds. So far, Rogers has finished 4th in the 106-pound weight class and O’Connell has finished 4th in the 113-pound division.
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Day two of the district wrestling tournament is underway. I’ll keep this post updated throughout the day.
Update 10:40 a.m.
Republic’s Tanner Willis, competing in the 120-pound division, picked up a victory in his first match of the morning to improve to 2-1 and stay alive.
Update 10:50 a.m.
Paden Lucero picks up a second win this morning. He defeats Austin Thomas of Webb City to advance. Schyler Chott also gets a win, defeating Mason Markham of Carl Junction. Lucero and Chott both are 2-1.
Update: 12 p.m.
Justin Rogers drops his match to Neosho’s Kyler Rea. He’ll meet Daniel De Santiago of McDonald County next.
Brandon O’Connell loses in the 3rd round and will face Ervin Cancinos of Carthage.
Zach Jester picks up a win to improve to 2-1, defeating Luke He of Willard. Next up, Tanner Gary of Webb City.
Heavyweight Shayne Piles ends his season with a loss to Tyler Dean of McDonald County.
Update: 12:20 p.m.
Tanner Willis advances! He moves on to meet senior Sam Leach (25-10) of Rolla with a trip to the state tournament on the line.
Update: 1:20 p.m.
Paden Lucero is also still alive, and one match from qualifying for state. He’ll meet Josh Kinser of McDonald County in his next match.
Cody Sandridge is into the distict finals! He’s undefeated (3-0) after beating Connar Loderhose of Willard. He faces top seed Trevor Fagans of Carthage (45-1) in the district championship match.
Schyler Chott has been eliminated. He lost his final match to John Sprow of Rolla.
Kyle Campbell lost in the semifinals, and will need to win one more match to advance to state. His next match is against Adrian Palmer of Lebanon (32-12).
Kerik Crouse is within a match of qualifying for state. He defeated Logan Bryan of Carthage to stay alive. Next up is Gage Holub of Branson.
Blake Wojciechowski was eliminated with a loss to Calvin Bremmerkamp of Carl Junction.
Zach Jester is still alive and needs one win to qualify for state. He defeated Tanner Gary of Webb City to advance. His next opponent is Tritton Barnes of Branson (25-12).
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On Friday night, the Tigers opened up strong, with seven wrestlers picking up wins and three others advancing on byes. Cody Sandridge highlighted the first round for the Tigers with a pin in 48 seconds.
In the second round, Republic faltered, picking up only four wins. Brendan O’Connell won 15-0 in his match, and Sandridge had a quick pin again, ending his match in one minute.
(Thanks to Mitch Piles for helping keep me updated Friday.)
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