Both Wyatt George and Jonathan O’Connell opened the state tournament with a win, moving into the quarterfinals of their respective brackets on the first day of action in Columbia.
George (47-4) won a major decision over Keegan Emrick of Fort Osage (34-11), 16-4. George will face Colton King of DeSmet in the second round Friday. King is 31-1 and has the best winning percentage of anyone in the Class 4 bracket at 106 pounds. George’s 47 wins are the most of anyone in the bracket.
O’Connell knocked off Jaxson McIntyre of Blue Springs (26-12) in an 11-1 major decision to open his state tournament. The win makes O’Connell Missouri’s first wrestler this season to reach 50 wins. He’s 50-0 heading into a quarterfinal match against Cannon Newhouse of Northwest Cedar Hill (26-6).
