Republic finished seventh in a 14-team field at the COC wrestling tournament Saturday in Joplin, led by three third-place finishers. Chase Hicks (31-5) powered through the 215-pound bracket with four pins, including a 45-second fall over Josiah Hazelwood of Joplin in the third-place match. His only loss came to Ozark’s Ruben Arvizu in the semifinals.
Kameron Sutton (27-11) earned third at 165 pounds. After a quarterfinal decision win, he lost to eventual finalist Owen Diemoz of Nixa. Sutton bounced back with a technical fall in the consolation semifinals and a 9-1 major decision over Latrell Abbasi of Carthage for third place.
Shea Rogers (18-12) secured third at 132 pounds by winning three straight matches after a quarterfinal loss. Rogers pinned Jace Nichols of Carthage, then earned back-to-back 9-6 decisions over Joseph Woodard of Kickapoo and Mason Zamora of Waynesville.
Cameron Allen (175) and Corbin Massey (120) finished fifth. Daniel Gonzalez (144) and Kaiden Patterson (157) placed sixth.
Neosho won the team championship with 280 points. Ozark finished second with 231.5, followed by Willard (170.5), Nixa (161), Lebanon (146.5), Carthage (121), and Republic (116.5).
Waynesville, Glendale, Joplin, Kickapoo, Parkview, Central, and Webb City rounded out the field.
