Republic sent two wrestlers to the Class 4 state tournament at Saturday’s Class 4 District 3 tournament at Joplin.
Senior Keaton Overcast won the 144-pound district championship for his fourth state qualification in four years. Junior Ethan Montiel finished second at 190, earning his first trip to state.
Overcast (31-1) was the only Republic wrestler to take home a title, and he did it without much suspense. He pinned Joplin’s Kemper Loyd in 1:31 in the opening round, then put Nixa’s Alton Novinger on his back in two minutes flat in the quarterfinals. In the semis, he beat Raymore-Peculiar’s Evan Gatlin 6-3 in a decision — the closest anyone came to testing him. He capped the day with a 16-5 major decision over Waynesville’s Lincoln Stearns in the championship match.
It’s been a steady climb for Overcast. As a freshman in 2023, he won a match at state before falling in a tight 3-2 decision in the second round of wrestlebacks. In 2024, he went 44-8 and won his opening match at state before consecutive losses ended his tournament. Last season, he reached state again and climbed as high as the consolation semifinals before finishing sixth. Now, at 31-1 and entering state as a district champion, he’ll look to cap his career with a deep run.
Montiel (35-7) pinned his way to the finals, putting Joplin’s Judah Meredith down in 4:45 in the opener, then dispatching Carthage’s Steve Serious in 2:39 in the quarters and Kickapoo’s Owen Benson in 2:47 in the semis. The finals were a different story. Neosho’s Chase Kivett, one of the top wrestlers in the state at 43-4, ended the match early with a 16-1 technical fall in 2:32.
The heartbreak of the day belonged to Kameron Sutton, who had qualified for state last year at 157 pounds. Sutton (38-7) opened with a tech fall over Kickapoo’s Andrew Tofflemire, but a 6-3 loss to Lee’s Summit North’s Ben Wirth in the quarterfinals dropped him to the consolation side. He fought his way back with decisions over Ozark’s Jaxon Kerans (6-0) and Rolla’s Robert Minor (5-2), reaching the consolation semifinal — the blood round, where winners qualify for state and losers go home. There, Sutton had a lead early but dropped a 5-4 decision to Nixa’s Kaden Young on a late one-point escape.
Izaiah Hull (21-17) also reached the third round of consolations at 175 before a loss to Glendale’s Nazsier Johnson 8-4, falling one match short of qualifying.
Brennan Bird (11-16) won his opening match at 285 with a 57-second pin of Neosho’s Jackson Schofield. Kaiden Patterson (20-21) also picked up a first-round win at 157, pinning Glendale’s Denzel Washington in 27 seconds.
Shelby Horton (26-19) and Abel Shade (14-15) each won consolation-round matches at 132 and 150 before being eliminated. Aydan Walker (14-23), Bentley Packwood (23-21), and Isaac Crowley (27-19) were each eliminated in two matches at 106, 126, and 138.
Republic scored 70.5 team points across its 12 entries, finishing 12th.
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