Cassville ties program mark, produces 3 district champs

By Kyle Troutman [email protected]

For the second straight season, the Cassville boys wrestling team is sending eight athletes to the Class 2 MSHSAA Boys Wrestling Championships.

The Wildcats tied the program record for qualifiers at the Class 2, District 3 tournament in Seneca Friday and Saturday, and they will will take a balanced lineup into the state competition, today (Wednesday) and Thursday.

Cassville put seven wrestlers into championship matches at districts and finished with eight state qualifiers overall.

“We wrestled great,” said Nathan Fortner, Cassville boys wrestling coach. “Top to bottom, we wrestled really well. We had just one little lull in one round. We were in the number one spot about 75% of the tournament.”

The Wildcats opened strong at the lighter weights.

“Boni Lopez, at 106 pounds, was the three seed going into the tournament,” Fortner said. “In the semis, he knocked off a kid that beat us twice this season and pinned him. Then he pinned a top-ranked kid from Logan-Rogersville in the finals. He was our first district champion.”

At 126 pounds, Rylen Holman also entered as a No. 3 seed.

“He ended up pinning the two seed in the semis,” Fortner said. “He was winning his finals match before he got caught and pinned. Those two wrestled so hard this tournament.”

At the next weight of 132 pounds, Kole Fry followed suit.

“He lost to that kid from Monett three or four times this season and ended up beating him in sudden victory in overtime to go to the finals,” Fortner said. “Our first three up punched right to the finals, which secured their state spot.”

Cassville’s depth showed throughout the tournament, though three Wildcats fell one win shy of qualification with losses in the “blood round.”

“Kellen Weldy looked great Friday and the entire tournament,” Fortner said. “He just had one bad match. It was a bad time to have a bad match. Still, it was a great season for that young man. I expect big things from him moving forward.”

Logan Parsons, at 144 pounds, delivered one of the most electric moments of the weekend.

“He had the number two seed, a returning state medalist, in the quarterfinals,” Fortner said. “Logan cradled him up and pinned him. The place went crazy.”

Parsons reached the semifinals before dropping his final two matches and being eliminated.

Braydyn Sizemore, at 150 pounds, also came up just short.

“He had a great season,” Fortner said. “It was just a bad weekend for him. He dropped two matches to kids we beat. He made it to the blood round but didn’t quite finish the job.”

At 157 pounds, freshman Tyler Hodge authored a comeback that secured his state berth.

“He lost his quarterfinal and had to battle all the way back,” Fortner said. “In the blood round, he was down 10-1 and ended up pinning the kid to go to state. That was a really big moment for that kid.”

Tristan Thompson — now a four-time state qualifier — returned to the mat after missing the second half of the season due to injury, and he made a statement.

“He pinned his first kid, then pinned the second kid in the semis,” Fortner said. “In the finals, he beat a kid who was ranked number two in the state and beat us last year. Tristan was hungry for that match all year. He was our second district champion.”

At 175 pounds, returning state champion Colton Roark, who will also be attending his fourth consecutive state tournament looking for his fourth consecutive medal, dominated.

“He pinned his way through the tournament,” Fortner said. “He dominated that tournament, which he’s done all year.”

Fortner said his upperweights provided leadership throughout the event.

“They were mat-side picking up their teammates, and it showed,” he said. “We put together some of the best wrestling I’ve seen since I’ve been here in a day and a half of phenomenal wrestling.”

At 190 pounds, Zachary Myers continued his late-season surge.

“He wrestled really good and has had a great two weeks of practice, and it showed,” Fortner said. “He took out a kid that was undefeated in the semis to make it to the finals. He’s gaining more confidence, and it’s starting to show.”

The tournament’s most difficult moment came at 215 pounds, when senior Riley James suffered a devastating knee injury in the semifinals.

“He was in his semifinal match against the number two kid in the state,” Fortner said. “It was a tight match. His knee bent the wrong way and popped loud. They think he tore his ACL, MCL and LCL and completely blew out his knee. That ended his career.”

A three-time state placer, James was forced to medically forfeit out of the tournament.

“Bad things happen sometimes,” Fortner said. “There were a lot of tears. It was a heartbreaker.”

Despite the injury and three blood-round losses, Cassville finished with eight qualifiers after Ethan Sizemore punched his ticket at 285 pounds. As a team, the Wildcats took second place behind the state’s No. 1-ranked program, Seneca.

“That’s wrestling in a nutshell for a district tournament,” Fortner said. “There’s going to be crazy stuff that happens. We kept wrestling tough, and we got eight through.”

Looking ahead to the state tournament, Fortner said the Wildcats’ approach will not change.

“Our goals stay the same,” he said. “We’re going to wrestle as hard as we can, one match at a time, and hopefully bring back a team trophy.”

Fortner believes James’ absence will impact the team race but not eliminate Cassville’s opportunity.

“He’s a three-time state placer, and I expected him to get to the state finals,” Fortner said. “Now we’re losing out on a lot of those points. We still have a shot to bring back a trophy. We’ll go one match at a time.”

Half of Cassville’s qualifiers will be wrestling on the state stage for the first time, but Fortner has confidence in his younger athletes.

“They are tough wrestlers,” he said. “If another team is overlooking them, that’s a mistake.”

Fortner pointed to Lopez, Holman and Frye as juniors who have been close before and broke through with strong district performances.

“I’m anxious to see what they do at the state level,” he said. “I think they can do something special.”

Veteran leadership will also be key.

“Tristan is a four-time qualifier, Colton is a four-time qualifier, and this is nothing new to them,” Fortner said. “Zach’s back. Hopefully they can lead the way.”

Beyond results, Fortner said the team’s chemistry has stood out all season.

“It’s been a fun group,” he said. “I love this team atmosphere. I love the chemistry they have. They were all together rooting each other on all weekend. You can definitely tell Cassville’s pretty close.”

With momentum from districts and a full lineup of eight, Fortner is optimistic.

“We should bring back some hardware,” he said.

Full results from the district tournament include:

106: Boni Lopez (38-10) placed 1st and scored 26.0 team points.

• Quarterfinal – Boni Lopez 38-10 won by fall over Kyler Allerton (Reeds Spring) 32-13 (Fall 1:49)

• Semifinal – Boni Lopez 38-10 won by fall over Koda Neilson (Seneca) 23-7 (Fall 5:01)

• 1st Place Match – Boni Lopez 38-10 won by fall over Dawson Ritter (Logan-Rogersville) 34-7 (Fall 4:25)

126: Rylen Holman (36-10) placed 2nd and scored 22.0 team points.

• Champ. Round 1 – Rylen Holman 36-10 won by fall over Aiden Gray (Buffalo) 11-27 (Fall 1:02)

• Quarterfinal – Rylen Holman 36-10 won by fall over Kayden Shepherd (Nevada) 28-23 (Fall 0:59)

• Semifinal – Rylen Holman 36-10 won by fall over Camden Henderson (Sullivan) 29-12 (Fall 3:46)

• 1st Place Match – Zion Hibbert (Logan-Rogersville) 33-9 won by fall over Rylen Holman 36-10 (Fall 2:54)

132: Kole Fry (32-22) placed 2nd and scored 19.5 team points.

• Champ. Round 1 – Kole Fry 32-22 won by fall over Gavin Silipino (Buffalo) 4-35 (Fall 1:07)

• Quarterfinal – Kole Fry 32-22 won by tech fall over Payton Bond (Nevada) 24-21 (TF-1.5 6:00 (18-3))

• Semifinal – Kole Fry 32-22 won in sudden victory – 1 over Kade Adams (Monett) 40-7 (SV-1 11-5)

• 1st Place Match – Caden Groom (Seneca) 39-3 won by fall over Kole Fry 32-22 (Fall 2:36)

138: Kellen Weldy (34-18) place is unknown and scored 7.5 team points.

• Champ. Round 1 – Kellen Weldy 34-18 won by fall over Landon Green (Eldon) 14-26 (Fall 0:46)

• Quarterfinal – Kellen Weldy 34-18 won by tech fall over Finnley Mcdermitt (Logan-Rogersville) 19-16 (TF-1.5 2:26 (15-0))

• Semifinal – Eli Manley (Seneca) 40-1 won by fall over Kellen Weldy 34-18 (Fall 0:53)

• Cons. Semi – Chris Spears (Monett) 28-23 won by decision over Kellen Weldy 34-18 (Dec 9-2)

144: Logan Parsons (27-25) place is unknown and scored 6.0 team points.

• Quarterfinal – Logan Parsons 27-25 won by fall over Nolan Schepers (Osage) 5-2 (Fall 3:56)

• Semifinal – Connor Bramell (Clinton) 36-8 won by fall over Logan Parsons 27-25 (Fall 3:51)

• Cons. Semi – Philip Gann (Logan-Rogersville) 21-24 won by major decision over Logan Parsons 27-25 (MD 16-4)

150: Braydyn Sizemore (42-13) place is unknown and scored 9.5 team points.

• Champ. Round 1 – Braydyn Sizemore 42-13 won by fall over Lane Rogers (Nevada) 17-21 (Fall 1:08)

• Quarterfinal – Dylan Gonzalez (Buffalo) 37-16 won by decision over Braydyn Sizemore 42-13 (Dec 11-5)

• Cons. Round 2 – Braydyn Sizemore 42-13 won by fall over Blake Watson (Sullivan) 12-20 (Fall 0:47)

• Cons. Round 3 – Braydyn Sizemore 42-13 won by tech fall over Cody Parnell (Aurora) 19-14 (TF-1.5 4:56 (21-3))

• Cons. Semi – Cole Escobar (Hollister) 32-13 won by major decision over Braydyn Sizemore 42-13 (MD 11-1)

157: Tyler Hodge (30-19) placed 4th and scored 17.0 team points.

• Champ. Round 1 – Tyler Hodge 30-19 won by fall over Hunter Choate (Strafford) 13-16 (Fall 3:01)

• Quarterfinal – Brody Barnhart (Clinton) 34-9 won by fall over Tyler Hodge 30-19 (Fall 1:32)

• Cons. Round 2 – Tyler Hodge 30-19 won by fall over Wyatt Reed (Monett) 11-29 (Fall 1:51)

• Cons. Round 3 – Tyler Hodge 30-19 won by fall over Peyton Pohlmann (Owensville) 23-15 (Fall 1:58)

• Cons. Semi – Tyler Hodge 30-19 won by fall over Tyler Valma (Buffalo) 21-12 (Fall 2:01)

• 3rd Place Match – Brayden Morgan (Nevada) 30-12 won by fall over Tyler Hodge 30-19 (Fall 2:39)

165: Tristan Thompson (23-1) placed 1st and scored 24.0 team points.

• Quarterfinal – Tristan Thompson 23-1 won by fall over Jalen Thorndyke (Strafford) 15-24 (Fall 2:47)

• Semifinal – Tristan Thompson 23-1 won by fall over Fisher Pack (Clinton) 26-13 (Fall 1:05)

• 1st Place Match – Tristan Thompson 23-1 won by decision over Bryson Whitman (Hollister) 44-1 (Dec 8-3)

175: Colton Roark (52-2) placed 1st and scored 28.0 team points.

• Champ. Round 1 – Colton Roark 52-2 won by fall over Ronald Goodhart (Osage) 6-13 (Fall 0:23)

• Quarterfinal – Colton Roark 52-2 won by fall over Lucas White (St. James) 10-9 (Fall 0:59)

• Semifinal – Colton Roark 52-2 won by fall over Canon Copeland (Eldon) 24-15 (Fall 0:37)

• 1st Place Match – Colton Roark 52-2 won by fall over Payton Goth (Clinton) 37-6 (Fall 0:52)

190: Zachary Myers (43-9) placed 2nd and scored 22.0 team points.

• Champ. Round 1 – Zachary Myers 43-9 won by fall over Gage Hankins (Clinton) 4-18 (Fall 1:00)

• Quarterfinal – Zachary Myers 43-9 won by fall over Brendan Wilson (Eldon) 24-14 (Fall 3:55)

• Semifinal – Zachary Myers 43-9 won by fall over Zane Achterberg (St. James) 32-2 (Fall 2:43)

• 1st Place Match – Jace Renfro (Seneca) 34-1 won by fall over Zachary Myers 43-9 (Fall 2:26)

215: Riley James (21-6) place is unknown and scored 8.0 team points.

• Champ. Round 1 – Riley James 21-6 won by fall over Houston Jackson (Logan-Rogersville) 18-23 (Fall 0:44)

• Quarterfinal – Riley James 21-6 won by fall over Aiden Crane (Seneca) 1-2 (Fall 1:48)

• Semifinal – Joshua Carpenter (St. James) 25-1 won by fall over Riley James 21-6 (Fall 3:51)

• Cons. Semi – Mason Shumate (Clinton) 33-13 won by medical forfeit over Riley James 21-6 (M. For.)

285: Ethan Sizemore (25-4) placed 2nd and scored 22.0 team points.

• Champ. Round 1 – Ethan Sizemore 25-4 won by fall over Ezekiel Norris (Hollister) 7-26 (Fall 0:55)

• Quarterfinal – Ethan Sizemore 25-4 won by fall over Xander Loyd (Sullivan) 9-24 (Fall 0:53)

• Semifinal – Ethan Sizemore 25-4 won by fall over Cayden Mentzer (Clinton) 16-8 (Fall 5:01)

• 1st Place Match – Taylor Barwick (Seneca) 30-13 won by decision over Ethan Sizemore 25-4 (Dec 2-1)