Rebels take sixth in own tourney, Knights go 3-2

By DONN ADAMSON
Daily Journal Sports Editor

PARK HILLS — Central High School’s two gymnasiums were inundated with wrestlers all day on Saturday as the Central Rebels were hosts to a 12-team wrestling tournament. The Rebels finished the day 2-3 to take sixth place. The Hillsboro Hawks placed first, defeating the De Soto Dragons in the first-place match 46-31.

The twelve teams were divided into four pools of three teams each. The top two teams in each pool advanced into the championship bracket where they wrestled three matches until they had earned a place from one to eight. The remaining four teams wrestled a round-robin format to determine the ninth through twelfth places. (see standings below)

The Rebels were 1-1 in pool play, beating Hancock 45-24 and losing to De Soto 57-24. Their second-place finish in their pool gave them entrance into the championship bracket. First up in the brackets was Hillsboro which defeated Central 72-3. The Rebels bounced back in their next match to defeat Sullivan 45-28, but then fell to Winfield 63-24 in the fifth-place match.

 Jake Carr (160) led Central in wins, going 4-1 with the team’s only win against the first-place winner Hillsboro. Carr won the match by the slimmest of margins, 12-11. Mike King (125), Justin Parker (130) and Levi Flieg finished the tournament at 3-2.

Jarred Stewart (140), Curt Richardson (189) and Tyler Friend (215 & 285) were all 2-3 on the day, and Ed Cruz (285) finished at 2-2. Richard House (103), Chris McCullough (145), and Taylor Ligue collected one win apiece, while Kye Jackson (112), Ricky McCullogh (171) and Shawn Degonia came up empty-handed.

Central will travel to Poplar Bluff on Tuesday for their next meet.

TEAM STANDINGS

1. Hillsboro

2. De Soto

3. Poplar Bluff

4. St. Clair

5. Winfield

6. Central

7. Dexter

8. Sullivan

9. Sikeston

10. New Madrid County

11. Hancock

12. Priory

 Gateway Duals Tournament

OAKVILLE —The Farmington Knights have been attending Oakville’s Gateway Duals for several years. The prestigious tournament has had several top-notch teams from Indiana competing as well as Missouri teams.

The Farmington Knights finished the day at 3-2, sweeping the Black Division pool with wins over Oakville (73-3), Warren Central (38-26) and Whitfield (38-27). Farmington found their final two matches a little rougher, losing a very close one to Merrillville (37-34) and to Mater Dei (40-18). Both teams are from Indiana.

“We wrestled very well,” said Farmington coach Mark Krause. “There’s always some very tough competition in this tournament.”

Leading the way in matches won for the Knights was Jon Gurule (171) with a perfect 5-0. Kyle Sullivan (160) was 4-0, Greg Bonnell (160 & 171) finished 2-0 and Ethan Hennes also at 171 was 1-0.

Justin Heberlie (189 & 215) and Todd Brackett (112)  were both 4-1, and Josh Kelleher (140) was 3-1. Dakota Napoli (103) with a 3-2 record was joined by Bradley Wisdom (125), Paden Sparks (130), Connor Kellogg (152) and Les Thilking (285) with the same record.

Stanton Ketcherside was 1-1 at 145 pounds. Kjeld Neubert (135), Brian Harman (119) and Brandon McDowell (140 & 145) contributed one win apiece to the Knights’s efforts.

Farmington’s next battle will be at Ft. Zumwalt West on Thursday.