Boys Wrestling Builds Momentum Into February
The varsity Eagles wrapped up January with a strong showing at the St. Clair Classic. They head into February with momentum, as they ranked third out of twelve teams and scored 372 points last Saturday.
Kirksville (455) won the tournament, while the hosting Bulldogs (425) finished as runners-up. Parkway West (345) placed fourth, and Hillcrest (324.5) rounded out the top five. Lutheran St. Charles (310) landed sixth, followed by St. James (308.5), Herculaneum (260), West Plains (221), Hillsboro (172), Wright City (127.5), and Lift for Life Academy Charter (118).
Sullivan had three seniors compete at the meet: Conner Roach (23-0) finished first, Brennan Birrer (24-10) placed third and Tucker Fruewirth (8-12) took seventh.
Head coach Carl Lawrence hopes his seniors will apply the lessons they learned on the mats for later in life. He explained, “I hope the graduating seniors take the key ingredient to the sport of wrestling with them: discipline. The sport is tough, and they will more than likely take many things away, but discipline is a big one. I also hope they look back someday and feel proud for belonging to this program while making it through the hard times and enjoying the fun times.”
Some Eagles also broke new ground at the St. Clair Classic. Carsen Dudley (29-1), who had earlier dominated junior varsity meets, swept all five of his opponents for 48 points. Sullivan also had two freshmen take the squared circle: Blake Watson (18-8) ranked fourth, and Nathan Garcia (7-21) landed sixth.
Lawrence is proud to see some of his newer fighters “turning the corner” as of late. He exclaimed, “I feel like some of the young guys who weren’t sure if they could be the starting wrestler for us have definitely stepped up and owned the role. I’d have to say almost all of them are on the path with the rest of the older wrestlers.”
In St. Clair, veterans Camden Henderson (25-4) finished second, Ethan Turner (23-11) took third, while Oliver Borton (20-13) and Austin Ray (26-11) ranked fourth.
The Eagles head into February with their sights set on districts. They hope to pin another strong finish at the tournament. Last year, Sullivan placed second and clinched eleven state berths.
Lawrence and his staff are working to help each wrestler punch their ticket to Columbia. The head coach shared, “Everyone, including myself, is preparing to get through to the state tournament. I feel we are implementing the right training routine to take care of business there. I do think we will have several wrestlers pushing for state hardware this year. We have kids who have been at the state tournament for a few years now and want to make a mark for the first time or to make the mark again. As a coach, I’m very proud of every wrestler in our town, from youth to high school, for taking on this challenging sport.”
Wrestler Recaps
Dudley (126) crushed all his opponents for a team-high 48 points. He locked up Tristan Powell (West Plains) in 1:24, Nathaniel Ash (Lutheran St. Charles) in 0:55, Zaiden Barnett (Hillsboro) in 1:51, Darick Niebling (Herculaneum) in 1:18 and Ethan Hale (Kirksville) in 4:24.
Roach (132) was unpinnable and clinched first with 46 points. He won four technical falls over Micah Gerdes (Kirksville), Ian Lucas (St. James), Luke Asinger (Herculaneum) and Joseph Beitel (Wright City). The senior also shut down Luke Collier (Hillcrest) with a 0:46 pin.
Henderson (120) dominated as the class runner-up for 45.5 points. He wrapped up Xarian Richardson (West Plains) in 5:39, Colin McLean (Lutheran St. Charles) in a 15-0 technical fall, Ean Campbell (Hillcrest) in 0:16 and Colin McLean (Lutheran St. Charles) in 0:53. In the championship round, Henderson lost a 16-11 decision to Johnathan Declue (St. Clair).
Birrer (190) received a bronze medal, going 4-2 in his bouts and racking up 41 points. He brought down Le’Anthony Smith (Hillcrest) in 0:55, Ty Bradshaw (St. Clair) in 2:19, Payne Braydon (Herculaneum) in 2:27 and Gunnar Holmes (Parkway West) in 4:28.
Turner (175) took third in his class with 39 points, beating four of his five opponents. He trapped Noah Ridgel (Lift for Life) at 1:57, Clairo Mbela (Kirksville) at 0:42, Kerrick Lewis (Lutheran St. Charles) at 1:09 and Eli Petit (Hillsboro) at 4:25.
Borton (144) brought in 33.5 points with a fourth-place finish. He defeated his first three challengers: Ben Tscherny (Hillcrest) in 0:16, Stone Turnbough (Lutheran St. Charles) in 5:17 and Omar Eloliby (Parkway West) in a 20-2 technical fall. The junior lost his final two rounds to decisions.
Watson (18-8) landed fourth, going 2-4 in his division with 33 points. For his two victories, the freshman shut down Wyatt Schmidt (Lutheran St. Charles) in 1:39 and Adam Paul (Parkway West) in a 22-13 major decision.
Ray (26-11) ranked fourth and tallied 32 points at the tournament. He was the victor of his first two battles, pinning Austin Wright (Lutheran St. Charles) in 4:40 and Ben Bylina (St. Clair) in 4:36.
Garcia (7-21) grabbed a sixth-place finish with 27 points. His one victory came in the consolation semifinal, where he took down Henry Banks (St. Clair) in 2:33.
Fruewirth (8-12) won his first and last round for seventh place. He earned 27 points, pinning Ryan Feldhake (Lutheran St. Charles) in 1:34 and Ayden Dile (Wright City) in 3:27.