Zayden Teson has a very specific number in mind.

While the No. 1 (as in first-place finishes) would be great, the Warrenton junior has a much larger number in his sights.

Teson has 177 in mind for the rest of the season and the next. That’s because the program record stands at 176 wins. It was set by Jerrett Villanger, who graduated in 2019.

Teson moved closer to that number by both winning for the 100th time in his career and taking home the Gateway Athletic Conference (GAC) championship at 132 pounds.

“It feels pretty good, but, hopefully, I can get to 177, because the record is at 176 right now,” Teson said. “Getting past that number would be nice. It’s a goal of mine.”

On Saturday, Teson was locked in a tight final with Howell North’s Noah Brown until a third-period near fall put him comfortably ahead on the way to the 8-5 win for career win No. 102. He said that the opening was right there to put Brown in a precarious position and give himself the chance to potentially earn a pin.

“Honestly, I’ve seen it a lot,” said Teson of the opening that allowed him to grab the important points. “I was getting really extended. That was the only thing there to keep me from getting reversed. It was there, so I took it. It paid off.”

Teson (19-1) won each of his championship matches leading up to the final by either fall or technical fall.

As the top seed in his weight class, he defeated Holt’s Sawyer Kaminsky by technical fall in 1 minute, 42 seconds to open the championship. Next, he beat Howell’s Gage Tanner by technical fall in 1:32 in the quarterfinals and Washington’s Gable Ohm by fall in 3:28.

While the wins were nice at the GAC meet, Teson said he was there to work on himself as the season dwindles.

“Getting more offensive and looking to score are really what I wanted to work on here,” Teson said. “The 100 wins come with improvement and that’s what I try to do at these tournaments. I want to improve enough to where I can be a state champ. All of my work is in building up to that goal.”

Warrenton coach Clayton Olsson said that while the tournament allowed Teson to both hit a milestone and take home hardware, for him, the importance lay in how the championship bout went down.

“The tough matches that he’s had in finals – Harrisonville, War in Wentzville and, now, here are good preparation for state,” Olsson said. “Having guys that will challenge him in the finals and who make him dig deep, that’s really good for him.”

Teson said that a big focus for him in the final weeks of the season, which could well help him get to that target number of wins, lies in his takedown efforts.

“I need to work on getting to my shots and finishing them,” Teson said. “I’ve been pretty good with my hand fighting so far. I can get on some shots, but getting on shots when it matters is what will help me tremendously. Things are looking pretty good for the rest of the season. I just have to keep working hard.”