The Wright City wrestling team made a roaring debut onto the scene last year during its first season in existence, by sending four grapplers to the MSHSAA Championships.
The transition into a …
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The Wright City wrestling team made a roaring debut onto the scene last year during its first season in existence, by sending four grapplers to the MSHSAA Championships.
The transition into a higher level of competition with a move to Class 2, however, has not proven as immediately dominant. A trip to the District 2 Tournament on Saturday saw the Wildcats advance just one wrestler to the championships this year.
Freshman David Rice walked away with a third-place finish in the 120-pound bracket, punching his ticket to the state tournament at Mizzou Arena in Columbia this weekend.
“He definitely had the best showing for us,” said Coach Billy Garrett. “He wrestled tough in the quarterfinal and sent the match to overtime.”
Rice won his first two matches, before losing the third and fighting his way back through the bracket to reach the podium. He defeated Josh Ferrel of St. Charles West in a 1-0 decision.
“He had a tough semifinal against the top-ranked guy in the state,” said Garrett. “He was pretty successful in wrestlebacks.”
Rice will make his state debut against Chance Phillips of Savannah on Thursday morning. Garrett says his experience in the sport has paid dividends during his first season on the varsity program.
“He’s been around wrestling for a really long time,” said Garrett. “He got a decent draw for state. He stays in position and gives himself opportunities to score, so he should be able to win some matches.”
The only other Wright City wrestlers to win a match on Saturday were Bobby Ulloa and Riley Shive.
Ulloa went 1-2 in the 145-pound bracket, while Shive had the same results in the heavyweight division at 285 pounds.
David Riggs represented the Wildcats in the 106-pound class, losing by fall and major decision.
Damien Barfield dropped both of his matches in the 126-pound bracket, while Curtis Hunter experienced the same fate at 152 pounds.
“Curtis wrestled really tough but wasn’t able to get any wins,” said Garrett.
Corbin Schone went 0-2 in the 160-pound class, and Phoenix Andrew lost both of his matches at 170 pounds.
In the 195-pound class Layne Dothage went two-and-out, while Kyle Horneker faced the same fate at 220 pounds.
“We’re starting to make a name for ourselves,” said Garrett. “Moving up to Class 2 was a little rough on some of our guys, but we’re definitely building the program when it comes to numbers. We’ll continue to grow.”
