After last weekend’s successful jump to the ranks of Class 4 wrestling, the Carthage Tigers headed to Columbia, MO for the MSHSAA Wrestling Championships. “Class 4 is a whole different animal,” said head coach Kenny Brown. “With the class switch happening so late in the year, we didn’t have a lot of time to adjust our schedule. The result is that many of our opponents aren’t familiar to us.”
Despite the changes, six of the eight state qualifiers for Carthage successfully made it to day two of the tournament. “We wrestled well, even in the matches where we lost,” Brown said. “We had four guys that came back from deficits and won, which definitely speaks to their character and heart. That drive, even in the last few seconds can mean the difference between a win and a loss in matches like these. Nothing is guaranteed in this level of competition.”
Juniors Kelten Campbell and Brandon Crow finished the day with two losses, but Brown expects great things from these two next year. “Kelten and Brandon hit some tough competition first thing. I fully expect them to come back as seniors and help set the tone for our room with their experience. It’s good to get the first round jitters out of the way. Braxdon (Tate), Tanner (Russow), Dalen (Moore), Dagan (Sappington), Kale (Schrader) and Brener (Ocana) all have tough matches ahead, but if the kids stick to what they know they’ll be successful.
Carthage continues State action today beginning at 1:30 with quarterfinals, two rounds of wrestlebacks and semifinals. Carthage is in 13th place in the Class 4 team standings.
Individual results for day one, MSHSAA Wrestling Championships:
106 Class 4
Braxdon Tate (36-18) place is unknown and scored 1.0 team points.
Champ. Round 1 – Devin Haag (Seckman) 34-10 won by fall over Braxdon Tate (Carthage) 36-18 (Fall 5:07)
Cons. Round 1 – Braxdon Tate (Carthage) 36-18 won by decision over Tyler Bierman (Holt) 17-10 (Dec 8-7)
120 Class 4
Tanner Russow (36-17) place is unknown and scored 1.0 team points.
Champ. Round 1 – Jayden Carson (Lafayette (Wildwood)) 38-4 won by fall over Tanner Russow (Carthage) 36-17 (Fall 2:37)
Cons. Round 1 – Tanner Russow (Carthage) 36-17 won by decision over Brandon Khoury (Timberland) 29-11 (Dec 10-6)
126 Class 4
Dalen Moore (34-2) place is unknown and scored 3.0 team points.
Champ. Round 1 – Dalen Moore (Carthage) 34-2 won by major decision over Jastin Robertson (Blue Springs) 17-10 (MD 15-6)
132 Class 4
Dagan Sappington (24-13) place is unknown and scored 2.0 team points.
Champ. Round 1 – Dagan Sappington (Carthage) 24-13 won by decision over Nathan Undertajlo (Holt) 24-7 (Dec 5-4)
152 Class 4
Kelten Campbell (25-16) place is unknown and scored 0.0 team points.
Champ. Round 1 – Dawson Javier (Lindbergh) 36-7 won by fall over Kelten Campbell (Carthage) 25-16 (Fall 0:41)
Cons. Round 1 – Josh Rieck (Fort Osage) 35-13 won by major decision over Kelten Campbell (Carthage) 25-16 (MD 8-0)
170 Class 4
Brandon Crow (38-11) place is unknown and scored 0.0 team points.
Champ. Round 1 – Blake Hopson (Park Hill) 20-7 won by fall over Brandon Crow (Carthage) 38-11 (Fall 0:33)
Cons. Round 1 – Alex Hart (Chaminade) 35-15 won by decision over Brandon Crow (Carthage) 38-11 (Dec 3-1)
220 Class 4
Kale Schrader (51-0) place is unknown and scored 4.0 team points.
Champ. Round 1 – Kale Schrader (Carthage) 51-0 won by fall over Luke Joggerst (Fox) 26-10 (Fall 1:11)
285 Class 4
Brener Ocana (45-10) place is unknown and scored 2.0 team points.
Champ. Round 1 – Brener Ocana (Carthage) 45-10 won by decision over Simon Tesfamarian (Park Hill) 29-8 (Dec 7-6)
