Qualifying seven matmen for state for the second year in a row, Mexico High School wrestlers brought home a pair of medals from the 80th MSHSAA championships at Mizzou Arena in Columbia.
Junior Haylon Jacobs placed third and freshman Jake Vitale fifth in the Class 2 competition over the weekend. The Bulldogs tied Logan-Rogersville for 14th place in the team standings with 45 points.
Jacobs compiled a 4-1 record at 215 pounds, starting Thursday and ending Saturday, and finished with a season mark of 37-4. Vitale went 4-2 to end the year at 14-4.
In their medal matches, Vitale pinned Kevin Leclere of Ste. Genevieve in 2:54 and Jacobs decisioned Max Piazza of Westminster 3-0.
“We had a fun and exhausting weekend,” MHS coach Nick Hoth said. “It was great to see Haylon and Jake medal, but I am proud of all the boys because they worked very hard all season.
“It was especially nice to watch Patrick Enslen, our only senior qualifier, wrestle at state after coming up short his first three years. He was committed from day one this year to go to state and he made it because of his hard work.”
Match results for Mexico matmen follow below.
125: Jake Vitale, freshman, WBF 4:47, LBF 0:42, WBF 2:19, W 14-0, LBF 4:41, WBF 2:51 for fifth place and 14-4 overall.
140: Sinjon Adams, sophomore, W 18-4, L 8-1, L 9-5 for DNP and 30-9 overall.
145: Monterio Burton, sophomore, L 16-0, WBF 4:05, W 6-5 OT, LBF 1:34 for DNP and 22-13 overall.
152: Josh Cuno, sophomore, LBF 3:28, LBF 3:40 for DNP and 19-14 overall.
171: Patrick Enslen, senior, L 8-0, LBF 0:47 for DNP and 31-10 overall.
215: Haylon Jacobs, junior, WBF 2:43, W 16-8, L 8-5, W 12-3, W 3-0 for third place and 37-4 overall.
285: Josh Harlan, sophomore, WBF 5:03, L 3-2, L 3-2 for DNP and 31-11
Missouri Military Academy senior James Schwank of Godfrey, Ill., finished fourth at 171 pounds in the Class 2 state wrestling meet on Saturday in Columbia.
Schwank, who finished the season at 36-4, opened with a 16-1 win over Trevor Fultz of Notre Dame-Cape Girardeau, then fell to eventual state runner-up Blaine Conner of Platte County 14-12 in a match where MMA coach Capt. Ali Syed felt a pin by Schwank was not called.
In wrestlebacks, Schwank pinned Forest Davidson of Moberly in 3:30; edged Mark Phillips of Hancock in overtime 7-5 and received a default walkover from Gabe Hollander of Owensville. He lost a 3-1 decision to Taylor Baird of Excelsior Springs in the third-place match.
Also representing MMA was sophomore Vladimir Joyner of Corvallis, Mont., who was pinned in 3:37 by eventual state champion Sam Zimmer of Logan-Rogersville in the opening round, then fell to Payton Woolsey of St. James, 7-1, in the consolation bracket to finish the season with a 15-11 record.
“James wrestled well in each match at state. We are very proud of both the wrestlers and looking forward to next year,” said Capt. Syed.
CENTRALIA SHINES: The Panthers claimed third place in the Class 1 meet, totaling 131 points behind only Seneca 171.5 and Brookfield 154 for their first team trophy at state.
Seven Panthers won medals: Marc Schmidt second at 112, Jared Fricke second at 125, Mike Schmidt second at 130 and Alex Schmersahl second at 135, plus Mitch Schmidt fourth at 140, Dakota Gilbert third at 152 and Ben McCord sixth at 215.
