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February 17, 2013

Brennan, Monett lead area's strong state wrestling showing

By Richard Polen Globe Sports Writer

State championships aren’t anything new to Monett. Chase Brennan just added his name to the list — again.

Brennan, a junior, defeated Trevor Burkhart of Cameron 6-4 for the Class 2, 113-pound championship Saturday night at Mizzou Arena.

Brennan’s victory was the 23rd state champion produced by Monett’s wrestling program. Brennan first accomplished the feat as a freshman at 103 pounds, then was defeated by Burkhart 8-5 in the semifinals at 106 pounds last year.

“He (Burkhart) was pretty aggressive from the start,” said Monett head coach Daryl Bradley. “Chase got out of his position and he got a takedown.

“The more aggressive that kid got, the better off we were. Chase adapted and that kid had to do something else,” he said. “That first five seconds was a little scary, but after that Chase pretty much dominated until the takedown at the end.”

In all, the nine schools in Classes 1 through 3 in Southwest Missouri that have wrestling teams produced 25 medalists and four champions out of 50 state qualifiers.

Neosho led the way with a team co-championship in Class 3 along with individual champions Nate Rodriguez (Neosho’s first three-time champion) and Christian Lopez. The team championship is Neosho’s third in the last four years.

Seneca took home the third-place trophy in Class 1 along with Will Roark’s championship at 120 pounds.

“It’s getting better,” Bradley said of the level of competition in the area. “This is my 13th year at Monett. We used to go to Kansas City, but we see good competition and lots of medalists down here.”

Tournament notes: J’den Cox of Columbia Hickman won his fourth state championship when he pinned Missouri Western football recruit John Carter of Jefferson City in the second period of their Class 4 heavyweight matchup.

Cox, a national champion who has signed to wrestle at the University of Missouri, became the 22nd four-time champion in the tournament’s 83-year history.



Perkins finishes perfect career

Oak Park’s Bradley Perkins wrapped up an undefeated high school career with an 8-4 decision over Tyler Janes of Hannibal in the Class 3, 126-pound championship match.

Perkins, who has signed to wrestle at Harvard, won three state titles and had a record of 91-0.



Daniels gives Rockhurst first title

Drew Daniels became the first state champion in Rockhurst history when he won the Class 4 title at 160 pounds.

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