The Joplin Globe, Joplin, MO

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February 17, 2013

Win by Lopez delivers Neosho share of state title

From staff reports

COLUMBIA, Mo. — Neosho and Kearney shared the Class 3 championship Saturday night in the MSHSAA Wrestling Championships at Mizzou Arena.

Neosho needed a victory by Christian Lopez in the championship match at 220 pounds. Lopez escaped with a 3-2 decision in double overtime against Jordan Moffett of McDonald County.

Lopez was the second of two champions for the Wildcats, who won eight medals. Nate Rodriguez at 132 won his third state title by defeating Blake Clevenger of Kearney 6-3.

Neosho’s Kyler Rea at 106, River Buttram at 120 and Aaron Clardy at 285 won third-place matches. Sam Williams at 152 was fourth. Dakota McGarrah at 126 and Kyle Hostetter at 145 were each sixth.

Carthage’s Trevor Feagans at 138 was decisioned by Kevin Kinney of Kearney 3-0 in a rematch of last year’s 132-pound title match. Feagans is a three-time state finalist and four-time medalist. Seth Logan at 132 placed fourth and Dakota Jones at 106 was sixth.

Webb City’s Tony Carranco won a tiebreaker and captured fifth place at 285 pounds. Two other Webb City wrestlers — Brayden Goff at 160 and Alex Lane at 170 — advanced to third-round consolation matches.

“I was very happy with the way we wrestled,” said Webb City head coach Larron Hurst. “Losing the bubble match, you have to work hard to get there.

“Tony avenged an earlier-season loss and avenged a loss earlier in the meet in the first round. Then he wrestled all the way back until he got beat by a Platte County kid (Mitch Adams in sudden victory).”

Carl Junction’s Nick Koon returned to the medal round at 152 and captured sixth place.

Seneca’s Roark wins title

In Class 1, Will Roark of Seneca won the championship at 120 pounds by pinning Jacob O’Neal of Carrollton in the second round. Roark (54-1) was a state finalist last year as a freshman.

Four other Seneca wrestlers took home medals. Cole Lankford was third at 126 and Jalen Skaggs was fourth at 160. Both are seniors. Freshmen Quentin Cotten at 113 and Jesse Rhoades at 132 placed sixth.

“The kids performed well over the weekend and exceeded their expectations,” said Seneca head coach Jeff Sill, whose team placed third behind state champion Whitfield and second-place Brookfield.

Brennan wins second title

Chase Brennan of Monett, a three-time state medalist, won his second championship with a 6-4 decision against Trevor Burkhart of Cameron in the 113-pound final.

Brennan, a junior, was decisioned by Burkhart 8-5 in the 106-pound semifinals last year as the defending champion.

Monett’s Devon Overall, a senior who was a medalist last year, placed fourth at 195 pounds.

Nevada advanced all four of its state qualifiers to the semifinals, then captured two third-place and two fifth-place medals.

“It’s pretty awesome to bring four guys and all four medal,” said Nevada head coach Devin White. “The last four matches they wrestled, they won. Last night was kind of tough, but I was proud of the way they bounced back today.”

Slade Stiles, a senior at 120, pinned Brendan Hachtel of St. Charles West and won the third-place medal for the fourth year in a row. Stiles was defeated in sudden victory by Travis Jones of Ste. Genevieve in the semifinals.

Sam Ellifrits at 285 placed third by pinning Dalaney Taala of Pleasant Hill in the first period. Ellifrits fell in the semifinals to unbeaten Maliek Collins of Kansas City Center under the ultimate tie breaker.

Dayton Miller, a freshman at 106, and Colby Smith, a senior at 220, won fifth-place medals.

Oak Grove won the Class 2 championship. Fulton was second and Odessa was third.

Park Hill captured the Class 4 title. Blue Springs was second and Timberland placed third.

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