From staff reports
sports@joplinglobe.com
COLUMBIA, Mo. — Kyle Meyer of Monett won his fourth straight state wrestling championship on Saturday at Mizzou Arena.
Meyer, competing at 152 pounds in Class 2, decisioned Ryan Farris of Center 7-0. He finished the season with a 44-0 record.
Fellow Monett senior Kellen Bounous won his third straight state title, at 145 pounds.
Seneca’s Timothy Harnar (112 pounds) and Colbey Skaggs (125) captured state titles in Class 1.
Joe Barnes of Neosho was the only other area wrestler to bring home a gold medal, winning the 103-pound match in Class 3.
Neosho and Monett finished second in the team standings in Classes 3 and 2, respectively. Seneca finished fourth in Class 1.
Class 4
Joplin senior Miles Copple finished fourth at 171 pounds.
Copple decisioned Eli Miller of Marquette 3-2 in the fourth-round wrestlebacks. Once-beaten Nathan Downs of Troy scored a final-period pin in the third-place match.
Copple finished with a 46-5 record.
Class 3
Barnes scored a 7-5 decision over Central Ozark Conference rival Colton Howell of Ozark in the 103 title match. The Neosho junior finished with a 41-6 record.
At 130 pounds, Clint Spencer of Carthage was decisioned 2-1 by Zach Bintliff of Oak Park in the title match.
It was just the second loss in 47 matches for Spencer, who earned his fourth state medal. Spencer was fourth at 103 as a freshman, fifth at 119 as a sophomore and second at 125 as a junior.
Neosho’s Carter Boatright (119) and Dallas Smith (140) both finished fourth. Boatright beat Nick Shea of Helias 2-1 before falling to Parkway North’s Sean Donovan 7-2. Smth beat Brian Haynes of Oak Park 9-2, then lost to Ty Loethen of Helias by the same score.
Wrestlers from Neosho and Carthage divided a pair of medal matches.
At 112 pounds, Trevor Hughes of Neosho decisioned Carthage’s Nate Kelly 6-4 in overtime for fifth place.
At 125, Josh Mason of Carthage decisioned Justin Hutchins of Neosho. Ironically, the score was also 6-4 in overtime.
Garrett Buzzard of Carthage finished sixth at 171 pounds.
Class 2
Monett seniors Meyer and Bounous finished with identical prep records of 173-2.
Meyer became the 17th four-time champion in Missouri prep wrestling history, joining Oak Park’s Mac Bailey, who accomplished the feat Saturday at 135 pounds in Class 3.
Meyer’s first three state titles came at 119 pounds as a freshman, 135 as a sophomore and 145 as a junior.
Bounous decisioned Ryan Beltz of St. Clair 14-7 in the 145-pound title match. Bounous lost in the state final as a freshman, then won titles as a sophomore (130) and junior (140).
Two other area wrestlers lost title matches.
In the 130-pound match, Monett’s Ethan Davis dropped a 7-4 decision to Esmond Ford of Affton. Davis was the defending champion at 119 pounds, while Ford had won at 130 a year ago. The loss was the first in 45 matches for Davis, a sophomore.
At 171, Travis Green of Carl Junction was decisioned 3-2 by John Vogt of Ste. Genevieve. Green finished an injury-interrupted senior season with a 21-2 record.
Michael Merritt of Monett (135) and Dalton England of Carl Junction (140) both finished third in state. Merritt finished with a 7-0 decision over Joe Lathan of Winfield and an 11-1 major decision over Steven Morey of Reeds Spring. England edged Savannah’s Marty Uehlin 6-5 and then beat Nick Smith of Odessa 1-0.
Monett’s Scott Wilson was fifth at 160, decisioning Bolivar’s Steven Whaley 4-2.
Jantsen Boucher of Monett was sixth at 171.
Class 1
Seneca sophomore Harnar finished with a flourish, scoring a 10-2 major decision over Jared Porter of Lathrop. Harnar, 22-9, had finished sixth at 103 pounds as a freshman.
There was no drama involved for Skaggs, who won his 125-pound title match over Conner Hovis of Whitfield by injury default. Skaggs, who won his second straight state title, finished with a 50-1 record.
Seneca’s Nathan Fortner (130) and Dalton Cummings (160) were both fifth-place finishers and teammate Josh Mullin (135) was sixth.
Fortner won a 7-0 decision over Matt McDonald of John Burroughs in the final round and Cummings pinned Tommy Carpenter of Warsaw in 0:54.
Craig VanLue of Diamond finished fourth at 119. VanLue decisioned Dylan King of Hamilton Penney 6-3 before he was pinned by Marceline’s Austin Paalhar.
