Michael Smith
Post-match Interviews
Fort Osage 285-pounder Stevie Gabb
Belton 170-pounder Luka Riley
Fort Osage 113-pounder Rylan Mansfield
Even though Belton won four out of six contested matches, Fort Osage won the dual 45-16.
The Pirates were missing the majority of their team, which resulted in multiple forfeit wins for Fort Osage. Those to win by forfeit included David Jacquez (195), Dylan Reed (126), Bryan Herrera (138), Ethan Lamb (145), Jason Perriman (152) and Jesse Newton (160). Newton and Herrera were seniors who didn’t get to compete.
“We are missing about three-quarters of our team with quarantine right now,” Belton head coach Jeremy Baker said. “Guys and girls are out. It’s been a rough couple of weeks for us.”
Even then, Belton provided a challenge for Fort Osage as it will head into the Suburban Conference Tournament.
“Whether it is 14 matches or six, Belton comes ready to fight,” Fort Osage head coach Brandon Wackerman said. “There were some good matches out there. We’ll see some of the same kids this weekend and in the postseason. Belton is a measuring stick in Class 3.
“We had some good matches today and some matches where we are going to have to close the gap on later and do better. It was good to wrestle on Senior Night with a fully healthy team.”
And one of those healthy competitors was Fort junior Stevie Gabb (285), who dominated Tyler Felicone and earned a pin in 39 seconds. Gabb, who is ranked No. 2 in his weight class in Class 3 in the MissouriWrestling.com poll, wasn’t sure he’d be able to wrestle Thursday after what happened last weekend.
The junior suffered the injury that forced him to forfeit the championship match against Oak Grove sophomore Caleb Groff in the Oak Grove Panther Classic. However, his left ankle was able to heal enough just in time for Thursday’s dual.
“It felt like a pretty bad ankle injury at first,” said Gabb, who limped off the mat after his match with Groff. “The next day, it was feeling a lot better. It was just very tight. There wasn’t a lot of pain. It’s when I run on it when it hurts.”
Fort Osage’s other contested win came from Rylan Mansfield (113), who pulled off an 8-3 upset win over No. 5-ranked Antonio Rizzi.
“It was a good match. It was a district and sectional bout,” Mansfield said. “I am very happy about that win. My shots were pretty good. It was about knowing when to let him up and knowing when to hold him down.”
Wackerman said he thinks Mansfield could make some noise in the postseason this year.
“He’s in a terrific weight class in a terrific Class,” Wackerman said. “There are a lot of freshmen and sophomores at that same weight. The difference between Class 4 and Class 3 is Class 4, (113 pounds) is a dryer weight. It’s not as thick as it is in our district and sectional.
“When the postseason comes, we are going to have to wrestle great. And if we wrestle like we did tonight for the next month, we are going to be winning a lot of matches.”
Fort Osage dropped a pair of marquee matchups when Belton’s Luca Riley (170), who’s ranked No. 4 in Class 3 in his weight class, had three takedowns and earned a hard-fought 7-2 decision over Jeremiah Phillips, who is ranked No. 5.
“I was tired,” Riley said. “I have been off the past couple of days because I had to wait for my COVID test. It came back negative so this was my first day back.
“I thought I did good, but I probably should have wrestled at a faster pace.”
Added Baker: “Luca was out a couple of days because of an illness and really hasn’t been able to practice this week. But he went out there and battled. He wrestled his game and didn’t get into what the other kid wanted to do.”
At 182, Belton’s Zach Attebury was in a stalemate with Fort Osage’s Daniel Tapusoa in the first period, before both competitors went for a throw early in the second and Atttebury ended up on top and got a pin in 2:32.
“We believe that we are equals there,” Wackerman said of the Phillips and Tapusoa matches. “The score may not have indicated it. We can improve upon those outcomes. We know what we are looking for. Motivating those guys tomorrow should be easier than it’s ever been.”
At 120, Fort Osage’s Kyle LeHotta fell to Lane Cross 7-2 and John Newton (132) lost to Brady Littleton 15-3.
In the girls dual, Fort Osage topped Belton 54-24.
For Fort Osage, sophomore Haley Ward (151), ranked No. 2, defeated Samantha Archer by pin in 30 seconds; Jazmine Naylor (159) pinned Victoria Powell in 1:47; Taylor Hillbrand (220) won by forfeit; Emily Floray (285) won by forfeit;Bridgett Baker (102) won by forfeit; Aroma Marrufo (127) pinned Georgia Meakins in 1:04; Sidney Sullivan (132) pinned Rylee Meredith in 3:44; Kayleigh McGrath (137) won by forfeit; and Lauren Hahne (143) won by forfeit.
For Belton, Brionna Madden (122) won by forfeit, Ashley DuBois (117) pinned Meiqi Chen in 44 seconds; Kaitlyn DuBois (112) won by forfeit and Reina Morton (174) pinned Gabriella Doughty in 1:54.
