Dallas Smith took a graduate assistant position with the Lindenwood wrestling program with his eyes on the future in January 2016. The Neosho native’s plans originally were to try to go to physical therapy school after graduating from Ouachita Baptist. Instead, Jimmy Rollins called to give him a chance to earn a master’s degree and […]
Daniel Kountz has been teaching and coaching for 17 years at Mid-Buchanan High School in Faucett. That is also where he went to high school and aside from four year at Missouri Western State University, in nearby St. Joseph, he has been around the Dragons wrestling program for more than 20 years. He wrestled there […]
Jesse Cassatt is now wrestling at the University of Missouri and when he signed with the Tigers this summer he became the school’s first-ever Division I wrestler. Winning back-to-back Class 3 championships played a part in him becoming a Tiger, but there was a little bit of luck mixed in. Cassatt’s high school coach is […]
Her father was a professional mixed martial artist and did jiu-jitsu and his daughter had been around it for most of her life. She started wrestling at the age of five and within a few years she was a Missouri Youth state champion. The accolades continued to pile up and in the last calendar year. […]
That competition fueled him to earn All-American honors in his first trip to the USMC 16U and Junior Nationals Tournament in July. The Ozark product headed there with aspirations of earning a stop sign in both Greco-Roman and freestyle. He got on the podium in Greco, sparked by a less-than-satisfying showing in freestyle in Fargo, […]
Now the focus turns to adding a state title as well. The Staley wrestler took sixth place in Greco-Roman at the USMC 16U and Junior Nationals last month in Fargo, North Dakota. He reached the semifinals in that style and also competed in freestyle. While his sixth-place finish was a spot lower on the medal […]
The Marceline product opened with a convincing 10-0 win against Marlie Rigby from Utah. Then, the Missourian lost 9-2 to Washington’s Karianne Baldwin in the round of 16. With her back against the wall in the double-elimination format, she responded and came home with All-American honors. “I was surprised when it happened,” Weese said. “I […]
The Class 4 113-pound champion went to the USMC 16U and Junior National Championships last month in Fargo and earned his first All-American honors by taking third in the 120-pound Greco-Roman bracket. “It was fun,” Fugitt said of the trip north. “It was definitely a lot different than other tournaments. It was a pretty big […]
Ali Haiser will admit she was a little surprised by how well she did at the USMC Junior & 16U National Championships earlier this month in Fargo. The Lebanon standout reached the championship match of the 16U 164-pound bracket and finished second in her first trip to the FargoDome. “I have to say the whole […]
Dutton won the first state championship earlier this year for Springfield Central — for boys or girls — and she added a national championship by winning the 16U division at the 2021 U.S. Marine Corps 16U and Junior Nationals in Fargo, North Dakota. Dutton dominated her foes on the way to the 16U title, which […]