Tyler Harrald
Excelsior Springs, the home of the Tigers, was also the home of the boys Class 2 District 4 wrestling tournament. The hosts placed a formidable ninth, with 78.0 total team points, the Tigers netted two finalists and scored a five man state wrestling team to bring to Mizzou Arena.
Sophomore Cooper Collins, who entered the tournament ranked second, was one of the finalists for the Tigers. The 120 lb sophomore with a 33-4 record will look to do the same thing he did last year, win state. At 132 lbs for the Tigers, junior Ryne Marcum also took second and will look to improve upon his performance at state from last season.
One thing is for certain, the Odessa Bulldogs, ranked no. 1 in Class 2 all year, have torn through district 4, and appear as the clear favorites to win a team state title for the first time in their schools’ history. Headlined by a plethora of underclassmen, poised for a takeover and total landscape shift of Class 2, these Bulldogs are as lethal as ever. Six individual champions, five of them being freshmen.
The outlier, a 138 lb sophomore named Caiden Davison. Davison was the runner up at 126 lbs last year and will look to build onto his 39-8 record this season as he tries to get back to the title match. As for the other five freshmen, they are as follows. Blaine Wallace who at 120 lbs, knocked off the defending state 113 pound champion in Cooper Collins by a score of 5-1 in the district title match. Jet Brown, 126 lbs, who in the district final beat Spencer Cunningham of Mid-Buchanan with a 20-5 tech fall. Cunningham previously placed third last year at 113 lbs. Kamden Hooper at 132 lbs, who pinned every single opponent in the first round.
At 150 pounds for Odessa is Lake Waters. Waters easily handled his bracket with a pin inside of a minute, and a pair of tech falls. Last but not least, is Michael Scott at 157 lbs. Scott took down last year’s fourth place finisher Gage Jones of Cameron. Jones had a record of 48-3 entering the match and was ranked fourth at 157. While they may not have qualified as many wrestlers as they probably would’ve liked with nine, Odessa, scoring 226.0 team points in the tournament, is well in control of their own destiny to take the reins as the new powerhouse in Class 2.
The only team in any position to spoil the party for the Bulldogs, is a team in their very own district. St. Michael the Archangel. The Guardians are ranked second in Class 2 and have four individual district champions of their own. At 106 and 113 lbs, the Guardians have a pair of sophomores who are looking to win big in Columbia, just as they did up north in Excelsior Springs. Landon Lane at 106 lbs won his title with four straight pins, three of them coming in the first round, and two of them in less than a minute.
At 113 lbs, the Guardians boast Parker Lutz. Lutz placed third last season at 106 lbs and was forced to the backside of the bracket after a three to one decision loss at the hands of Landon Scarborough from Odessa. Lutz, avenged himself, handling Scarborough in the district title match by a score of seven to two. Following Lutz is senior Lucas Estes at 175 lbs, who beat last years’ fifth place finisher at 165 lbs Colton Kirkham from Mid-Buchanan in a tight match
