After a shortened school week due to winter weather conditions, the Mexico Lady Bulldogs were on the road again this past weekend as they traveled to a tournament they’ve never had on their schedule before, the DeSoto Lady Dragons Classic. This is the 6th time DeSoto has hosted this particular event and it has grown substantially since its inception.
This year there were 16 total teams in attendance along with several of them bringing their JV wrestlers as this was labeled as an open tournament. Being close to the St. Louis area, the tournament brought in several of the local Class 2 schools including Central (Cape Girardeau), Farmington, Hazelwood Central, and Liberty (Wentzville). The other 12, including Mexico, are Class 1. Out of the other eleven, only two were District 2 opponents (Ft. Zumalt East and Hannibal). It was a solid opportunity for everyone with just two weeks until the post-season starts (Feb. 13-14).
The two largest and most experienced rosters (DeSoto and Liberty-Wentzville) finished 1st and 2nd respectively in the team race, where Mexico with 8 underclassmen out of 10 in the varsity lineup finished in a respectable 8th place with 80 points. The several JV wrestlers that Mexico brought did well and was the highest scoring among all of the JV teams that were in attendance!
Between the two rosters, Mexico Lady Bulldogs accumulated 10 pins and scored 125 match points in 45 total matches. Out of the 14 wrestlers Mexico brought, five of them placed in the top 4 (3 of their varsity and 1 JV wrestler). Unfortunately for Mexico they were only 1-3 in the medal round matchups.
The lone JV wrestler from Mexico that medal came at 170 in Cassius Williams. After losing in the quarterfinals via pin against Farmington, Williams rattled off three straight wins (including 1 against the current varsity for Mexico Kendal Sons) to reach the 3rd place match versus Wentzville. After several attempts by both wrestlers in the first period, they entered the 2nd with a score of 0-0. About halfway through the 2nd period Williams scored the match’s only takedown to take a 3-0 lead into the 3rd period. Her opponent chose top to start the 3rd period, and that was all she needed. Within a handful of seconds she was able to get Williams to her back to secure the victory.
The other two 4th place finishers, Lily Cuno and Ruby Lopez (100 lb. and 120 lb.) did not have as large of brackets as the 170 lb weight class but in Lopez’s case she had to dig deep after losing her quarterfinal match in just 33 seconds. In her first round of consolation wrestling, it ended up being a nail biter. After no scoring in the first period, her opponent from Farmington scored a quick takedown to start it off but Lopez battled tough and didn’t give up any nearfall points. Her opponent had the choice of position to start the 3rd and chose neutral. Lopez finally saw an opening she liked and took advantage to tie the match at 3 with a takedown of her own. In the closing seconds, she scored a set of nearfall points to take a 7-3 lead with just 16 seconds left in the match. Her opponent was able to wiggle out of the hold just as time expired to score a reversal but it wouldn’t be enough. Lopez, the 8th seed, would eventually advance to the 3rd place match and face the 4th seed from Steelville. Lopez’s streak of wins in the evening came to a halt and was pinned in just 90 seconds to finish in 4th.
The two seniors, Abigail Bowen and Alexus Johns, made their presence known after their first round byes by pinning their respective opponents in the quarterfinals and the semifinals in consecutive fashion. In the finals, Abigail Bowen had the currently 2nd ranked girl in Class 1 from Festus. These two have never wrestled despite being in the same weight classes, the past couple of years. The opportunities to score on her opponent were few and far between while her opponent appeared to score on Bowen at will. After the wrestling was done, it was a major decision victory for the wrestler from Festus (13-3).
Johns on the other hand, had a familiar opponent. Her opponent from Hannibal faced off against Johns for the third time this season, with Johns taking both matches (1 at the Blair Oaks tournament and at the NCMC Conference Duals). Johns was able to score a takedown with about 45 seconds in the first period. In an attempt to turn her opponent, her opponent refused to be turned and braced herself with one of her arms/shoulders. Unfortunately, it got caught in an awkward position forcing her to take a medical forfeit for the match. After speaking with Alexus Johns post-match, she was a little upset because her opponent got hurt and didn’t want to wrestle and win like that. She hopes her opponent makes a full recovery and gets to see her again at the District tournament in two weeks.
If you want to watch any of the matches, they were streamed by the host school (DeSoto High School) and can be found using the link below. Due to the timing of the event and the school’s streaming limits, there should be two separate sessions that were recorded. A little shout out to their administration team as they weren’t originally going to stream but upon the author’s request, they were able to make it happen.
Up Next:
The Mexico Lady Bulldogs are on the road twice this coming week. On Tuesday they travel to Eldon for a tri-meet against the Lady Mustangs and Lincoln Prep (Kansas City). After that meet, they will then travel to Eureka HS for the Ladies Riley Baker Invitational to close out their regular season competition. This is labeled as a dual tournament so everyone in the Lady Bulldog lineup will get a chance to wrestle all day throughout the tournament. There are currently 7 other teams scheduled to attend. Most of them are primarily St. Louis area Class 2 schools (Eureka, Francis Howell, Oakville, Ritenour, and Westminster), with two from outside of it. One of them is from the Boothill region (Poplar Bluff) and another one from the Springfield area (Republic).
