After losing in last year's championship matches at the CJ Classic Wrestling Tournament at Carl Junction High School, McDonald County's Jakob Gerow and Oscar Ortiz refused to settle for second place this year.
The two won titles at their respective weights to lead the Mustangs to a sixth-place finish in the team standings.
Ortiz went 4-0 at 113 pounds to run his season record to 12-1. The sophomore advanced to the finals with two pins and a technical fall in his pool. His efforts in his pool earned Ortiz a match with Joseph Semerad of Monett, the defending Class 2 state champion at 106 pounds.
Ortiz, who was third at state at 106 in Class 3 last year, defeated the fellow sophomore, 4-2, to claim the title.
Gerow ran his record to 14-0 on the season with his second tournament title in two weeks. The senior 120-pounder also went 4-0 in pool play before he claimed a 5-2 decision over Matthew Bahl of Monett.
No other Mustang made into the title match, but Timber and Jack Teague both advanced to third-place matches. Timber Teague was 3-1 in pool matches at 182 pounds before beating Ashton Vogler of Buffalo in overtime in the third-place match.
Jack Teague won two pool matches and a quarterfinal bout before getting beat by Dayton Fields of Seneca in the 152 semifinals. In the third-place match, Teague dropped a 9-3 decision to Kenyen Kieber of Springfield Parkview.
Other McDonald County results are as follows: Eh Doh Say, seventh, 106; Keagan Spurgeon, 10th, 126; Adrian Ocampo, 11th, 138; Kevin Sackryas, fifth, 160; Rendon Lane, sixth, 195; and McCoy Ikosia, ninth, 285.
Defending state champ Seneca won the team title with 342 points. Carl Junction was second with 321.5, followed by Monett in third with 254, Webb City 217.5, Buffalo 184, McDonald County 180.5, Nevada 134.5, Columbus 121.5, Diamond 113, Reeds Spring 99, Ladue 96 and Cherryvale 58.5.
McDonald County faced Springdale Har-Ber and Willard on Dec. 12 before hosting Grove on Dec. 14 at MCHS. Matches begin at 6 p.m.
Sports on 12/14/2017