After qualifying five wrestlers to state last year, 2018 shaped up as a possible "down" year for the McDonald County wrestling team.
The loss of Tinker Kinser earlier this season due to injury left the Mustangs with only two returning state qualifiers.
But those two returners, 2017 state medalists Oscar Ortiz and Jakob Gerow, paved the way for the Mustangs to overcome the loss of Kinser and qualify four to state at Class 3, District 3, Wrestling Championships held Feb. 9-10 at Carthage High School.
Joining Ortiz and Gerow on this week's trip to Columbia will be the brother team of Timber and Jack Teague. Ortiz and Gerow both finished second in the district tournament, while Timber Teague was third and Jack Teague was fourth.
"I honestly wasn't sure how many we were going to qualify for state this year," said coach Josh Factor. "I felt pretty sure about Oscar and Jakob getting there, but I knew with Jack coming in as a number four seed and Timber as an eight seed, it was going to be tough for them. With all the pressure on the line, the Teague brothers proved they could get it done. In their 'bubble matches,' Jack won by technical fall and then Timber won by pin. It's almost like they feed off the other's success."
Ortiz, a third-place finisher at 106 last year at state, opened his 113-pound bracket with a pair of dominant wins -- a pin in the first round and a technical fall in the quarterfinals -- to advance to the semifinals.
Ortiz opened his semifinal match against Riley Wertz of Willard with a takedown for a quick 2-0 lead. But the McDonald County sophomore was assessed a one-point technical violation before Wertz scored a point on an escape to tie the score 2-2 at the end of the first period.
Wertz elected to start the second period in the down position, and that's where he ended up after Ortiz rode his opponent for the entire two minute period to keep the score at 2-2.
To start the third, Wertz elected to let Ortiz start from the neutral position, giving Ortiz a point. Neither wrestler was able to score again, leaving Ortiz with a 3-2 win to assure his state qualifying berth and a spot in the championship match.
Gerow had a little easier path to the championship match. The 120-pound senior won his opening match by fall and then recorded a major decision in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, Gerow pinned Webb City's Josh Copher halfway through the first period to advance to the championship match and earn his fourth trip to state.
In his district title match, Ortiz gave up a reversal in the second period and dropped a 2-0 decision to undefeated Nathan Pulliam of Rolla. Ortiz heads to state with a 38-5 record.
Gerow, 41-4, got behind early and was beat 5-3 by Evan Winder of Jefferson City Helias in his title match.
Timber Teague had the best win in the opening rounds of any Mustang. The 170-pound senior won his opening match by pinning Max Petruccelli of Branson to earn a shot at top-seeded Jordon Irwin of Marshfield.
The McDonald County senior wasted little time in taking down the top seed, winning by pin in just 26-seconds.
Teague then lost by pin in the semifinals to set up his "do-or-die" match against Jacob Phillips of Rolla. Teague took control at the outset, throwing his opponent to his back at the start of the match before getting a pin in 44-seconds.
The win assured Teague a berth at state with a top-four finish, but with a win in the third-place match by medical forfeit, Teague, 27-17, goes to state with a third-place finish in districts.
Jack Teague advanced to the tournament semifinals with a bye in the first round and a pin of Lucas Lambeth of Rolla in the quarterfinals. The 145-pound sophomore lost by major decision in the semifinals but came back in his bubble match with a 17-2 win over Will Snider of Marshfield.
Teague, 32-18, settled for fourth after he was pinned by Kenyen Keiber of Springfield Parkview in the third-place match.
"I truly feel that all four of our state qualifiers are capable of bringing home a state medal this week," Factor said. "There is no doubt we have one of the toughest Class 3 districts in the state and many times, if you can make it out of your district, you have a great chance to earn a medal at state. It's always an exciting opportunity to coach our guys in Columbia with my son (Cody) by my side and the rest of the coaching staff but, more importantly, is the opportunity to see our wrestlers have an opportunity to wrestle for state medals and championships in the Mizzou Arena. This is what Mustang wrestling is all about."
McDonald County had one other wrestler get to the bubble match. Wilson Menas, 182-pound senior, after losing to Joey Williams of Neosho in the quarterfinals, beat Garrett Schnieders of Helias by a 12-11 decision before getting pinned by Clay Wilson of Marshfield.
Other McDonald County wrestlers and their records participating at districts were: Christian Davidson, 0-2; Keagan Spurgeon, 0-2; Carson Hoth, 0-2, Adrian Ocampo, 0-2; Kevin Sackryas, 1-2; Jesus Ocampo, 0-2; McCoy Ikosia, 1-2; and Jarred Maggard, 0-2.
McDonald County finished in eighth place out of 15 teams in the team standings. Neosho won the district title, with Carthage second and Rolla third.
The state tournament will be held at Mizzou Arena on the campus of the University of Missouri in Columbia from Feb. 15-17.
Sports on 02/15/2018