CARL JUNCTION, Mo. — The host Carl Junction Bulldogs are in first place by three points after the first day of Class 3 District 3 wrestling on Friday.
Carl Junction enters the second and final day of competition with 60 points, followed by Willard at 57, Bolivar 55.5, McDonald County 44, Washington 43, Branson 40.5, Camdenton 36, Rolla 32, Marshfield 31.5, Webb City 19, Hillcrest 18, Union 13.5, Parkview 12, West Plains 12 and Glendale 10.
“Overall, I was pretty satisfied,” Carl Junction coach Mike Frizzell said. “We came out and went to work early. We had a lot of byes in the first round, so that kind of put us behind a little bit on points, but the second round we stepped it up. We had one match that we thought we should have won on the front side, but we battled through it, and we’ll be back (Saturday).
“Day 2 is going to be tough, man. You get into these semifinal rounds and blood rounds, things start getting dicey. Pressure mounts, the kids put a lot of pressure on themselves as is already, and just hoping they can deal with that and pull out some wins (Saturday).”
The top four finishers in each weight class punch their ticket to the Class 3 state tournament held Feb. 22-25 at Mizzou Arena in Columbia.
The Bulldogs do have one advantage over their competition at districts.
“It’s always nice to host,” Frizzell said. “We like to be in our own gym and sleep in our own beds where we’re the most comfortable and kids get the best rest.”
On Friday, Carl Junction sophomore Carter Foglesong (106 pounds), senior Lukas Walker (113), junior Sam Melton (120), freshman Marcus Lopez-Durman (150), junior Dexter Merrell (157), sophomore Tony Stewart (165), senior Chance Benford (190), and senior Cayden Bolinger (285) each advanced to the semifinals on Saturday.
Foglesong (35-4) received a bye and then pinned Marshfield’s Garon Whitlock in 1 minute and 20 seconds in the quarterfinals. Foglesong draws McDonald County freshman Eberson Perez (16-12) in the semis.
Walker (41-1) pinned Camdenton’s Drake Schiefelbein in 1:03 and Bolivar’s Isaiah Ortega in 29 seconds in the quarters. Walker will take on Washington senior Parker Kelpe (30-16) in the semifinals.
Melton (38-5) pinned Bolivar’s Koven Parks in 2:43 and Union’s Logan Garrett in 1:25 in the quarters. Melton faces Willard junior Chris Trudell (14-22) in a semifinal match.
Lopez-Durman (35-8) pinned Parkview’s Jace Thomas in 56 seconds and Rolla’s Sawyer Black in 3:45 in the quarters. Lopez-Durman faces West Plains senior Joshua Ingram (24-12) in the semis.
Merrell (34-9) pinned Parkview’s Joseph Woods in 30 seconds and Webb City’s Dominic Boles in 2:16. Merrell draws Bolivar senior Riley Beckman (37-3) in the semis.
Stewart (37-10) pinned both Rolla’s Jason Stallworth and Parkview’s Jermaine Townsend in 34 seconds. Stewart will face a fellow sophomore in Union’s Trey Ladymon (38-6) in the semifinals Saturday.
Benford (26-9) received a bye and pinned Hillcrest’s Parker Hammons in 1:23 in the quarters on his way to Saturday’s semifinal match against Camdenton junior Nathaniel Beeson (28-8).
Bolinger (28-11) pinned Marshfield’s Austin Croy in 1:45 and Washington’s Mac Ruoff in 5:39. Bolinger faces the challenge of Willard sophomore Brady Griffin (37-2) in the semis.
Max Matthews (126), Brenden Berry (138), Nevan Challenger (144), and Joshua McDermott (175) are still alive on the back side of the bracket for the Bulldogs.
The Mustangs of McDonald County have Perez (106), Robinson Yoshino (113), Blaine Perez (138), Levi Smith (144), Colter Vick (175), Samuel Murphy (215), and Jayce Hitt (285) in the semifinals and Paden Vance (120), Dominic Cervantes (126), Ayden Ball (132), Cross Spencer (150), and Malosi Sosef (190) still alive on the back side entering Saturday.
The Cardinals of Webb City have Colt Taylor (132) in the semifinals and Tyler Pearish (106), Aiden Moore (138), Aidan Rose (150), Dominic Boles (157), Bronson Collard (165), and Garret Mathis (285) still alive for the second day.
