CARTHAGE, Mo. — Carthage stayed unbeaten in dual matches by earning a 50-15 win over Joplin on Tuesday night inside the Carthage High School gymnasium.
The Tigers are now 8-0 in duals.
“We wrestled well tonight,” longtime Carthage coach Kenny Brown said. “There were a couple of matches we’d like to have back. Grey Petticrew’s match is one of them. I’d have liked to see how that match could have played out if we didn’t give up the fall. But honestly, we wrestled well overall, so I’m content.”
Joplin coach Jeremy Finley said he was proud of his team’s effort.
“I thought we competed pretty hard,” Finley said. “We just got beat by better wrestlers. Sometimes that happens. But we were aggressive. If things go their way, at least we got beat being aggressive.”
The Eagles are now 3-3 in duals. Joplin has dual wins over Webb City, Carl Junction and Cassville, with losses to Neosho, Nixa and Carthage.
DUAL RESULTS
At 106 pounds, Joplin’s Sam Melton earned a 12-6 decision over Joshua Griffith, but the Tigers won the next seven bouts.
Carthage’s Bradyn Tate won by forfeit at 113.
At 120, Carlos Reyes defeated Joplin’s Trace Sargent by technical fall, 18-2. Carthage’s Kip Castor earned a hard-fought 5-3 decision over Rocky Walker at 126. The bout was deadlocked when Castor recorded a late reversal.
Carthage’s Dagan Sappington recorded a tech fall, 18-3, over Josiah Vaughn at 132 and Eli Sneed won by fall in the second period over Johnathon Burke at 138.
At 145, Carthage’s Davion King pinned Reese Macios in the first period. That win gave the Tigers a 31-3 lead.
The Tigers also won at 152, as Gabe Lambeth earned a major decision, 13-3, over Jack Stanley.
At 160, Joplin’s Brenden Mynatt won by fall in the first period over Grey Petticrew. Joplin’s Drew Van Gilder earned a 9-5 decision over Lucas Lund at 170.
Luke Gall won by fall over Joplin’s Draven Van Gilder at 182, while Carthage’s Obed Gonzalez won by forfeit at 195.
At 220, Carthage’s Kanen Vogt defeated Scott Lowe 4-0.
In the heavyweight bout, Joplin’s Gunner Price earned a 3-2 decision over Alexis Vasquez.
The bout was tied 1-1 in the third period when Price recorded a takedown with just over a minute to go. Vasquez was able to get an escape with 45 seconds left, but Price held him off in the final seconds.
Brown noted there’s still work to do for his Tigers.
“We still want to keep getting better,” Brown said. “We want to get back into the practice room and we’ll get ready for our dual tournament this weekend.
“I’m just glad we’re getting to wrestle,” Brown added. “The goal at this point is to hopefully make it to the state tournament. We’re doing everything we can and we’re just enjoying the time we have.”
WHAT’S NEXT?
Carthage is hosting a tournament on Saturday. The action begins at 11 a.m. Teams competing at the dual tourney are Belton, Camdenton, Carl Junction, Carthage, Ozark and Republic.
Joplin will compete at the Columbus (Kan.) Tournament on Friday and Saturday.
