NEOSHO, Mo. — The Neosho Wildcats swept their conference and district rivals Nixa (63-15) and Joplin (58-12) on Tuesday night.
Not counting forfeits, the Wildcats only lost three varsity matches on the evening in a commanding performance against their new Class 4 opponents.
Neosho, for the last 15 years a perennial state title contender and a nine-time state champion in Class 3, got bumped up to the state’s highest wrestling classification this season.
“It’s a good test for us,” Neosho coach Jeremy Phillips said. “Nixa is a solid program. We knew that going in. We had some adversity today. We had to do some shuffling with our lineup because our weight management isn’t exactly what it needed to be. That’s definitely something we’re going to have to improve upon.
“With adversity, I told them that how we deal with it will either make us or break us. If we use the adversity to come together and be stronger and intensify our fight, then it could make us into something special. That’s what I told them at the end. There are some young, tough kids and there’s some seniors that are very solid at leading us.”
The Wildcats picked up plenty of bonus points in their dual wins Tuesday and several members of their deep and talented freshman class stepped up in the spotlight.
Brody Mitchell (120 pounds) pinned Nixa’s Sam Mayes in 4 minutes and 54 seconds, Carter Howard (138) won a 6-4 decision against Aidan Ward, Josh Scheuerman (144) pinned Curtis Glossip in 3:05, Chase Kivett (15) pinned Owen Diemoz in 36 seconds, Jonny Chrisco (157) pinned Tobias Thompson in 2:43, Eli Zar (165) won by forfeit, Collyn Kivett (175) pinned Rylee Wright in 1:19, Ulysses DeLeon (190) pinned Ty Hartman in 3:19, Nico Olivares (285) pinned Charles Speake in 3:50, Connor Reiboldt (106) pinned Kaden Ulrich in 3:16, and Sam Fryar (113) won by forfeit.
Nixa’s Payton Link (126) won by forfeit, two-time state champion and University of Oklahoma recruit Zan Fugitt (132) pinned River Feagans in 3:15, and Brennan Carey (215) held on tightly for a 4-3 decision against Gabriel Busteed.
“We have some things we need to work on and Nixa’s not going to forget this, I’m for sure,” Phillips said. “We will see them down the road at conference, district, and state now. We’ve got to build on it, that’s the key. We can’t hang on to this win. We can’t think we’re where we need to be because we’re not. This challenge of Class 4 is one that we could be ready for, if we take this challenge for our growth.”
Busteed, who had the full support of his teammates and coaches on the sideline as well as the student section on one side of the gymnasium and Neosho parents and fans on the other, made Carey earn his victory in their match Tuesday.
“That match with Busteed at 215 was a heckuva match,” Phillips said. “He’s got the heart of a champ. That loss was really a win for us because that kid (Carey) is a returning third-place medalist and national champion. I used Busteed as one of my motivational factors going into tonight. There wouldn’t be a guy I’d rather stick out there in a fight, like an underdog in a David and Goliath matchup.
“That heart of a champion is something that I want all of them to have. We’ll continue to use that, because we will be underdogs this season. I kinda like that. They’re not giving us much respect, but that’s okay. We’ve got to go earn it. Hopefully, they’ll use this momentum and do just that.”
In the 58-12 win Tuesday against Joplin, Fryar (113) won by forfeit, Howard (132) pinned Andrew Burke in 2:00, Hunter Butler (138) won a 5-1 decision against Freddy Cerrato Martinez, Chase Kivett (144) pinned Alex Short in 4:54, Chrisco (150) won a 19-5 major decision against Orion Norris, Kade Lawson (157) pinned Cole Gandy, Zar (165) won by DQ against Ethan Bentz, Collyn Kivett (190) pinned Drew VanGilder in 5:23, Anthony Boettger (215) won a 6-1 decision against Draven VanGilder, Olivares (285) pinned Justice Rogers in 1:42, and Reiboldt (106) won by forfeit.
Nixa defeated Joplin 66-12 in the first dual of the evening — Bentz (165) pinned Logan Elmer in 1:13 and Drew VanGilder (190) pinned Hartman in 2:53.
Neosho competes Friday and Saturday in the Missouri Duals in Jefferson City.
Joplin, meanwhile, hosts Cassville on Thursday and goes to Arkansas on Saturday for a tournament hosted by Bentonville West.
