No. 2 Hornet wrestlers top off perfect regular season

Fulton easily overpowers NCMC foe Marshall 69-6

Fulton head coach Eric Hudson is hoping that his state-ranked Hornets wrestling team is getting closer to being back at full strength.

With a sizable group of Fulton wrestlers returning to the lineup despite dealing with a variety of injuries, the Hornets ended the regular season in perfect style with a 69-6 dismantling of NCMC foe Marshall on Tuesday night at Roger D. Davis Gymnasium.

Fulton - which had already wrapped up the North Central Missouri Conference title with a 41-33 win at Moberly on Jan. 27 - completed the regular season unbeaten at 22-0 overall and 6-0 in the conference. The Hornets are ranked No. 2 in Class 2 by rankwrestlers.com.

"It was nice to get the injured guys back; it bolstered their confidence," Hudson said. "The kids were focused and did a nice job."

Back in the lineup Tuesday night for Fulton were seniors Clayton Bristol (285 pounds), Taylor Gillooly (182) and Noah Braun (170), juniors Trenton Clines (145) and Andy Baysinger (160), and sophomores Devan Hudson (113) and Luke Berrey (152).

"(The injuries) are nothing real serious ... but the kids can't do some of the things they want to do, or it prevents them from finishing in certain positions," Eric Hudson said.

The Hornets will have some more time to rest and recuperate before competing Feb. 13-14 in the District 2 championships in Mexico.

Here are Tuesday night's individual results, by weight class:

•106 pounds - freshman Tucker Caswell (F) won by 10-2 major decision over Dalton Landreth (M); 113 - D. Hudson (F) pinned Cameron Morrison (M) in 1:15; 120 - sophomore Brandon Dews (F) pinned Austin Ballard (M) in 4:50; 126 - freshman Jacob Kern (F) pinned Hunter Hostetter (M) in 5:48; 132 - T-Love Williams (M) won by forfeit;

•138 - junior Josh McClure (F) won by forfeit; 145 - Clines (F) won by 7-2 decision over Aaron Sims (M); 152 - Berrey (F) won by 2-0 decision over Ryan Henderson (M); 160 - Baysinger (F) won by 17-1 technical fall over Josh Osiena (M); 170 - Braun (F) won by forfeit;

•182 - Gillooly (F) won by forfeit; 195 - junior Zach Benner (F) won by forfeit; 220 - senior Austin Anderson (F) pinned Edward Hecke (M) in :59; 285 - Bristol (F) pinned Johnathon Sprigg (M) in :15.