No. 2 Hornets will be 'hunted' in District 2 tourney at Mexico

Championships start tonight, continue Saturday

With the noteworthy accomplishments the Fulton Hornets wrestling team has accumulated so far this season, it has attracted added attention.

Particularly from opponents.

Fulton head coach Eric Hudson expects his state-ranked Hornets to have an expanded target trained on them when they open the Class 2, District 2 championships at 6 tonight at Mexico High School. The district tournament concludes Saturday, with the top four finishers in each weight class advancing to the state championships Feb. 19-21 at Mizzou Arena in Columbia.

Fulton completed a flawless run through the regular season with a 22-0 dual record, including a first-ever North Central Missouri Conference title in Hudson's ninth year as head coach. The Hornets were also ranked No. 1 in Class 2 by rankwrestlers.com, before slipping to No. 2 in recent weeks behind Cameron.

Hudson believes those successes will draw more focus on his squad at the District 2 championships.

"We are kind of the hunted now, whereas we used to not really be," Hudson said during Wednesday afternoon's practice. "I mean people knew we were pretty good and we had some good kids. Now you've got some different websites thinking that we're probably the second-best team (in the state), which makes us the first or second-best team in our district.

"(NCMC opponent) Kirksville will have a lot to say about whether or not we can claim a district championship as a team. We're just going to have to talk about bringing some real intensity to the matches when they start."

In addition to conference schools Mexico and Moberly, the District 2 field also includes Christian, John Burroughs, Liberty (Wentzville), McCluer South-Berkeley, MICDS, Normandy Collaborative, Priory, Soldan International Studies, St. Charles West, University City and Winfield.

"I'd say it's pretty balanced this year," Hudson said of the district. "There's been previous years where the Kansas City district has been loaded with kids and talent, not to say that it won't be this year.

"We have a pretty good team going in, Kirksville will, Moberly will have a say in things. I think, overall, the competitiveness of our district - especially in the past couple of years - has been up there pretty high."

Fulton boasts a pair of unbeaten juniors - Josh McClure at 138 pounds and Zach Benner at 195. McClure (33-0) captured a state title at 113 pounds last year, while Benner - also 33-0 - was state runner-up at 182.

Junior Clayton Bristol is also 24-1 at 285 pounds for the Hornets, and junior Trenton Clines is 27-2 at 145. Freshman Tucker Caswell has logged a 33-3 mark at 106 pounds, while sophomore Brandon Dews is 30-4 at 120.

Sophomores Devan Hudson and Luke Berrey have posted records of 22-3 and 25-8 at 113 and 152 pounds, respectively, while junior Andy Baysinger is 21-4 at 160. Senior Taylor Gillooly is 10-0 at 182 pounds and senior Noah Braun owns an 18-7 mark at 170.

Senior Austin Anderson has a 12-12 record at 220 pounds, while freshman Jacob Kern is 8-10 at 126. Junior Jason Pae (9-2) - who hasn't wrestled since mid-January due to a shoulder injury - will return to the lineup at 132 pounds.

Eric Hudson likes the district prospects for the Hornets, who haven't wrestled since ending the regular season with a commanding 69-6 NCMC win at Marshall on Feb. 3.

"From a competition standpoint, I feel like we're in a pretty good place," Hudson said. "The only negative, I would say, is that we haven't competed in a week and a half, so our competition has had to be within the (practice) room, so we get a little stale and stagnant."

Pae is part of a group of Fulton wrestlers dealing with an assortment of injuries. While a concern, Hudson explained that if they're not hurt too seriously, the ailing Hornets will have to tolerate some pain if they want the chance to qualify for state.

"It's just that time of the year where you've got to gut it out," Hudson said. "If you're hurt, most of the guys aren't track guys or baseball guys, so their time to rest will come when we're done."

First-round matches tonight will be immediately followed by first-round wrestlebacks and quarterfinals. Wrestling resumes at 10 a.m. Saturday with second-round wrestlebacks, then semifinals and third-round wrestlebacks, consolation semifinals and first- and third-place matches.