COLUMBIA - For these three Fulton juniors, one gets his chance at a rare repeat, the second gets his opportunity to rectify and the other gets his first experience.
Josh McClure, Zach Benner and Trenton Clines will be the Hornets' representatives in tonight's Class 2 state title matches after delivering semifinal victories Friday night in the 85th MSHSAA Wrestling Championships at Mizzou Arena.
McClure moved on to the finals at 138 pounds by resisting Marshall junior Aaron Sims in a 14-8 decision. Now 39-0, McClure is seeking to complete his second straight undefeated run to a state championship. He went 34-0 last year in capturing his first state title at 113 pounds.
Benner - matching McClure with a 39-0 mark - will also wrestle for a state title for the second year in a row after outlasting Smithville sophomore Jacob Boyd 10-7 at 195 pounds. Benner came agonizingly close to winning a state championship last year, finishing as runner-up at 182 pounds.
Clines (33-2), meanwhile, will compete for a state title for the first time following his 10-2 major decision over Smithville sophomore Austin Purtle at 145 pounds. Clines medalled with a sixth-place finish at 138 pounds last year.
"It's great for those kids that have been there before (in state championships), and Zach and Josh both expected to be back there," Fulton head coach Eric Hudson said. "I think Trenton started to believe that he was going to get there.
"It's great to get him over that hump. We were in the semifinals last year and didn't get through. To get him into the finals is fantastic."
With the freezing rain that fell on Mid-Missouri on Friday night, all of today's sessions at the state championships were pushed back an hour. The state title matches in all classes are now scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m.
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The Hornets' two other semifinalists - junior Clayton Bristol and sophomore Brandon Dews - suffered losses in their respective matches at 285 and 120 pounds, respectively. Bristol (28-2) was pinned by Ste. Genevieve senior Ethan Vaeth in 4:41, while Dews (36-5) was pinned by Odessa junior Dakota Miller in 2:24.
Bristol, Dews and a pair of Fulton teammates - 106-pound freshman Tucker Caswell (39-5) and 182-pound senior Taylor Gillooly (16-2) - competed in fourth-round wrestlebacks today. Third- and fifth-place matches were set to follow this afternoon.
After Friday night's semifinals and third-round wrestlebacks, the Hornets were in second place in Class 2 with 117.5 points. Defending state champion Oak Grove held down first place with 138 points, while Smithville was third (100.5) and Ste. Genevieve fourth (96).
"(Today) is just kind of put-the-icing-on-it kind of day," Hudson said. "I don't know that we'll be able to catch Oak Grove. The semifinals are where you score all your (team) points. We put quite a bit of distance between us and third place.
"For the kids, it's all about them and finishing where you want to finish. You hope that you can go out and you can wrestle well, and feel good, and enjoy your last day of wrestling for the high school season."
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McClure was pushing hard to score a fast fall over Sims and bolted to an 11-1 lead - tallying eight points on three near-pins - early in the second period. However, Sims countered by scoring six points in the period and narrowed the gap to 14-7.
Sims tallied the only point in the third period on an escape as McClure secured his spot in the state championship.
While never appearing to be in danger of losing, McClure was downcast and annoyed with his effort afterward.
"I just gassed (wore down) really quick," said McClure, who pinned Smithville junior Jake Bollinger in 5:14 in Friday morning's quarterfinals. "I know it wasn't the atmosphere, I've been here before.
"I started wrestling like crap, I don't know what it was, if it's the weight cut. I need to get control of that (before the title match). ... I'm not very happy about my performance, that's for sure."
McClure will square off against Oak Grove senior Skyler Jackson (29-8) in the title match at 138 pounds. Jackson advanced with a 3-1 semifinal decision over Kirksville sophomore Tanner Sparks.
"It'll be a fun match," McClure said of his matchup against Jackson.
Benner took an early 2-0 lead over Boyd, then the pair traded a series of four reversals as Benner took a 6-4 advantage. The second period got off to a rough start for Benner as he was cautioned four times by an official before Boyd was awarded a point.
"One was for having my foot too far forward, then having my head off the center of the guy's back and moving him whenever I got on top (with Boyd in down position)," said Benner, who pinned Pleasant Hill senior Kameron Gray in 1:15 in the quarterfinals. "That doesn't normally happen (get called)."
A frustrated Benner then gave up a reversal to Boyd and trailed 7-6, before coming up with an escape to tie the match going to the third period. Benner scored another escape early in the period to go in front to stay at 8-7, then recorded a takedown and rode out Boyd to seal his return to the finals.
Benner will tangle with Monett senior Jacob Negre (39-14) for the state championship at 195 pounds. Negre stunned Kirksville senior Kylan Easley - who lost to Benner for the District 2 title - by rallying for a 5-3 victory in the final :20 in Friday night's other semifinal.
"It means a lot (to get back to state championship), it means I get a chance to redeem myself," Benner said. "I'm not going to lose this time; there's no way, I won't let myself."
Clines made up for lost time after not getting to wrestle in Thursday's first round when he received a rare first-round bye. He overpowered Marshall freshman Ryan Henderson 8-1 in the quarterfinals, then followed that up with his impressive victory over Purtle.
Clines accounted for the only points in the first period on a takedown, then extended his lead to 5-0 on an escape and takedown in the second period. After Purtle put up a point on an escape in the third period, Clines opened up a 10-1 edge behind a takedown and near-pin.
"I kept going at him and I knew that I couldn't let up because he's good at coming from behind," Clines said. "I knew that if I wanted to win, I had to stay on him the entire match."
Clines will clash with Ste. Genevieve senior Tyler Jones (32-4) in the title match at 145 pounds. Jones reached the finals with a 2-0 decision over Logan-Rogersville senior Ethen Carlberg in their semifinal bout.
"It feels nice, it's something I've been working for for a really long time - 13 years, I think, since I was 4 years old," Clines said. "It's finally paying off."
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Bristol blanked Odessa senior Dalton Koch in a 6-0 quarterfinal decision, while Dews pinned St. James freshman Mikey Crocker in 2:44 in his quarterfinal match.
Caswell dropped a close 6-4 decision to Monett freshman Joel Barrientos in the quarterfinals, but rebounded for a 5-2 decision over Richmond freshman Austin Bowman in second-round wrestlebacks. Caswell then defeated Sullivan senior Jacob Dixon 4-2 in third-round wrestlebacks Friday night.
Gillooly rallied to edge Winfield senior Tayler Nicholson 3-2 in overtime in second-round wrestlebacks and then pinned Cameron junior Tyler Gerber in 2:21 in third-round wrestlebacks.
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Four Fulton qualifiers - sophomore Devan Hudson (113 pounds), juniors Andy Baysinger (160) and Jason Pae (132), and senior Noah Braun (170) - were eliminated after losses Friday.
Hudson (27-5) bowed to Odessa sophomore Logan White 4-2 in the quarterfinals, but bounced back to down Cameron junior Ty Pratt 7-3 in second-round wrestlebacks. Hudson was then pinned by St. Genevieve junior Wesley Dickens in 2:38 in third-round wrestlebacks.
Baysinger (26-8) fell in a 17-6 major decision to O'Hara senior Maverick Griffin in Friday's quarterfinals, but responded by pinning Dexter senior Dylan Bazarian in overtime in second-round wrestlebacks. Baysinger then exited after being edged by MICDS senior Nick Scherer - a University of Missouri commit - 3-2 in overtime in third-round wrestlebacks.
Pae (15-6) pinned Nevada sophomore Colton Shrewsbury in 2:23 in second-round wrestlebacks, but then lost a 6-3 decision to McCluer South-Berkeley junior Lawrence Woods in third-round wrestlebacks.
Braun (22-10) dropped a 17-7 major decision to Oak Grove senior Dalton Brinegar in the quarterfinals and then was pinned by Richmond sophomore Austin Keefhaver in 1:21 in second-round wrestlebacks.
•Editor's note: For a complete wrap-up of Saturday's state championship and third- and fifth-place matches, see Tuesday's edition.
Ryan Boland can be reached at (573) 826-2422, or by email at [email protected].