Champion Hornets place nine wrestlers on all-NCMC squad

The Fulton Hornets wrestling team procured the North Central Missouri Conference title with a perfect 6-0 mark, and its dominance was reflected on the 2014-15 all-conference squad.

Led by its trio of junior state champions - Josh McClure (138 pounds), Zach Benner (195) and Trenton Clines (145) - Fulton occupied the first-team spots in eight of the 14 weight classes.

Also selected to the all-NCMC first team for the Hornets were junior Clayton Bristol (285 pounds), sophomore Brandon Dews (120), freshman Tucker Caswell (106), sophomore Devan Hudson (113), and senior Noah Braun (170).

Senior Taylor Gillooly (182 pounds) was a second-team pick for Fulton.

McClure (40-0) completed his second straight undefeated run to a Class 2 state title with his victory at 138 pounds last weekend at Mizzou Arena in Columbia. He won his first state championship with a 34-0 record at 113 pounds last year.

Benner - also finishing the season at 40-0 - captured his first state title by triumphing at 195 pounds. He was state runner-up at 182 pounds in 2014.

Meanwhile, Clines (34-2) joined Benner as a first-time state champion with his win at 145 pounds. He medalled with a sixth-place finish at 138 pounds last year.

Bristol (30-2) medalled last weekend with his third-place finish at 285 pounds, while Dews (37-6) was also a medalist by taking fourth at 120. Caswell (40-6) medalled by finishing fifth at 106 pounds, while Hudson (27-5) and Braun (22-10) were both state qualifiers at 113 and 170, respectively.

Gillooly (17-3) also came away as a state medalist with his fourth-place finish at 182 pounds.

The Hornets - who were honored before the Fulton boys' basketball team's 74-64 NCMC win over Hannibal on Thursday night - went undefeated in the regular season with a 22-0 dual record. Fulton finished second in Class 2 for the second time in three years last weekend, accumulating 154.5 points.

Oak Grove (158 points) was able to fend off the Hornets in Saturday night's title matches to collect its third consecutive Class 2 championship and 16th overall, tying Ritenour for the most in state history.