COLUMBIA - The Fulton Hornets were in a promising position entering Friday night's semifinals at the 86th MSHSAA wrestling championships at Mizzou Arena.
Fulton - with seven of its qualifiers in tow - sat just 3 1/2 points behind Class 2 leader Smithville. The Hornets, though, came staggering out the other side - winning only two of their seven matches and suddenly finding themselves in a 64 1/2-point abyss, their team title aspirations swept away by the Warriors' striking performance.
With just seniors Josh McClure and Zach Benner advancing to state championship matches - McClure pursuing history and Benner a second straight perfect run - Fulton tumbled to third place with 102.5 points. Smithville prevailed in all six of its semifinals - including three head-to-head meetings with the Hornets - and went 3-0 in third-round wrestlebacks, sailing into command in Class 2 with 167 points.
Three-time defending state champion Oak Grove bypassed Fulton, taking over second place with 138 points. The Panthers went 5-0 in the semifinals and triumphed in their only third-round wrestleback match.
Falling in the semifinals for the Hornets - coming off a Class 2 runner-up finish in 2015 - were seniors Trenton Clines (152 pounds), Clayton Bristol (285) and Kobe Kaminski (195), and juniors Brandon Dews (120) and Luke Berrey (170).
Fulton head coach Eric Hudson's frustration was evident in the aftermath.
"We weren't very good tonight, honestly," Hudson said. "It's here, it's in the head. People will complain that we don't go and wrestle enough matches, but that's not the issue.
"I mean, at times we lost to technically superior wrestlers, and I'm OK with that. At times, it's upstairs, it's in your head - it's in the way. Last year we did a good job with it, this year I think the kids put too much pressure on them(selves)."
McClure (41-1), attempting to become the Hornets' first-ever three-time state champion, clashed with Berkeley senior Lawrence Woods (27-7) for the title at 145 pounds Saturday night. Benner (42-0) - trying to lock up consecutive undefeated state championships - squared off against Pleasant Hill junior Tommy Williams (44-1) in the 220-pound title match.
Results were not available at press time.
Knowing that Fulton needed to make up ground in the team standings, McClure's objective in his semifinal match with Pleasant Hill senior Kaler Selvin was obvious from the start - obtain a pin. McClure established a 6-0 lead in the first period on a takedown and a pair of near-pins, added a reversal and finally pinned Selvin with :12 remaining in the second period.
"I could have just ridden him out and chilled, and got the easy win, but I need to do what's best for the team," said McClure, who owns state titles at 113 (2014) and 138 pounds (2015). "... I'm confident in my top game more than anything and so I knew if I wanted to pin him, I knew I needed to get to work.
"I worked my wing basically the whole match and I got it done."
Benner (42-0) - who won his first two state matches by pin in a combined 1:19 - was blindsided by Oak Grove freshman Tyler Curd in the early going of their semifinal match at 220 pounds. The compact Curd used his weight to produce a fast takedown and then followed with a near-pin to take a stunning 4-0 edge, before Benner was able to wriggle out of bounds.
"I was driving on him a little bit - trying to get him off his game - and then once he loaded up his hips, I realized that my body was backing up so much and I saw myself in the air," Benner said. "I knew exactly where the out-of-bounds line was and I was going straight for it."
Benner quickly steadied himself and countered with an escape and a takedown to pull within a point. He went in front to stay at 5-4 on a takedown in the second period, tacked on another point and then sealed a 9-4 triumph with a near-pin of Curd in the third period.
"Before, I was just laying back a little bit, but after that I put the hammer down - I had to go," said Benner, who captured a state championship last year at 195 pounds with a spotless 40-0 mark. "I knew if the opportunity presented itself, I had to take full advantage of it."
The semifinals, though, weren't as kind to the Hornets' other five participants.
Clines (28-3) - a state champion at 145 pounds last year - dropped a 3-1 decision to Savannah junior Michael Hummer (45-8) at 152. Clines advanced earlier Friday with a similar 3-1 decision over Eldon sophomore Trenton Dillon in the quarterfinals.
Bristol (35-3) bowed in a 5-2 decision to Smithville senior Jacob Bohlken (52-3) at 285 pounds. Bristol - who previously lost to Bohlken by an identical 5-2 decision at the Odessa Tournament on Jan. 30 - pinned Oak Grove junior Austin Kemp in 1:38 in the quarterfinals.
Dews (35-2) was pinned by Smithville sophomore Alex Rivera (31-9) in 4:42 at 120 pounds. Dews outlasted St. Clair sophomore Jason Landing 1-0 in their quarterfinal match.
Berrey (35-8) was also the victim of a pin at 170 pounds, by Oak Grove senior Landon Cairer (48-2) in 1:51. Berrey was able to pull out a late 7-4 decision over Chillicothe junior Dean Adkins in the quarterfinals.
Kaminski (19-5) was pinned by Smithville junior Jacob Boyd (49-1) in 5:49 at 195 pounds. Kaminski edged Pleasant Hill junior Lane Jellison 6-5 in the quarterfinals.
Clines, Bristol, Dews, Berrey and Kaminski were all assured of medal finishes in either Saturday's third- or fifth-place matches.
Meanwhile, Fulton's two other quarterfinalists - sophomore Tucker Caswell (113 pounds) and senior Andy Baysinger (160) - were eliminated Friday. Caswell (35-6) was pinned by Mexico sophomore Dylan Patton in 1:45 in third-round wrestlebacks, while Baysinger (34-7) was pinned by Owensville senior Wyatt Harrell, also in 1:45, in second-round wrestlebacks.
Caswell - who was pinned by Oak Grove senior Jet Tryon in 5:45 in the quarterfinals - answered with a pin of Logan-Rogersville freshman Brock Carter in 4:27 in second-round wrestlebacks. Baysinger fell to Oak Grove senior Tristan Stack in a narrow 13-12 decision in their quarterfinal match.
Hornets junior Devan Hudson (28-13) was also ousted Friday at 126 pounds after a 7-5 overtime loss to St. Francis Borgia sophomore Dylan Hellebusch in second-round wrestlebacks.
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(Editor's note: See Tuesday's edition for a complete wrap-up of Saturday's matches.)