COLUMBIA - The emotional spectrum registered euphoria for Owen Uhls and stunning anguish for Sam Hrabovsky.
Uhls became Fulton's third freshman state champion in the last nine years by easily manhandling Mexico freshman Keith Ransom in a 9-0 major decision for the Class 2 state title at 106 pounds late Saturday afternoon to close out the 89th MSHSAA Wrestling Championships at Mizzou Arena.
"It means everything, just working so hard all season, every day in the (wrestling) room after school for two hours and a half," said Uhls, who finished with a dazzling 54-1 record. "It just all means that it was worth it.
"My whole family was there to support me and it just means the world to be able to do it in front of them."
Hrabovsky, meanwhile, was denied his chance to add a second straight unbeaten state championship after a narrow but jarring 4-3 loss to Monett junior Karter Brink for the title at 120.
Hrabovsky, a sophomore, was handed the first loss of his high school career in ending the season with a 34-1 record. He captured a state title at 113 last year with a perfect 42-0 mark.
"I didn't win this year, but there's always next year," Hrabovsky said. "I'll just come back next year and get a title."
Hornets head coach Ryan Morts was torn between the joy he felt for Uhls and the agony for Hrabovsky.
"It's awesome for (Owen) - he's worked all year for this, he's worked probably his whole life as a little kid," Morts said. "He's just improved, improved, improved. He's an awesome kid, a sweetheart, big heart - he'd do anything for you. He's a good kid, I'm happy for him.
"I feel heartbreak (for Sam). You're with these kids from 3:30 in the afternoon to 5:30, 6 o'clock in the afternoon. Long weekends, long days, so they become part of your life, part of your heart. I know he's terribly upset, but I'm terribly upset for him and heartbroken for him.
Uhls was 3-0 this season against Ransom (39-8) - including a district championship win - and their fourth meeting in Saturday's title clash was never close.
Uhls tallied a quick takedown of Ransom in the first period and promptly followed it with a three-point near-pin to grab a 5-0 lead. He tacked on a reversal in the second period and then punctuated his first state championship with a takedown in the third period.
"The key was getting the first takedown," Uhls said. "I knew I could ride him on top, I've wrestled him three times. I know how he wrestles - I knew if I got that first takedown it was over.
"I don't know if I expected it to be easy, but I knew I was better. I knew I worked harder, I knew I beat him before, he's never beat me. I knew if I wrestled how I should, I'd win the match."
Morts noted that Uhls' skill in modifying his style of wrestling gave him the edge against a familiar foe like Ransom.
"It's just being able to change, and Owen's good at that," Morts said. "He can wrestle you one way, one match, and if you're defending him against the last match, he can change it up and get to something else.
"He's just a very versatile, smart kid, even-keeled."
Brink (48-6) was the returning state champion at 120, but Hrabovsky had just defeated him 5-0 for the title at Oak Grove's Panther Classic on Feb. 2.
After a scoreless first period in Saturday's state championship match, Hrabovsky took a 1-0 lead with an escape early in the second period. Brink quickly countered with a takedown to go in front, but Hrabovsky replied with another escape to tie it at 2-all to close out the period.
Brink went in front to stay on a takedown with 1 minute, 20 seconds left in the match, but Hrabovsky pulled within a point behind his third escape. Hrabovsky then appeared to regain the lead with a takedown near the edge of the wrestling circle, but an official ruled that the two wrestlers were out of bounds.
"That kind of changed the match," Hrabovsky said. "I thought I was going to be in the lead there, then I could ride him out and work on top, which is one of my best positions."
Guarding his one-point advantage, Brink was warned for stalling with about :16 remaining. Hrabovsky tried to scramble for a takedown and a dramatic rally, but time eventually ran out.
"I was not able to get to my shots - he was trying to keep distance," Hrabovsky said. "I could just never get in and get to my shots, and score my points."
Morts was confident that Brink and his coaches broke down video of the previous match, devising a strategy to disrupt Hrabovsky's typical approach.
"I'm sure they watched that tape, I'm sure they watched everything and they wrestled not to let him do what he does," Morts said. "Take him out of his game - grabbing his hands, making his hands be tied up and stuff like that. He was working our fingers pretty hard - I was hollering at the officials about that.
"That's what you do in wrestling - you wrestle to that opponent. It's a chess game - you move your stuff to compete against him, and he (Brink) did."
Morts fully expects Hrabovsky to be a contender to collect that second state title in 2020.
"We'll move on next year, he'll move on next year and there'll be fire for him in his belly to come back and just dominate next year," said Morts, "and not let anyone be close to him."
Junior Jackson Caswell was the other state medalist for the Hornets, earning a third-place finish at 113. Caswell - after a disappointing quarterfinal loss Friday - maneuvered his way through wrestlebacks to tally an 8-0 major decision over Ste. Genevieve sophomore Dalton McNeal in the third-place match Saturday.
Caswell - who was a state medalist in 2018 by taking third at 106 - completed the season with a 52-6 record.
"Jackson's a solid kid and to have to wrestle that far back, you know that's a tough gig," Morts said. "Some people, if they lose their quarter or semifinal match, they can just cash out and be like, 'I'm done, I didn't get what I wanted or where I wanted.'
"To come back and wrestle back those three or four matches, and end on a win that's good for him."
Fulton - maximizing its five state qualifiers, including senior Steven Johnson (34-20) at 220 and sophomore Eston Dews (37-19) at 126 - ended up in a tie with St. Clair for sixth place in Class 2 with 79 points apiece. Monett collected the Class 2 team state championship with 145 points.
"We were ahead of teams that beat us in the district, teams that beat us in duals," Morts said. "All year you can say, 'I want to win duals, I want to win duals,' but we don't have a dual team. We have five, six opens (in weight classes).
"So to come here and the five guys that you bring compete, and put up a finish like that, that's awesome. That shows how big of a heart that those kids have."
Ryan Boland can be reached at (573) 826-2422, or on Twitter @FultonSunSports.