Willard flexed its muscles and won three of the four heaviest weight classes and the overall team championship Saturday at the Carl Junction Classic wrestling tournament. Willard, ranked No. 8 in Class 3, had 2361⁄2 points and finished ahead of Central Ozark Conference Large Division rival Carthage, which placed second with 217 points. Monett was third with 1781⁄2.

Carthage and Monett each won three individual titles. Nevada had two champions, and Webb City and Carl Junction each had one. Carthage’s winners were seniors Larry Swinehart at 160 pounds and Arnold Herrera at 170, along with sophomore Blaine Perry at 285. Runners-up for Carthage were Dakota Jones at 106, Tyler Harden at 113, River Maggard at 126, Seth Logan at 138 and Logan Bryan at 152. Most of Monett’s points came in the lighter weight classes, including champions Chase Brennan at 106, Levi Neely at 113 and Chris Renteria at 138. Dominick Witherow was runner-up at 145. Three-time Class 2 state qualifier Tanner Charles at 126 and senior Zach Shepherd at 145 won titles for Nevada, which placed fifth overall. Five other Tigers, including two-time state medalist Slade Stiles at 120, placed in the top four. Diamond, fifth overall, was led by its four returning qualifiers from the Class 1 state tournament. Dylan Flint at 132 and Chris Pittman at 182 placed second, while Jake Goade at 113 and Jordan Douglas at 138 placed third.

Nick Koon of Carl Junction won the 138-pound title, while teammates Calvin Bremmerkamp at 170, Jayden Gunnett at 195 and Jacob Wall at 285 were runners-up. Webb City senior Cody Jolly won the 120-pound championship.

Carl Junction head coach Jeremy Finley said he was pleased with the effort his short-handed wrestling team put forth in the Pleasant Hill Tournament. Seven Carl Junction wrestlers placed in the top six Saturday, led by Nick Koon, who won the 132-pound championship with a 6-4 decision against Jace Roy of Prairie View. Dakota Matter placed second at 106 and Jacob Wall was third at 285. “There were some tough brackets,” Finley said. “We’re banged up. We’re doing the best we can right now.”

Colton Crowder of Carl Junction placed fourth at 126. The Bulldogs won fifth-place medals with Jayden Gunnett at 195 and Taylor Dawdy at 220. Colton Mertens at 160 was sixth. Carl Junction will host a 10-team tournament Saturday.

 

Joplin, Webb City and Carl Junction each won a dual Thursday night in a double dual at the Joplin High School 9th and 10th Grade Campus. Carl Junction defeated Joplin 42-37, Webb City decisioned Carl Junction 45-33 and Joplin edged Webb City 37-33.

Joplin’s Keegan Loyd, Alex Karns, Rayle Guthrie, Billy Nguyen, Don Hollingshead and Danny Drouin won both of their matches. “Those are the guys we’re looking to lead us,” said Joplin head coach Shawn Finch. “They’re starting to get confidence they are pretty good.” Loyd at 126 pounds, Guthrie at 145 and Drouin at 220 won both of their matches by pin. Joplin freshman Levi Puckett made his varsity debut at 120 by pinning Brandon Harnar of Carl Junction, then lost a 7-6 decision to Webb City’s Cody Jolly when Jolly scored a takedown with two seconds left. “He had a good night despite losing his match,” Finch said. Jolly, a senior, was 40-3 and placed third in the Class 3 state tournament last season.

Webb City’s Brayden Goff at 132 and Nick Lovejoy at 195 pinned both opponents. “It was good to get these guys on the mat with an opponent,” said Webb City head coach Larron Hurst. “The matches where our kids are pretty good and their kids are pretty good, we got some good mat time. Some duals, you don’t get matchups like that.”

Goff pinned Carl Junction’s Nick Koon in the third period in a matchup of returning state qualifiers. Webb City’s Landon Baker at 138 pinned one opponent and led 9-6 late in his match with Karns before Karns scored a near fall and sent the match into overtime. Karns won 10-9.

Carl Junction’s Jacob Wall at 285 and teammate Calvin Bremmerkamp (170) both won twice by pin.

Joplin’s next action will be Saturday in the Gardner-Edgerton Tournament. Webb City will wrestle Monett and Diamond on Thursday at Monett, and Carl Junction travels Friday to the Pleasant Hill Tournament.

A lineup built around six seniors has Carl Junction wrestling head coach Jeremy Finley ready to get the season under way. He won’t have to wait much longer. The Bulldogs face Joplin and Webb City at 5:30 p.m. today at the Joplin High School 9th and 10th Grade Campus.

The Bulldogs have seniors sprinkled into their lineup from returning state qualifier Dakota Matter (22-14) at 106 pounds to Jacob Wall at 285. “This is my fourth year, so I have high expectations for these seniors,” Finley said. “This is one of the hardest working groups I’ve had.” Zach Wingo at 152, Colton Mertens at 160, Bennie McWilliams at 182 and Jaydon Gunnett at 195 round out the senior presence.

Nick Koon (28-10), a junior and two-time state qualifier, will wrestle at 132, Finley said. Sophomore Brandon Harnar, a starter last year, will be at 120, with classmates Ethan Wingo at 138 and Calvin Bremmerkamp at 170. Newcomers to the lineup are freshmen Blake Barth at 113, Beau Crowder at 126 and Justice Hall at 145.

Carl Junction will face a busy early-season schedule. The Bulldogs will be in the Pleasant Hill Tournament on Friday and Saturday and have a dual with Seneca next week before the Carl Junction Tournament next weekend. “We like it that way,” Finley said. “We’ve been practicing for a long time. Now it’s time for us to go compete. We want to beat up on somebody else.”