01/23/2020
It was a big weekend in Missouri wrestling! 4 #1 wrestlers went down on Saturday, and another one last night. We had a Class 1 #1 vs #2 showdown and a Class 4 state finals rematch. We also have a new number one in the Class 2 team rankings!
220 All-Star Matchup: The Streak Continues
C4 #1 and defending state champion Kale Schrader (Carthage High School) beat C3 #1 and returning state finalist Drayke Perry of Neosho in sudden victory. Schrader hasn’t lost a match since the state finals of his sophomore season, and he only had 2 overtime matches during his undefeated junior campaign. Every match this season except for the overtime thriller over Perry has been won by fall or major decision. These high-level matchups are rare, and that is why we are starting the RankWrestlers Invitational next season. It will be a post season tournament where we invite the top 8 ranked wrestlers in the state at each weight regardless of class. Keep an eye out for more info about the RW Invitational heading into next season!
195 Revenge Match: Class 2 #1 goes down
C3 #2 Jed Brandon (Willard High School) was pinned by C2 #1 Kaden Dillon (Eldon) at the Monett Tournament. One week later, he beat him 9-6 in the finals of the Tiger Pride Battle. Dillion is still ranked #1 in Class 2, one spot ahead of #2 Jack Creasy (Osage). Those two have also split a pair of matches this season, the first being a 10-4 win by Dillon at the Monett Tournament and the second was an 11-4 victory for Creasy at their dual. They are both in District 3, along with #4 Trevor Campbell (Harrisonville) and #6 Brock Maverick (Buffalo). That will be a loaded district tournament.
152 Another Class 2 #1 goes down
C1 #3 Tyson Moore of Lexington handed C2 #1 Bryce Palmer of Odessa his first loss of this season (6-4). The fact that Moore is ranked #3 behind 2 defending state champions is a testament to the ridiculous depth of this weight class. If the RankWrestlers invitational happened today, 5 of the 8 wrestlers invited at 152 would be from Class 1: Ross Arch, Andrew Huddleston, Tyson Moore, Braden Carpenter, and Matt Wuntkey.
138: You guessed it, another Class 2 #1 takes a loss
C4 #4 Sam Schultz (Chaminade College Preparatory School St. Louis) continued his undefeated senior season with a 4-3 decision over C2 #1 Cristian Dixon (Benton). The last time Dixon lost was in the state finals last year. C4 #1 and #2 are both from Park Hill (we rank wrestlers at the weight they have wrestled most in the last 7 matches), so Schultz is essentially #3.
132 Revenge Match: Brink beats Class 3 #1
As a 2 time defending state champion, Karter Brink (Monett) is no stranger to big matches. He dropped one earlier this season to C3 #1 Kolten Sanders of Neosho (7-3). On Saturday, Brink got his revenge with a 4-3 victory over Sanders in the finals of the Branson Invitational. He is ranked #3 behind undefeated 2 time state champion Jay Strausbaugh (Loagan-Rogersville) and undefeated returning state finalist Sam Hrabovsky (Fulton) who was an undefeated state champ his freshman year. Hrabovsky has only lost one match in his high school career, and it was in the finals last season to Brink 4-3. This has to be one of the most anticipated potential matchups at this year’s state tournament.
120 Class 1 #1 vs #2 showdown
In a potential state championship preview, Logan Claypole (Richmond High School, Richmond, Missouri) took the #1 ranking from now #2 Sam Wilhelm (K**b Noster) with an 8-6 decision. Both wrestlers are returning state placers. Wilhelm’s only other loss this season was a 9-2 decision to 126 C1 #1 Collin Arch (Palmyra Missouri High School) who is one of only 4 freshman RankWresters All-Americans. The other three are Brayden Shelton (Centralia), Brock Woodcock (St. Clair), and Kyshin Isringhausen (Branson).
285 State Finals Rematch
The rivalry between #1 Ryan Skillington (Francis Howell) and #3 Jacobi Jackson (DeSmet) began 2 years ago with Skillington winning both matchups (Fall, 3-0). It really started heating up when Jackson beat Skillington 5-2 early last season. About two months later, Skillington evened the season series with a 0-0 win in ultimate tiebreaker. Yes, you read that right. But that would be far from the last tie breaker match between these two. They met again in the District 2 finals, this time with Jackson getting the victory in TB-1 by a score of 8-3. In the state championship match, Skillington got the better of Jackson winning 3-2 in ultimate tie breaker. In their first meeting this season, Jackson earned a tie breaker victory over Skillington at the Lees Summit Holiday Tournament. They met again this past Saturday in the finals of the St. Charles West Invitational, and Skillington won in ultimate tie breaker by a score of 6-4. This series has been crazy and it is far from over. To make it even more interesting, returning state placer #2 Brandon Backues (Jefferson City) is currently 24-0 and hasn’t wrestled either of them.
New #1 in Class 2
Odessa Bulldog Wrestling has taken the #1 spot from Monett. Here are the wrestlers earning them points in the rankings:
#1 Gavin Gross (145)
#1 Bryce Palmer (152)
#2 Shon Badder (126)
#3 Luke Malizzi (160)
#3 Jake Evinger (182)
#5 Xavier Walsh (195)
#5 Colby Wilson (220)
#5 Nick Wright (285)
#8 Dalton Coe (106)
All rankings come from www.rankwrestlers.com. The top 5 at every weight are available for free, and the full rankings are available for $25 a year. Updated Daily.
