Three. Two. One. Liftoff!
After finishing third in Class 3 two years ago and second last year, the Hillsboro boys wrestling team won its first state championship Saturday at Mizzou Arena in Columbia with 179.5 points, dethroning two-time defending champion Whitfield, the runner up with 144.5. The Hawks are just the second team from Jefferson County to win a state wrestling title; Northwest took home the Class 4A crown in 1984.
It’s the second state championship of this school year for Hillsboro, which won the boys’ Class 4 cross country title in November – also taking down a repeat defending state champ, Festus.
“I’m happy for the kids, their families and the community,” Hillsboro head coach Matt Mitchell said. “This is going back to previous head coaches leading up to this. I’m proud of everyone who’s been a part of it.”
For state, the Hawks qualified wrestlers – freshmen through seniors – in all 14 weight classes, another first for the program and a key to knocking off Whitfield. Seven won medals, five reached the finals and four won championships. The Warriors placed four wrestlers in the finals and split with the Hawks 1-1 in head-to-head title matches.
Following fourth-round wrestlebacks, Hillsboro had all but clinched the championship. It was up to freshman Carter Wallis to seal the deal in the 106-pound final. Wallis (43-3) faced another freshman, Whitfield’s Jackson Bassett (40-6) and took a 6-0 lead into the third period en route to an 11-3 major decision. Wallis reached the final after allowing zero points in three matches (a 40-second pin followed by 4-0 and 6-0 decisions).
After getting his arm raised in triumph, Wallis flexed for the large band of Hawk fans cheering on the historic moment.
“This state experience, you can’t ask for anything better,” Wallis said, crouched in a tunnel reveling in his win. “I wanted to keep my nerves calm and stay relaxed and go out there and show everybody I can wrestle.”
“Once (Wallis) got into our room for a couple of weeks, he really took off,” Mitchell said. “We’re excited he was able to come here and compete. Once you win it, it gets harder to defend it and he’ll be working toward that.”
That’s a feeling Hillsboro senior Gavin Alexander knows all too well. Alexander (38-5), who won the state title at 106 as a freshman in 2020, finished his superb career Saturday as a four-time state medalist, losing 4-1 to Whitfield’s Porter Matecki (41-2) in the 126 final – the second time the Warrior junior has denied Alexander a second state title.
Hillsboro sophomore Jackson Tucker (43-1), second at 126 pounds last year, made it to the final again, this time at 132, after earning a 15-4 major decision over Whitfield sophomore Caleb Carter in the semifinals – a crucial point swing in the Hawks’ favor. In the title match, Tucker swooped in for seven takedowns against North Point (Wentzville) junior Chad Benwell and won a 14-6 major decision. All of Benwell’s points came on escapes.
Tucker said his championship was due in part to going up against the wily Alexander every day in practice.
“Wrestling with Gavin in practice has been a game-changer,” Tucker said. “Every day’s a brawl. Even when we had light practices, it’s not (light) with him. He lost to a tough kid (today) and he’ll be just fine.
“(Being state champions) was (our) goal from the beginning. We stepped into the room that first day and knew it was going to happen. Everybody went hard and we all helped each other out.”
Whitfield secured second place with championships at 138 and 150. The other state trophies went to Belton (94.5 points) in third and Hannibal (92) in fourth.
With MSHSAA’s new format of running six mats (four boys, two girls) during the finals, Hillsboro junior Sam Richardson (157) and senior Griffin Ray (165) won side-by-side championships with pins only moments apart. Richardson (37-4) and Ray (44-3) both used the technically challenging “spladle” move to stick their opponents. They hone the technique on each other in practice.
“I hit a spladle, and (Richardson) did the same thing beside me,” Ray said. “It’s something we’re known for.”
Third at 145 last year, Richardson pinned all four of his opponents at state, including Bolivar senior Riley Beckman (42-4) at 3:01 in the finals. Ray pulled an escape in the third period against Willard junior Gary Walker (36-4) for a 1-0 decision in the semifinals. In the final, Ray pinned Carl Junction sophomore Tony Stewart (41-12) in 2:16. Ray’s father, Frank Ray, is an assistant coach for the Hawks and they shared a big hug after the win.
Ray didn’t make it to state last year but finished fifth at 138 as a freshman and third at 152 his sophomore year. He plans to wrestle at the University of Nebraska.
“It’s been 738 days since I wrestled at a state tournament,” Ray said. “I was so damn hungry.
“From a team aspect, we wanted to go in, do our jobs and seal it up. Personally, I’ve felt like a bat out of hell all day. I feel unstoppable. Last year was a big motivator.”
Mitchell said Ray learned from his losses this year.
“He got the opportunity today to (win state) and I’m happy for him,” Mitchell said.
A state champion at 152 last year, Hillsboro senior Evan Morris (33-7) finished fifth at 150 after beating Fort Zumwalt South junior Jeric Gumahin (44-10) 6-3. Sophomore Jordan Penick (35-12) was fourth at 120, losing by medical forfeit to Farmington sophomore Presley Johnson in the third-place match.
While Hillsboro rolled to conference, district and state championships, league rivals De Soto and Windsor waged a spirited battle all year, often finishing close together at tournaments. That was the case in Columbia as the Dragons (35 points) wound up 19th, two points better than the Owls in 20th. Festus qualified two wrestlers and logged four points to place 37th in the 43-team field.
De Soto senior Isaac Foeller (41-2) won three decisions by a combined five points to reach the 285-pound final against undefeated McDonald County junior Jayce Hit (26-0). Hit flipped Foeller late in the first period and won by fall at 1:42. Foeller’s twin brother, Asa, finished out of the medals at 190 after placing sixth at 195 last season. The brothers and older sister Jaycee, a three-time undefeated state champion, leave a strong state legacy for the Dragons.
The new faces for De Soto include freshmen state qualifiers Brenton Drummond (113), Thomas Bradley (120) and Trenton Hunter (132). Drummond took sixth place after losing in the first round and fighting back through the consolation side of the bracket.
“It’s nerve-wracking, but you can’t focus on the people in the stands, you have to focus on your match and keep going,” Drummond said of his first state experience. “I’m learning a lot from our state champs and college wrestlers. It helps a lot.”
Windsor sent six wrestlers to state and sophomore Brice Henry (45-7) was the only Owl to medal, coming in third at 175 with a 6-4 comeback sudden victory over De Smet senior Rickson Taylor. The bout was scoreless after the first period and then Taylor scored two near-fall points to lead going into the third. Henry tied it with a takedown to force overtime and got two more takedowns for the victory. He narrowly missed the medal round at 160 last year on a 3-1 decision in the consolation bubble match.
Henry said one of his main goals as a junior will be to win the 100th match of a prep career that’s only halfway over.
“I wore (Taylor) out on top and made sure I got a win,” Henry said. “I’ll remember that comeback win. It was great because I didn’t place last year.”
Two other Owls lost in consolation. Junior Brayden Belding’s shot at the 120 medal round ended in a 6-2 loss to Penick. Junior Nick Baer, after losing several times this season to Nate Barnett of Hillsboro, finally got the better of the Hawk senior in the 144 wrestlebacks with a 5-4 sudden victory, but lost in the consolation semifinals.