Instead of determining a champion through dual- and tri-meet results, the wrestling coaches and activities directors in the Jefferson County Activities Association decided to crown this year’s league winner through a traditional tournament format at Hillsboro.
The girls went first, on Jan. 10, followed by the boys three days later. And the boys results held to form as the host Hawks took 11 of the 14 weight classes to win easily with 213 points, 100 more than runner-up Windsor. Hillsboro has won the conference for four straight years and appears ready to challenge two-time defending Class 3 state champion Whitfield at the state meet in Columbia next month. The Hawks placed second a year ago, their highest finish ever.
“We don’t talk about (Whitfield),” said Hillsboro sophomore Jackson Tucker, JCAA champion at 132 and a state runner-up last year at 126. “We keep it positive among us. We don’t talk about any other team.”
Tucker spent only 91 seconds on the mat at the conference meet, winning two falls and the third bout by forfeit to improve to 20-1. His lone loss was to Nixa senior Zan Fugitt, the defending champion at 120 (Class 4), at the Kansas City Stampede last month. Tucker lost a tough final at state in 2022, by a 5-2 decision, to Alexander Rallo of Whitfield.
“I’m glad I got to wrestle (Fugitt),” Tucker said. “Hats off to him. He’s a good dude. I learned he does a lot of good stuff on top and I used some of that today to help me secure the title.
“(Winning the league championship) is another thing to checkmark and move forward. That’s one of the things we wanted to accomplish this year and we got it done.”
After wrapping up the conference title at 126 pounds, Hillsboro senior Gavin Alexander held an ice pack on a finger he’d broken at practice right before the meet. There were just four wrestlers at 126 and Alexander (15-3) pinned all three. He won a state title at 106 in 2020, finished fourth at 113 two years ago and second at 120 in 2022. Like Tucker, a close loss by decision in the state final has spurred Alexander to wrestle through pain.
“I broke (the finger) in half, but I’m here scrapping today and it will only make me better,” Alexander said. “Tough people last. I see it as another thing to get through.
“(Hillsboro head coach Matt Mitchell) has us ready. We had a tough week of practice for this tournament. We didn’t look at it as an easy tournament. We came in ready to grind and get the points needed to win.”
The Hawks’ continued success stems partly from its youth/junior wrestling program and freshman Carter Wallis is another example of how age doesn’t matter when it comes to being state-ready. There were just three wrestlers in Wallis’ bracket at 106 and he pinned his two opponents in the first period. Wallis said he works in practice with Hillsboro sophomore Gabe Barnett, a state qualifier at 106 and conference winner at 113 last season.
“I didn’t miss any days during the summer, working in the practice room,” Wallis said.
Going from the junior program straight to the varsity has taught Wallis some lessons.
“Keep your feet moving,” he said. “You can’t stay still, or you get taken down. I like to take them down, let them up and wear them down.
“We’re expecting a state title. Coming into this program and being able to help out has been great.”
Hillsboro senior Griffin Ray, a two-time state medalist (138, 152), didn’t wrestle in last year’s district tournament after a disciplinary issue. Ray has signed to wrestle at the University of Nebraska and is 23-2 after winning conference at 165 with two pins, both in 46 seconds.
“I’ve been working on my college mindset because it’s a different game there,” said Ray, a starting defensive back on Hillsboro’s district-champion football team last fall. “I want to be mentally focused and locked in. I’m also focused on my neutral game because (in college) there are three-minute first periods. Right now, I’m wrestling two-minute periods and that (extra) minute a match is a big difference. I need to work on staying in my stance.”
Sophomore Jordan Penick (120), senior Blake Jackson (138), senior Nate Barnett (144), junior Aidan Black (150), junior Sam Richardson (157), senior Eddie Hines (175) and junior Hunter Rhodes (215) also won conference titles for the Hawks. A state qualifier at 220 as a freshman, Rhodes didn’t make it to state last year. He came into the conference tournament 0-1, but won all five matches by fall.
The other three weight classes at the JCAA meet were won by De Soto, which finished third with 93 points. Dragon freshman Brenton Drummond pulled off the biggest upset of the tournament with a 5-3 sudden victory over Gabe Barnett at 113 pounds. Drummond won his three other matches with first-period pins.
De Soto’s undefeated senior twins Asa (23-0) and Isaac (22-0) Foeller, both state medalists a year ago, pinned everyone in their way to take the 190 and 285 titles at Hillsboro. Herculaneum junior Shea Eberhardt had a 31-2 record going into his 285 final against Isaac and matched him in physical strength. Eberhardt had pinned his opponents until Isaac got him on his back at the circle’s edge and won by fall at 2:53.
“He tried to roll out of it and I caught him,” Isaac said. “I tried to not let him get out of bounds.”
De Soto alumnus Landon Porter, an undefeated state champion at 285 three years ago, has been working with the Foellers this season.
“He’s taught me how to control my weight in a match and how to use it,” Isaac said. “I have an underhook, and when (the opponent) pushes in hard, I use my hips to keep going.”
Mills stays unbeaten for Tigers
Lauren Mills, the leader of the Festus girls wrestling team, came into last week’s Jefferson County Activities Association tournament battle-tested.
The senior, third in the state a year ago at 130 pounds, had won six straight matches to mow through a bracket of 49 wrestlers and win the 125-pound title at the prestigious Wonder Woman Tournament late last month at Battle High in Columbia.
The path to a crown was much shorter for Mills at the JCAA meet Jan. 10 at Hillsboro. She and Hillsboro’s Lilly Kay were the only entrants at 125 and Mills pinned Kay twice in the first period to breeze to victory and stay unbeaten at 23-0.
Beating Washington junior Kendra Bliss 7-0 for the title at Wonder Woman was the highlight of the season so far for Mills, with the JCAA championship a nice follow-up.
“That was an exciting win,” Mills said about beating Bliss. “(She) was ranked 30th in the nation and first in Class 2 (in Missouri). I had a good mindset throughout the match and it went my way.”
The first-ever girls JCAA tournament revealed holes in the rising popularity of girls wrestling, now in its fifth season in Missouri. The 285 bracket was empty and four other wrestlers – Mya Hairston (Festus, 100), Heaven Webb (Hillsboro, 120), Katie Hendrix (Hillsboro, 140) and Sophie Meyer (St. Pius X, 190) – were the only wrestlers in their classes. The host Hawks won the championship with 46 points.
Mills’ unbeaten season so far “is exciting and shocking at the same time,” she said. “It’s a little bit of pressure this late in the year.”
Mills, a two-time state qualifier, wouldn’t divulge her go-to moves on offense, but said she’s proud of how well she defends, as she showed in shutting out Bliss.
“I have a move – I’m not going to say it – but I’m really good on top and I haven’t given up many points this year when the other girl is on bottom,” she said.
“State is a long weekend and you have to go through each match. You can’t worry about the matches ahead of you. All you have to worry about is scoring points.
“I think about winning state every night. It’s going to take everything – all I’ve got.”
The JCAA field at 155 pounds turned into a showcase for De Soto junior Ella Bradley, who is just now returning to the mat after breaking her hand last fall in a cheerleading routine. She was 44-2 last year and took third in the state at 159. At Hillsboro she posted first-period pins against Windsor’s Leah McRoy, St. Pius’s Kaydn Gottman and Hillsboro’s Alleigh Culley to claim the conference crown.
“I’m not going to lie, coming back from this injury, I was like, ‘Oh man, (Culley’s) going to be strong,’” Bradley said about her summer wrestling partner, who is 17-6 and took second in the conference. “She knows how to wrestle better than anybody else, but I knew I could get it.
“Coach (John) Brown and my coaches have been keeping me in great shape. With the offseason work, my technique’s there; I’m in shape, now I have to get back on the mat.”
Culley won the 155-pound title at another high-level meet, the Capital City Tournament Jan. 6, and has placed in every tournament she’s entered this season.
“She’s a really strong person and she’s fast and quick on her feet,” Culley said of Bradley. “She got me twice in the fireman’s carry and I wasn’t expecting that. I thought she’d come in with a high-c or double or single because she did that all the time in the practice room.”
The other undefeated wrestler at the girls tournament was Herculaneum senior Eddyson Reeves, who was in a relatively crowded field at 135. She improved to 17-0 (all pins) after winning four matches by fall. Hillsboro junior Ella Bingman finished second at 135 and lasted the longest against Reeves (3:38).
The Blackcat standout has just missed qualifying for state, twice, but has better prospects now that Herculaneum is in Class 1 of the state’s new two-class setup.
“I feel I’m more offensive this year,” Reeves said. “I’m trying to set up what I want, instead of waiting for what (the opponent) wants. I try to use my length as an advantage.”
The unblemished record and pin streak have opponents putting a target on Reeves’ back.
“I can tell beforehand if they have a certain amount of aggression in their face,” Reeves said. “I look at their hips and stance to see what I can set up at the start.”
After injuring a knee right before districts last year, Windsor senior Madison Patrick couldn’t wait to get back on the mat this season. She pinned St. Pius freshman Ella Choate twice to win the JCAA title at 170 and improve to 14-2. Patrick was coming off the 155-pound championship at the Parkview Lady Vikings Classic in Springfield on Dec. 30.
“I’m glad to be back on the mat with a great team and amazing coach,” she said. “This year I’m hoping to tear it up on the mat.
“I love my team and the bond we have with the guys. The passion they all bring motivates me.”
Patrick said her strengths are cradles and throws, but she needs to be quicker with her shots.
This is the second year St. Pius has offered boys and girls wrestling. Lancer sophomore Rylee Bohnert pinned a pair of freshmen, Isabella Horn of Festus and Hillsboro’s Ava Culley, to claim the conference championship at 130.
St. Pius head coach R. J. Eberhart said the Lancers’ numbers overall are stable. Natalia Lopez, a foreign-exchange student from Spain, wrestles at 140.
“We have great wrestling in the area,” Eberhart said. “It starts with dedicated coaches and administrators.
“(Girls wrestling) is still a growing sport. I think next year the number of girls (at St. Pius) will double.”