Of the 20 wrestlers from the Jefferson County Activities Association who qualified for the state wrestling championships in February, one had his hand raised in the championship round.
Windsor junior Jacob Warren’s come-from-behind performance to capture the Class 3 title at 145 pounds will long be remembered because it’s the first wrestling championship in school history. Warren trailed Willard senior Nikolas Chavez 4-1 in the third period before scrambling to pin Chavez in the final minute of the match. Chavez was 47-0 at the time.
De Soto captured its fifth straight conference team title and sent a league-best seven wrestlers to state. The Dragons also have one of the best young heavyweights in the state in freshman Landon Porter. After winning a district title and a match at state, Porter should be primed to take the next step toward the medal stand in Columbia in 2018.
Here is a breakdown by team of this year’s all-JCAA first-team wrestlers.
De Soto
Senior Zach Nash was undefeated in conference matches and finished third at 126 pounds in the Class 3 District 1 tournament. After reaching state his sophomore year, Nash qualified again this year and, after a loss in the first round, pinned Fort Zumwalt East junior Cameron Legrand at 1:47. Nash was eliminated in the second round of wrestlebacks.
“He was a real hard worker,” De Soto head coach John Brown said. “This year he came around and had some tough competition. He beat some quality kids and had a great year for us.”
Senior Ethan Ladyman won 34 matches and finished fourth at the district tournament at 132 pounds, but was not able to compete in Columbia because of a skin condition.
“He had some problems at the end, but he was fun to coach this year,” Brown said.
Just a sophomore, Logan Zimmermann (152 pounds) won three of his four district matches by fall, including the final against Union senior Josh Clark. Zimmermann got through the first round at state, lost in the quarterfinals, then wrestled his way back to the fifth-place match and finished sixth.
“His weight class was filled with tough competition and we’re looking for a bright future next year,” Brown said.
Michael Manning turned in his best season on the mat as a senior. He won four district matches at 170 pounds en route to the title match, a 3-1 decision over Farmington senior Aaron Wilson. Manning won his first match at state but dropped the next two and finished the season 37-8.
Manning started wrestling in the De Soto little league program and was on the mat all four years in high school.
“He will be missed,” Brown said. “He placed in every tournament except for state. He’s a district champion who had a great year.”
After qualifying for state as a sophomore, then losing in the district “bubble” match as a junior, senior Johnny Williamson made it back to Columbia, beating Festus senior Tyler Sexton 3-2 in the third-place district match at 195 pounds. At state, Williamson lost to Platte County junior Sage Smart in the first round – Smart ended up second at 195 – and won two matches in wrestlebacks before getting eliminated.
“He’s a good all around athlete, and he wrestled really well the last three weeks of the season,” Brown said of Williamson.
Porter was the proverbial ‘bull in a China shop’ all season. It didn’t matter if he wrestled seniors or other freshmen, he was confident he was the better wrestler. At district, Porter pinned Hillsboro sophomore Joe Becker in the final to establish his dominance among county heavyweights. The Dragon frosh won his first match at state but lost 6-0 to Carl Junction junior Zeke Wall in the next round. Wall went on to finish second at 285.
“(Porter’s) been on the mat since he was 5 years old,” Brown said. “He really likes wrestling and it shows. He knows what he’s doing on the mat. He ran into some difficulties (at state). Strength-wise he’s not weak and knows how to position himself.”
Herculaneum
Although junior James Todaro posted a 32-2 record at 145 pounds and was the only Blackcat to qualify for state, he didn’t have much a chance to make the all-JCAA first team with Warren also at 145.
So junior Drake Byers (160 pounds) was the lone Herculaneum wrestler to make the first team. He stood alone at that weight because the league coaches, who pick the team, made no selections at 160 for the second team or honorable mention.
At the Class 1 District 1 meet at Whitfield High, Byers won in the first round, lost in the quarterfinals and narrowly missed a state berth with a loss in the bubble match.
“Drake is an outstanding student who put in great effort into wrestling,” Herculaneum head coach Andrew Wenger said. “His hard work showed in his plus-.500 record (16-15). The hope is that Drake will develop over the summer as he plays baseball, and will be able to come back at the same weight and qualify for state next year.”
Hillsboro
Freshman James Short stepped out of his older brother Nick’s shadow by winning 41 matches and a district title (in Class 3 District 1 at 106 pounds) this winter. Short won his first match at state but was pinned by Kearney sophomore James Freitag in the quarterfinals. Freitag eventually finished second at 106. Short won a wrestleback match but didn’t reach the medal round.
“James came a long way from the beginning of the year,” Hillsboro head coach Lee Freeman said. “He grew a lot as a wrestler as the season went on. His own expectations and confidence have risen and he looks to make the podium next season.”
Elder sibling Nick Short, meanwhile, made his third straight state appearance. After qualifying at 106 the last two seasons, he finished third at district at 113 this year. Like his younger brother, Nick reached the 40-win mark for the season. But he lost in the first round at state and won one wrestleback match.
“Nick has always been consistent,” Freeman said. “He shows up every day and works just as hard as anyone in the room. He didn’t quite accomplish the goals he had set for this past postseason, but wrestled some tough competition. We are always proud of the effort and hard work he puts forth for the program and we are looking forward to his senior year.”
Junior Dylan Owens, another three-time state qualifier, reached the medal stand in Columbia this year with a second-place finish at 120 pounds. Owens got by Washington senior Joe Omer 1-0 in the district final, then battled through to the state final against Kearney junior Clayton Singh, who won a 13-0 major decision.
“Dylan continues to be a great role model for our team,” Freeman said. “He fell just short of reaching the top of the podium and that will drive his hard work this offseason in the wrestling room and weight room. I’m looking forward to seeing the improvements he makes.”
Junior Paul Stewart crashed his way to the state tournament with a district championship at 220. He edged Washington senior Alec Holtmeyer 3-2 in the district final and kept rolling with a win in his first match at state. He lost his next two matches to fall out of medal contention.
“Paul had a little bit of an up-and-down year,” Freeman said. “He finished on a high note with a district championship. State was a learning experience this year for him. He has motivation now to get back next year and finish off his senior year.”
Windsor
Warren served notice to the state’s best at 145 pounds that he meant business after winning three of his four matches at the district meet by fall. The pins continued in the first two rounds at state before Warren won a 10-0 major decision in the semifinals. Warren got Chavez in a cradle in the finals and pinned him at 5:08.
“It was exciting,” Windsor head coach Kevin Stoffey said. “I don’t know any other way to describe it. As soon as we got into that takedown position, we were under a minute (to go). The first thing running through my head is, we need to cut him and go for another takedown. But (Warren) never got into position to do that. I saw him working toward the cradle, but if he doesn’t lock it up, we lose it.”
Undefeated for a good portion of the season, junior Ryan Yarnell was positioned to claim his first state title at 182. Yarnell was 40-1 heading to state after sweeping his competition at district. But he fell 6-3 to Webb City senior Hunter Vanlue in the state semifinals and Vanlue went on to capture the title.
“Ryan is a state-champion-caliber wrestler,” Stoffey said. “I really thought going in, we had a good chance to come home with two state champs. (Yarnell) lost in the semifinals to the eventual state champion in a match that could have gone either way.”
Another up-and-coming freshman in the JCAA is Grant Pauli. Enthusiastic and confident, Pauli finished third at district at 138 and was 1-2 at state. Stoffey said he’d be surprised of Pauli didn’t finish on the state medal stand next year.
“He’ll probably move up a weight class or two,” Stoffey said. “It’s such a good group of kids we’ve got. They’re hitting it hard already. Three nights a week they’re working out at (Windsor) or another place to train. You can’t get them off the mat.”
Second team
Kenneth Coats, De Soto, 106; Michael Whitt, De Soto, 113; Christian Homeier, Windsor, 120; Isaiah Beck, Hillsboro, 126; Jordon Sanders, Hillsboro, 132; Dominic DeMarco, De Soto, 138; James Todaro, Herculaneum, 145; Justin Harris, Festus, 152; Eli Allison, Festus, 170; Logan Smith, De Soto, 182; Tyler Sexton, Festus, 195; Andrew Marler, Windsor, 220; Joe Becker, Hillsboro, 285
Honorable mention
Dillon French, Festus, 106; Andrew Kinder, Windsor, 113; Connor Zimmermann, De Soto, 120; Connor Meynell, Windsor, 126; Braden Clark, Festus, 138; Tanner Weberling, Hillsboro, 145; Joe Garner, Hillsboro, 152; Justin Montgomery, Herculaneum, 170; Zach Bodway, Hillsboro, 182; Trevor Struemph, De Soto, 220; Dason Boyer, Festus, 285
Conference champion: De Soto
Coach of the Year: John Brown, De Soto
Wrestler of the Year: Jacob Warren, Windsor