By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
The coaches and competitors have made their way down to Mizzou Arena in Columbia for the 2022 Missouri State Wrestling Championships going on Thursday through Saturday.
Mid-Buchanan is, once again, the class of the field locally, especially on the boys’ side. The Dragons are sending 13 boys to state this year after sending a school record 12 last season.
Dragons’ boys coach Daniel Kountz is once again thrilled and humbled to have his team in prime position to perhaps win their second straight Class 1 state title.
"The boys just wrestled well," Kountz said. "Hopefully, we can carry that over into this weekend and do the same at state. We take pride in our wrestling here at Mid-Buchanan, too. It's been that way. Want to keep it going, and that's how you get the culture and tradition rolling. You expect to win. You expect to be on the podium."
The Dragons, who ran away with the district title with 286 points, crowned seven district titles on the boys’ side this past Saturday at the Class 1 District 4 meet hosted by Mid-Buchanan.
Among those who qualified for state is junior and now three-time district champion Wade Stanton, who won state at 182 pounds as a sophomore last year and will go for gold at 195 this time around.
"He's a leader on our team," Kountz said of Stanton, who enters state with a 40-2 record. "He sets the tone by working hard every day. He's vocal, encouraging and getting onto the other kids. You love having a Wade Stanton on your team. You can always count on him to pull through and do the right thing and give you everything he's got."
Sophomore Ryder Coons is back at state at 120 pounds after medaling 4th at 106 last year. Junior Clancey Woodward is also back at state at 120 pounds after medaling silver at 113 the year prior.
Nathan Hyde is a repeat state qualifier, as is Denton Biller, Colton Kirkham and Seth Cruz. Cruz medaled 4th at 285 last year and will compete in the heavyweight class at state again this year.
A newcomer at state for Mid-Buchanan is freshman Spencer Cunningham - a district champion at 106 pounds with a 30-2 record.
Kountz's team delivered the first ever state title for a boys' sport in Mid-Buchanan history last winter, and they're in a great position to do so again. But, Kountz and his team knows it has to be earned.
"We can think we're ready and we can be ready, but when that whistle blows, you have to be ready and you have to earn that victory every time."
The Mid-Buchanan girls' team is also one to watch. As district runners-up, the Dragons have qualified four girls for the state meet, including senior Haley Sampson, who’s a four-time state qualifier, and senior Layson Hafley, who became Mid-Buchanan’s first female medalist at state last year, placing fifth.
Also qualifying is freshman Delanie Smith - a district champion at 100 pounds, as well as junior Ariana Hartigan.
Dragons’ girls coach Jake Rumpf says the boys’ success in wrestling has served as a model and as motivation for the girls’ team to keep improving.
"They've seen success (the boys team) has had and how they do things," Rumpf said. "At times, our girls match that and can do even more. So, they're new to it, they want to learn and they want to get better and I hope our numbers continue to grow. Girls' wrestling is awesome and it's only getting better."
State wrestling gets started Thursday with Class 1 and 2 boys’ first round matches at 9 a.m. Girls’ 1st round matches start at 2 p.m., while Class 3 and 4 boys’ have first round matches starting at 5 p.m.
Title matches for all classes boys and girls start Saturday at 4:30 p.m. Medal matches start Saturday at 11 a.m., beginning with girls.
Rumpf says it's nice to have state wrestling back in its normal venue and format this year after a sectional round was added and the field was narrowed last season due to COVID-19. The state meet was held at Cable Dahmer Arena in Independence.
"I think it's different but at the same time, it's not," Rumpf said. "You take it one day at a time, one match at a time and you find a way to get your hand raised. And you can enjoy the atmosphere of Mizzou Arena and what it has to offer for these student-athletes."
Other locals to watch at state
Dawson Fansher - North Andrew (Class 1, 126)
Fansher medaled 5th at state last year, is heading back this season after winning his second straight district title.
Caleb Husch - Cameron, Gage Schottel - Savannah (Class 2, 113)
Husch placed second at state last year, and is a district champion this year.
Schottel is back at state after medaling sixth last season.
Ryker Smith - Cameron (Class 2, 120)
Smith, who placed second at state last season, is fresh off of a district title last week.
Bryson Damgar - Savannah (Class 2, 132)
Damgar, who medaled 4th at state last season, placed fourth at districts last Saturday to get back to the state meet.
Jay Greiner - Lafayette (Class 2, 160)
Greiner (57-1) will shoot for his third consecutive state medal as he finished second districts last Saturday. A junior, Greiner has medaled second at state each of the last two seasons.
Payge Fuller - Plattsburg (Girls, 174) - Fuller is headed to state again after winning her district bracket. She medaled 5th at state last season.
A full list of area boys' state qualifiers is here, while a list of girls' qualifiers can be found here.
You can follow Tommy on Twitter @TommyKFEQ and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.