By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
COLUMBIA - Owen Stockbauer has had a memorable senior year.
He helped North Platte football to a state runner-up finish this past fall. Now, he'll have a chance to go out on top in his final year with Mid-Buchanan wrestling.
Stockbauer (31-6) earned two, first-round pins in each of his first two matches to reach state semifinals in the Class 2 boys' 215 pound tournament at the state wrestling championships at Mizzou Arena.
Stockbauer, a district runner-up and three-time state qualifier, is poised to improve from his fourth place finish at state in 2023.
"The whole plan (Wednesday) was to get in, get out and rest up for the next day for semifinals," he said. "That's where the big matches are really at."
Stockbauer gets set to face defending state champion Brayden Bush of Pleasant Hill (24-0) in semifinals. It was Bush who beat Mid-Buchanan's Wade Stanton in semifinals at 190 pounds in state last year.
"He's going to be a tough match, but hopefully, I can pull it off and go for the gold," Stockbauer added.
Also reaching semifinals at 215 pounds is the one who pinned Stockbauer for a district title last Saturday in Excelsior Springs - Savannah's Cooper Burnsides.
A state runner-up at 190 pounds last year, Burnsides (46-6) largely cruised on Wednesday, pinning his first opponent in 22 seconds. He won via a 6-0 decision in quarterfinals.
"I'm going in thinking I want to win state this year," Burnsides said plainly. "I hope my teammates go in, thinking the same thing, because last year, I placed second. This year, I want go first."
Two more Savannah wrestlers are already guaranteed medals, and will compete in semifinals Thursday. Freshman Lawson Francis (48-6) won via pin and 9-0 decision to get there at 106 pounds.
At 126 pounds, Savannah's Creighton Cook (41-14) is onto semifinals, sneaking in after a 5-4 decision in his quarterfinal bout. Cook medaled 6th at state last year in the 120-pound division.
At 190 pounds, the Lafayette Fighting Irish will have another wrestler representing them in semifinals. Senior Jackson Perkins (50-1) outlasted fourth-ranked Doug Blaha of Blair Oaks, 4-2, in a sudden victory result.
Now, Perkins looks to add to the Lafayette legacy, cemented by the now graduated Jay Greiner, who won state in each of his last two years with the Irish.
"All of the work I've put in over the years...I really want this," Perkins said. "There's nothing more I love in life. I just love wrestling. This is where I want to be. I want to make it to the state finals."
Wrestlebacks
Numerous area wrestlers still have a chance to reach medal matches in wrestlebacks. Mid-Buchanan's Spencer Cunningham (126), Mid-Buchanan's Ryder Coons (138), Plattsburg's Caden McLallen (150), Lafayette's Elias Chapin (157), Benton's Kaden Lee (165), Mid-Buchanan's Colton Kirkham (175), Benton's Jason Blue (215) and Plattsburg's Dakota Rankin (285) are all still battling.
Wrestlebacks for Class 1 boys start at 8:15 a.m. Thursday. Class 1 girls' wrestlebacks start at 10:15 a.m. and at 12:15 for Class 2 boys.
Local results from Class 1 boys and girls' state wrestling Wednesday can be found here.
Photo album
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