By Brennan Stebbins (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
On paper, at least, the Webb City wrestling team only has a few holes to fill this winter.
The Cardinals had just four seniors in their district lineup last season and graduated two state qualifiers.
But those two qualifiers – Kyler Carter and Josh Copher – will go down as two of Webb City’s greats on the wrestling mat.
“It’ll be a challenge,” head coach Larron Hurst said. “Kyler and Josh were both four-year varsity wrestlers and both had over 150 career wins. They laid the foundation for what we want in lower weight class wrestlers.”
The pair combined for 311 varsity wins and were neck and neck until the end. Carter finished with 156 wins and Copher with 155. Both were three-time state qualifiers and Carter was a two-time medalist, placing sixth as a sophomore and third as a junior. He went 43-4 last year at 120 pounds, while Copher was 36-8 at 126.
“With the absence of those two wrestlers, I believe our biggest question mark is how the light weights establish themselves into the lineup and how they can adjust to the varsity lineup,” Hurst said.
The Cardinals will look to wrestlers like Brantley Carter, Roger Carranco, Brayden Hollingsworth and Jacob Ott to help fill the void. They could provide a strength for Webb City in the middle of the lineup.
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Carter, a junior, was 31-15 last year at 138 pounds and advanced to the consolation semifinals in the Class 3 District 3 tournament. Carranco, a senior, was 31-11 at 170 pounds and made it to the championship semifinals before suffering two-straight losses in districts.
“Roger has narrowly missed qualifying for state the past two years,” Hurst said. “Hopefully he can achieve his goals this year. Brantley’s skill set is one of the best we’ve had in returning. As a freshman and sophomore he was one match from qualifying for state. We’re hoping that he can get over the hump this year and be a state qualifier.”
Hollingsworth and Ott both return with varsity experience but missed time last season with injuries. Hollingsworth, a senior, only wrestled in three matches last season at 170 pounds but went 25-13 as a sophomore at 145 and made it to the consolation semifinals in districts. Ott is another senior who was 21-6 at 182 pounds last year after a 17-7 record as a sophomore at the same weight.
The team returns four more experienced wrestlers in Bobby Pearish, Jackson Ward, Gabe McDonald and Buddy Belcher. Pearish, Ward and McDonald are all seniors, and Belcher is a junior.
Pearish was 9-23 last year and wrestled at 106 pounds; he was two wins short of earning a state bid. Ward was 6-18 and wrestled at 152. McDonald went 12-6 and wrestled at 182. Belcher was 7-15 at 220 pounds and was also two wins short of qualifying.
“There are a handful of returning kids and newcomers that if they can adapt to varsity could help provide depth for this season,” Hurst said. “We’re looking forward to the wrestle offs and we’ll see how they progress throughout the season.”
One of those is freshman Colton Taylor, who was a fifth-place finisher in the Missouri USA Region C youth tournament last March at 95 pounds.
The team should also have more depth among its upperclassmen, with approximately 10 or 12 wrestlers combined in the junior and senior classes.
“They will set the tone for us,” Hurst said. “Having that type of leadership should benefit us in the practice room.”
On the girls side Hurst currently has four wrestlers involved in the program, and three of those return with experience. Senior Kylee Bard was 7-12 last year at 142 pounds, sophomore Hannah McDonald was 5-13 at 135 and sophomore Zailey Clemons went 4-4 at 110.
