By Cody Thorn (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Monett kept its state-trophy streak alive, while Seneca added another to its collection during the Class 2 MSHSAA Wrestling Championships
Both of the Big 8 schools scored 100 points and finished in a tie for second place on Thursday at Cable Dahmer Arena.
Monett came up short in a bid to repeat for the third year in a row as the champions but added a second runner-up finish over the five-year run of success that started in 2017 with a fourth-place finish and was the runner-up in 2018.
This was the seventh runner-up finish for the Cubs – the others in 1977, 1981, 2004, 2006 and 2009 – and 12th trophy overall for the program.
Monett brought only six wrestlers but four of them earned a medal and kept the streak alive under new head coach Ben Hohensee.
“If it was going to be anyone (to tie with), I’m glad it is them (Seneca). They are a class-act team and have class-act coaches, I have known them for a long time,” Hohensee said. “They were even coaching when I wrestled. I have competed against them all the time. It is amazing how everything comes full circle.
“We never gave up and we told them it was possible but they had to earn it and holy crap, coming here with six guys and scoring what we did was a testament of the work they put in, some of them their whole lives. Even the ones on the podium, just winning matches, it was a team effort. For my first year, I couldn’t ask for a better group.”
The Cubs brought the trophy home to Southwest Missouri after winning a coin flip with their rival Indians after the team trophies were presented. The Indians will have to wait for MSHSAA to mail them a plaque – which will be the 16th for the storied program. This one is the first in Class 2 for Seneca after the first 15 came in Class 1 – which has six other runners-up finishes.
“They got some good quality wrestlers,” Sill said of Monett, which they beat 62-18 in a dual on Jan. 21. “I’m proud of the way our kids wrestled and performed throughout the whole year, not just here. Our goal was to bring home a trophy but we had to perform and everybody did their job and we can bring home some hardware.”
Monett had two state champions, while Seneca had one – as each team had three in the finals.
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Elias Barrientos (152) finished his final season with a perfect 21-0 record after beating Pleasant Hill’s Ryan Volland by a 6-2 decision. The two met in the sectional finals back on Feb. 27, with Barrientos getting a win by fall.
“I was expecting to win but you never know what will happen,” Barrientos said. “When I faced him last, I took him to his back and he just laid there, so I thought he would fight more this time around. I knew he would be tougher this time around and he would fight more.”
After coming in third last year Barrientos, opened with a win by fall in the quarterfinals by pin and then secured a 9-1 major decision over Helias’ Nikoali Careaga.
The Cubs got another title from junior Ethan Umfleet, who got into the top spot on the podium after back-to-back third-place finishes.
Umfleet (42-5) got pins in his two matches at 182 then beat St. Joseph Lafaytte’s Jay Greiner in the final 8-2, leading 4-0 heading into the final period. Greiner (52-2) finished as a runner-up for the second straight year.
“It was definitely a different kind of tournament, but I kind of like it being all in one day instead of the normal three-day state tournament,” Umfleet said. “Every day you wake up and go into the first match with nerves. Here, you get it out of the way and the rest of the day just rolled.”
The only final that Monett lost was at 106, where Seneca’s Brady Roark pinned Simon Hartline in 29 seconds, after getting a takedown and then the fall.
Hartline finished the year with a 35-9 record, getting three wins at state by decision.
Roark (43-1) picked up his first state championship after finishing in second place last year. To reach the finals he handed St. Clair’s Ryan Meek his first loss of the season by a 4-1 decision. Meek closed out by taking third and going 39-1 on the year.
Roark joined his brothers as state champions for SHS, Will and Max, who each one at least one championship while wrestling for Seneca.
Unlike other wrestlers who celebrated some sort of way after winning the title, Roark just walked to the opposing coaches to fist bump and went along his way.
“Going into the finals, I didn’t want to overhype it too much,” said Roark, whose brothers combined for eight trophies while wrestling for the Indians. “It is a great feeling (to win). It has been a long, grinding season. It is nice to have all of the hard work pay off in the end.”
Gabriel Commons (170) and Zane Cotten (195) reached the finals but came up short for Seneca.
Commons got a 7-5 win against Kirksville’s Jaden Ballinger in the semifinals but lost by a 5-2 decision to Odessa’s Bryce Palmer in the finals.
Cotten (33-2) beat Odessa’s Jake Evinger by a pin in the semifinals but got pinned in the finals by Trey Ward of St. Charles with 40 seconds left in the first period.
The area’s other state championship went to senior Zach Coenen, who won the 220-pound title after taking fifth last year.
The Pittsburg State football signee went through the tournament with three ultimate tiebreaker victories to claim the title. He toppled Fulton’s Josh Dunmire, 2-1; Boonville’s Peyton Hahn, 4-1 and Jarrett Kinder of Moberly’s, 2-1. In the second overtime session, Coenen got an escape for what was the winning margin.
“I am pretty pumped actually, but it was rough,” he said of the extra sessions. “I’m pretty tired from going that long today. I think the one-day tournament was advantage me. I was ready to run the gauntlet today. I feel when everything is on the line I will find a way to win.”
Monett’s other medalist was Harrison Merriman at 285-pounds. The defending state champion in the class lost to Caleb Groff by a 6-5 decision in the semifinals. He responded with a pin over Kirksville’s Bryce Kertz in the second period to finish the year 43-2.
Seneca’s Kendon Pollard (126), and Andrew Manley (132) also brought home a medal.
Pollard, a runner-up last year, lost in the quarterfinals to Sullivan’s Dillon Witt, 2-1. The junior won his last three to finish 31-13 on the year. Manley (41-10) lost to eventual champion Brock Woodcock of St. Clair in the quarterfinals and like Pollard, won his last three.
Reeds Spring’s Eben Crain finished with a 3-1 mark at state but never could overcome a first-round loss to Cameron Hedgpeth of Cameron in the first round. Hedgpeth would win the 285-pound title later that night.
