By Cody Thorn
Nixa challenged for a team trophy throughout the MSHSAA Class 4 Wrestling Championships on Saturday despite having only four wrestlers earning points.
The Eagles finished with 81 points and tied for third place, earning a team trophy for just the second time in school history — joining the 2007 team.
Leading the charge was sophomore Zan Fugitt, who won the state championship at 113 pounds, one of four medals secured on the day at Cable Dahmer Arena.
He was one of two champions from the area as Ozark’s Hunter Tennison won a title later in the evening.
Fugitt ended the season with a 42-1 record and won a title after finishing as a runner-up the year prior.
“My goal was to go out and have fun in the finals,” said Fugitt, who lost in the finals at 106 last year against DeSmet’s Colton King, 4-3. “This year I felt a lot different. I got more experience and I got a lot better this year. I had a lot less nerves and I know I had to go out and wrestle hard for six minutes. Last year drove me to work harder and get better. Last year’s loss impacted this win a lot.”
Fugitt became only the fifth different wrestler to win a title for Nixa and the first since Christian Lance did so in 2015.
Three other Eagles brought home medals – two thirds and a fourth.
Peyton Moore (120) and John Gholson (220) bounced back from semifinal loss to get third-place medals – a new twist in the bracket this year as a result of the one-day tournament.
Moore, a junior, lost to eventual state champion Christopher Coates of Liberty in the semifinals, 3-0. Moore then bounced back with a pin in 51 seconds over Seckman’s Devin Haag.
“It was a tough loss, I wanted to be in the championship,” said Moore, who finished the year 40-2.
Ghloson got a first-round bye by virtue of winning a sectional title, and opened with a win over Poplar Bluff’s Gavyn Hays. The chance for a championship ended with a loss by fall against North Kansas City’s Xavier Doolin with a pin in 20 seconds. Doolin, ranked No. 7 in the nation, won the state title and finished the year 42-0.
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“I knew my semifinals would be a tough one and the outcome was what it was,” said Gholson, who was 38-3 this year. “Coach (Dustin Martin) said I have five minutes and it took me three minutes to get my mind back right. It was not what I wanted. Next year I’m definitely shooting for first. I was shooting for the first this year but came up short. He (Doolin) is a tough wrestler. He came out and put it to me. I wish I could see him again, maybe in college hopefully.”
Deagan Fugitt took fourth place in 126 after dropping his final two matches. Liberty’s Easton Hilton beat him 5-1 in the third-place match, which came after a 12-2 major decision loss to Lindbergh’s James Homfeld.
Deagan Fugitt (36-9) opened with a win over a returning state medalist in Blue Springs’ Cayden Dotson.
Ozark had two in the finals and ended with one champion — Hunter Tennison.
The senior capped off a perfect season by winning the 285-pound title with a 4-3 win over Washington’s Gavin Holtmeyer.
The victory meant a perfect season for Tennison – 51-0 – and made him the fifth state champion in Ozark history and the first since Cody Lindsay and John Oss won titles in 2013.
“It was very good going from last year and previous seasons, I never made it to the finals in state so I was excited to be here,” Tennison said. “It was very humbling to come out and show people what I got.”
The finals were tied at 3-3 after two periods, but Tennison got an escape early to take the lead. From there, he just warded off the attacks by Holtmeyer. With less than 10 seconds left, Holtmeyer made a move to try to secure a takedown but Tennison just fended it off. A restart happened with two seconds left, but not enough time for Holtmeyer to do anything.
“I knew coming into state there would be guys more athletic than me,” said the Ozark heavyweight who checks in at 230 pounds. “All week I worked on shot defense with the lighter guys who are quicker. Coming in I wanted to make sure I kept lower so if they were to shoot I would keep my center of gravity low and they wouldn’t be able to lift me.”
Tennison opened with a 4-1 win over Jackon’s Liam Bryant in the quarterfinals and beat Liberty’s Jeremiah Cabuyaban by a 3-0 decision in the semifinals.
That led to the spot in the finals.
“Hunter is a tough kid,” Ozark coach Tod Sundlie said of Tennison. “I think he did a good job of clearing his head on the perfect season. He had to go out there and keep his composure and execute his game plan and do what he does. He did that fairly well.”
Ozark sophomore Braxton Strick’s 44-match win streak ended with a 3-1 loss in the finals to Liberty’s Kage Lenger. Strick led 1-0 in the second period but Lenger grabbed the lead during the period and added an escape in the third to account for the final points.
The medal is the second in a row for Strick, who was third last year.
Ozark added sixth-place finishes from Brock Sundlie (145/31-16 on the year) and Thomas Rushing (170/41-13). Elijah Maskrod (132/40-12) and Clayton Moison (152/18-3) each reached the consolation semifinals but came up a win short of a chance to wrestle for the fifth-place match.
“Class 4 is tough and to get four medalists is quite an accomplishment,” Coach Sundlie said. “I know some of them wanted a little more but that is why you compete.”
The area had two other state medalists – Republic’s Michael George and Carthage’s Davion King. George (36-7) beat Liberty’s Cooper Rider in the 106-pound fifth-place match. King beat Central Ozark Conference rival Brock Sundlie for fifth at 145. King went 40-6 this year.
