By Michael Smith (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Carl Junction senior Marcus Lopez-Durman suffered heartbreak during last season’s Missouri State High School Wrestling Championships.
He pushed Kearney’s Carter Temple, who is considered one of the best wrestlers in the state, to overtime and eventually fell 11-5.
Lopez-Durman just missed out on winning his first state title. In 2026, he didn’t miss his second opportunity.
The senior faced off against Camdenton freshman Brock Conaway in the 190-pounds state championship match Saturday at Mizzou Arena in his last chance to win the big one. He notched five takedowns, including one in which he completely lifted Conaway off the mat and executed a beautiful throw as he cruised to a 16-5 victory.
His team finished just outside the top four to qualify for a state medal as Carl Junction had 84.5 points. Hillsboro finished just ahead of it for fourth place with 92 points.
“That’s my style, you know, using slams,” Lopez-Durman said. “That’s how I practice. When I get in with a shot, I like to slam them.
The senior said it helped that he has faced Conaway before. A week prior, he defeated Conaway 13-3 at districts.
“It helped, but it also made me a little nervous because he knew how I liked to wrestle, too,” Lopez-Durman said. “At the end of the day, I got it done.”
His teammate Camden Kunkel (126 pounds) took second place in his weight class after falling to St. Michael The Archangel Catholic senior Parker Lutz, who won his second state title. He was 3-0 in the tournament prior to his match with Lutz, getting two pins and a 6-5 victory against Desoto senior Brenton Drummond in the semifinals.
“I did what I came here to do and made the finals,” Kunkel said. “It was not the result I wanted, though.
“I can work on my shot defense. That’s a big thing for me.”
Other Bulldogs to earn a medal were sophomore Jaxson Yaple (138, sixth place) and freshman Kage Stewart (285, fourth).
McDonald County’s Benhumea, Webb City’s Bolinger both finish as runners-up
McDonald County sophomore Stevan Benhumea (215) and Webb City junior Louden Bolinger (285) faced similar challenges in their respective championship matches in the state tournament.
Both Benhumea and Bolinger faced opponents that were strong from the top position and both couldn’t escape from the bottom position when it mattered most as both fell and ended their season as runners-up.
The McDonald County sophomore had a tough matchup with Temple, who came into the tournament as a two-time state champion. Benhumea got an escape after Temple took him down in the first period, but he was unable to get out from the bottom position in the third period as Temple rode him out for a 4-1 win.
“I thought I wrestled pretty well throughout the season,” Benhumea said. “There are definitely some things that I can fix.
“I think I need to work on having a better gas tank and getting up from bottom. (Temple) is really good with his hips and keeping pressure on you. He was able to keep me down using his body weight.”
Bolinger fell in his match with Helias Catholic junior Zyan Knollmeyer 1-0, as he also couldn’t find a way to escape in the third period to tie the match.
He said he was happy with how everything turned out as he noted he is undersized for the heavyweight class.
“I bumped up to heavyweight, so I didn’t expect the season to go the way it did,” Bolinger said. “I definitely could have won that match, but I got stuck on bottom. I need to work on that in the offseason. (Knollmeyer) is a big dude and has a really nasty elbow chop.
“Hopefully I can make it to the top of the podium next year.”
Class 3 boys medalists:
1st – Marcus Lopez-Durman, Carl Junction (34-4)
2nd – 126 – Camdon Kunkel, Carl Junction (43-4)
2nd – 190 – Brock Conaway, Camdenton (38-5)
2nd – 215 – Stevan Benhumea, McDonald County (46-6)
2nd – 285 – Louden Bolinger, Webb City (36-7)
3rd – 144 – Gabrian Bridges, Marshfield (45-11)
3rd – 215 – Porter Talbot, Willard (43-2)
4th – 285 – Kage Stewart, Carl Junction (38-8)
5th – 113 – Brandon Gerhardt, Willard (29-17)
5th – 144 – Gage Starnes, Lebanon (36-19)
