|
|
|
Maryville head wrestling coach Joe Drake was willing to cut his team some slack.
Even though the Hounds didn't advance any of their 10 wrestlers to the finals and finished seventh as a team at the rugged Quad States Invitational Saturday, their performance as a whole lived up to his standards.
"It's really hard for us to get people to the finals," said Drake. "Those kids just aren't really at that level yet. But overall our performance today was really good. We had several kids place which is something we've been lacking in the past. We had some place finishes. We had some young men that even if they didn't place really wrestled well. I think we're going in the right direction. It was a little hard to tell today because the competition in this tournament was so tough. We're not disappointed in what we saw today out of the wrestlers. Not disappointed at all.”
While absent of finalists, the Hounds had five wrestlers make it to the third place match.
Freshman Nate Alexander (120 pounds), junior Derek Stiens (145 pounds) and freshman Brendan Weybrew (285 pounds) each finished third, earning a spot on the medal stand.
Logan Coleman (126 pounds) and Eric Sigman (220 pounds) each finished fourth.
Of the five, Coleman came the closest to a finals berth.
He lost his semifinals match to Mt. Ayr's Erik Freed 8-7.
Alexander lost in the semifinals to Millard South's Alex Mendez before winning his last three matches to claim third.
Stiens and Weybrew followed the same path to third. Weybrew's only loss came against Millard South's undefeated heavyweight Freeman Coleman in the semifinals.
He finished ahead of Mt. Ayr's freshman Joe Ricker, who he lost to just two days before in a dual.
Maryville's remaining competitors Ben Wilmes (132 pounds), Kale Heflin (138 pounds), John Schenkel (152 pounds), Charlie Coleman (160 pounds) and Kolby Jenkins (182 pounds) finished outside the top four.
Coleman, who is ranked 10th in his weight class, was the victim of a loaded bracket.
"We wrestled pretty close to where our kids are seeded," said Drake. "This time of year when you get to a tournament, unless there's a big upset or something, the win percentages usually hold pretty close. The tournament came out the way it was expected."
With three individual champions and a total of nine placers, Millard South won its fourth straight team title with 182 points.
Maryville head wrestling coach Joe Drake was willing to cut his team some slack.
Even though the Hounds didn't advance any of their 10 wrestlers to the finals and finished seventh as a team at the rugged Quad States Invitational Saturday, their performance as a whole lived up to his standards.
"It's really hard for us to get people to the finals," said Drake. "Those kids just aren't really at that level yet. But overall our performance today was really good. We had several kids place which is something we've been lacking in the past. We had some place finishes. We had some young men that even if they didn't place really wrestled well. I think we're going in the right direction. It was a little hard to tell today because the competition in this tournament was so tough. We're not disappointed in what we saw today out of the wrestlers. Not disappointed at all.”
While absent of finalists, the Hounds had five wrestlers make it to the third place match.
Freshman Nate Alexander (120 pounds), junior Derek Stiens (145 pounds) and freshman Brendan Weybrew (285 pounds) each finished third, earning a spot on the medal stand.
Logan Coleman (126 pounds) and Eric Sigman (220 pounds) each finished fourth.
Of the five, Coleman came the closest to a finals berth.
He lost his semifinals match to Mt. Ayr's Erik Freed 8-7.
Alexander lost in the semifinals to Millard South's Alex Mendez before winning his last three matches to claim third.
Stiens and Weybrew followed the same path to third. Weybrew's only loss came against Millard South's undefeated heavyweight Freeman Coleman in the semifinals.
He finished ahead of Mt. Ayr's freshman Joe Ricker, who he lost to just two days before in a dual.
Maryville's remaining competitors Ben Wilmes (132 pounds), Kale Heflin (138 pounds), John Schenkel (152 pounds), Charlie Coleman (160 pounds) and Kolby Jenkins (182 pounds) finished outside the top four.
Coleman, who is ranked 10th in his weight class, was the victim of a loaded bracket.
"We wrestled pretty close to where our kids are seeded," said Drake. "This time of year when you get to a tournament, unless there's a big upset or something, the win percentages usually hold pretty close. The tournament came out the way it was expected."
With three individual champions and a total of nine placers, Millard South won its fourth straight team title with 182 points.
Class 1 No. 3 Latrhop finished second with 134 points. Class 1 No. 7 Trenton was third with 134 points followed by Class 2 No. 5 Cameron with 119.5 points.
Lathrop had a tournament-high four individual champions.
"Today was a tremendous day," said Drake. "If anyone was out here all day, they definitely saw a lot of state qualifiers, state champions and some of them got beat. It's been a super tournament and that's what happens when we bring in this wide variety of people from different areas that never seen each other. It's made for a great for a great day of wrestling."
