Seneca faced a simple solution to a very complex Class 1 MSHSAA State Championship picture: win and it’s over.
The Indians did just that.
Trailing Whitfield 142.5-138 entering Saturday’s finals, with both teams having four finalist including one head-to-head match, Seneca went 4-for-4, claiming four individual state championships and taking the Class 1 team title, 160-154.5, Saturday at Mizzou Arena in Columbia.
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“We didn’t talk about the points and where we were,” said Seneca coach Jeff Sill. “We knew we had to come out, wrestle tough and win our matches. The kids never wavered, they stayed true. We talked about being on a journey and staying on a path. They stayed committed no matter what happened throughout the tournament. They just kept on believing in themselves.”
The ultimate proof of that was junior Trey Smith.
Smith was pinned in the 126-pound state championship last year and found himself in an ultimate tie breaker with fellow 2015 state runner-up Frankie Falotico from Blair Oaks.
If the name sounds familiar, it should. Falotico lost to Seneca’s Jesse Rhoades in the 132-pound state championship last year.
Falotico scored an escape in the first tie breaker and appeared to be on his way in the second until Smith’s reversal gave him a 3-2 lead. However, he was hit with a stalling call just before the end of the period, tying the match at four.
Smith was on top with 30 seconds standing between him and a state championship.
“Frankie’s a tough kid on bottom and Trey had to do whatever he had to do to ride him out for the win,” said Sill. “We practice those 30-second “gos” in practice and he just knew he had to do it. To win a championship at times you have to do things you haven’t done in other matches.”
Hanging on for dear life, Smith didn’t let Falotico escape, sealing a 4-3 UTB win for Seneca and capping the Indians perfect evening.
“I had a lot of doubters coming into this that said I couldn’t do it, including some family members,” said Smith. “To be able to push through this and hold on for the win, sealing the deal for the team and for me, with all the naysayers, it’s just the greatest feeling in the world. I had tears of joy by the end.
I felt like I had to win. I had a freshman that’s I’ve been training with all my life, a sophomore and a senior win; I couldn’t let them win without me winning too. Especially for mouthing rights for the next year; it had to happen.”
Those teammates Smith was referring to, Dalton Hembree (120-pound freshman), Max Roark (106-pound sophomore) and Jesse Rhoades (138-pound senior) started the final round with three wins for Seneca, all coming by way of pin.
Rhoades, who went 44-5 on his way to the state title last year, dropped just one match all season and pinned Marceline’s Dalton Fischer in just 59 seconds, making him Seneca’s second back-to-back state champion in the last two years.
“It’s a great feeling, it’s what I’ve wanted to do since Day One,” said Rhoades. “I had that goal and now I’m here. It’s incredible. We really wanted something and we came here with a purpose and got it done.”
The last time Seneca had a 50-win freshman was 2012 when Will Roark, a 113-pounder then, lost to St. Genevieve’s Travis Jones in the Class 2 state title match.
It worked out well for Roark in the end, as he would cap his career with 214 wins, an unofficial state record, and three straight state championships, before continuing his career at Mizzou.
Dalton Hembree (53-2) might have a similar path.
The 120-pound freshman completed one of the best freshman seasons in program history with a third-period pin of Marceline’s Dylan Wheeler to claim his first state title.
“It was awesome, there’s no words to describe winning it,” said Hembree. “It was just fun. Going out there I was really just looking to beat the kid because points are points and anything would help us out. But a pin makes it a lot more special.”
Will’s younger brother, Max, got the day off to a good start for Seneca by winning the state championship at 106 with a pin of Whitfield’s Wade Raeman in the second period. The sophomore took sixth in the weight class as a freshman.
“There’s definitely some pressure being Will’s little brother and knowing that he’s won it so many times,” said Roark. “He’s here watching today so I really wanted to win it in front of him and succeed. He’s helped me out so much in my career.”
Freshman Dayton Fields (113) placed third after a 6-0 decision over Caleb Kelly of Principia. Sophomore Cole Hatfield (132) took sixth for the Indians.
In a sport known for its individual aspect, each Seneca wrestler mentioned the team aspect and what it means to help give the Indians their first team title since 2010 and just the third in program history.
Making it even sweeter is the fact that Whitfield topped Seneca 153.5-137 in 2015 . Whitfield had won three of the last four team state titles entering 2016.
“We do this as a team, we really do,” said Sill. “Everything we do. We know our individual matches won’t reflect what we do as a team, but we practice as a team, do things as a team and we perform as a team.”
Class 2: Monett notches top 10 finish
It was a mixed trip for the Monett Cubs.
On one hand, Daryl Bradley won’t be watching one of his kids wrestle for a state championship for the first time since 2006.
But, the Cubs were able to salvage the weekend with Joel Barrientos, Onis Howard and Ian Meyer all having podium finishes.
Monett also finished ninth, giving the Cubs three straight top 10 finishes.
“It’s a little disappointing that we don’t have any of those to watch tonight, but I’m proud of them,” said Bradley. “We had six out of seven guys win matches for us and five of them are underclassmen. We are in the top 10 again and we’ve been consistent and that’s what you’ve got to have to build a program. I like the way that we finished with two wins.”
Howard (132) and Meyer (195), both juniors, ended their trip to Columbia with wins.
After losing in the quarterfinals, Howard won three of his final four matches to finish the weekend. That stretch included a pin of MICDS senior Miller Archie, the same opponent that beat Howard in the quarters.
“It was important to me to bounce back today,” said Howard. “I wrestled him early on and he kept getting my elbows. He ended up beating me. I really wanted to come out and get that stick.”
Meyer also bounced back following back-to-back losses in the semifinals and consolation semifinals. While his semifinal loss came to eventual state champion Luke Sachs, 7-1, Meyer felt like he had something to prove after losing to Caleb Shanks Saturday morning.
“I was a two-time state qualifier coming up but I’ve never been able to get around that curve,” said Meyer. “Finally getting through to the semifinals was huge and Sachs is a good kid, two-time state champ, and I was able to bounce back after losing in the consolation semis. I had to rebound. Now it’s all about coming back and being better than fifth; I want to win a state championship.”
The Cubs will be a program to watch in 2016-17 with three all-staters returning, as well as the addition of a talented incoming freshman class.
Class 2: Buffalo freshmen earn all-state honors
It’s safe to say that Ethan Smith and Floyd Miller earned their respect this week.
After going the entire regular season unranked, despite impressive records, the Buffalo freshmen capped sensational seasons with fifth place finishes.
“These guys did a great job this year of coming in and setting the tone in our room,” said Buffalo coach Eric Nolan.” We had some returners that had done a good job of doing the right thing and adding these guys to our program only made us better.
Both of them took some tough losses in this tournament and we challenged them. There’s two way to go about your business at that point, you can feel sorry for yourself and hang it up or you can step up and set an example for the program and they chose the latter. We have a lot of kids coming back for our program that want to be in the position that those guys are in. It is impressive that they were able to finish strong today.”
Smith (47-6) was tied at 3 with Bolivar sophomore Luke Moffett entering the third period. But, Smith elected to start the period in a neutral position, giving Moffett a 4-3 lead.
“Even though he took me down in the first I still felt confident with the neutral and giving him that point because I felt like I could get a take down by the end of the period,” said Smith.
Smith didn’t get that take down, but his reversal with just six seconds remaining in the match gave him a 5-4 victory.
Miller (50-3) carried over the moment from his teammate’s match, earning a tough 1-0 win over Fulton Trenton Clines.
But, in the minutes following his win, Miller was over his all-state finish and the 2016 season. He’s eager to get back on the mat and see what he can do with his sophomore campaign.
“Being a freshman and being in a tough weight class was hard, but medaling really shows me where I’m at,” said Miller. “I didn’t wrestle my best and I wasn’t that focused at the beginning of the tournament; I thought it would be a little bit easier. I’m ready to get back in the gym and start working towards next year.”
The future of Buffalo Wrestling is seemingly bright.
The Bison brought a total of seven wrestlers to this year’s state tournament, shattering the previous program-record of three.
With all seven returning next year, Nolan is excited about where his program is and where it could be headed.
“We brought seven guys here and they are all guys that we are bringing back next year,” said Nolan. “They need this experience. Having two all-starters will be a Segway to having other guys come here and have success. So much of state is getting that experience as underclassmen. We’ll take a couple of weeks off and get right back at it.”
Saturday’s Class 4 state wrestling action saw Waynesville senior Todd Angel competing in the 195-pound finals, with two other Tiger grapplers battling for medal placement earlier in the day.
Joplin senior Phillip Reitz ended his career with a fifth-place medal.
No regrets for Angel after title-match loss
He missed out on a state championship, but Waynesville senior Todd Angel no longer needs to doubt himself.
Angel showed he belong among Missouri’s premier upper-weights as he battled to a 4-3 decision loss against Francis Howell Central junior Jackson Berck in the 195 title match.
The three-day performance and finals run provided a confidence boost for Angel.
“Wrestling’s always been a very difficult thing,” Angel said. “My freshman year I was on varsity and I thought about asking my coach to put me on JV because I wasn’t good enough. It’s been that way the whole four years. I always thought I was lucky or it was a fluke. But I finally was able to prove to myself that this is where I belong. I belong among the top.”
Angel admitted Berck’s patient, counter-based style created problems during the match.
“Kids like him are very passive and counter-based,” Angel said. “Those guys are solid and hard to move. The whole year, those have been my trouble points. Every time I lost was against someone like that. Maybe if I spent more time working on forcing other people to move, it may have made a difference, but I can’t go back on it now.”
It was the second straight state medal for Angel, who placed sixth as a junior.
“That’s the only reason why I’m not breaking down and crying right now,” Angel said. “Even though I’m highly disappointed, I don’t have any regrets. I went out there and gave it all I had. That’s what I’ve been saying since Day 1: I’m not going to go home without giving everything I got.
“I was so hyped. It was my last six minutes and I got to spend it facing the best of the best for the end of my career. How many people can ask for that? How many people can say they spent the last moments of their career facing the best of the best?
Elsewhere for Waynesville, Sean Sax (113) fell 11-4 in his 3rd place match against Timberland’s Cameron Spires (40-5 overall). Sax, who placed sixth at state as a freshman last year, finishes 45-4 overall.
David Hawk (160) won his 5th place match via disqualification after taking a scary fall to the mat while being slammed illegally. Hawk, who remained down for several minutes, finishes his senior season 36-10 overall.
Joplin’s Reitz goes out a winner, medalist
Phillip Reitz’s name and accomplishments will be going in the 2016 Joplin High School yearbook with a state medal to his credit.
The Eagles senior, who battled preseason and mid-season knee injuries, finished his high school career with a first-round pin over Troy’s Devin Graves (45-9 overall) to take 5th place in the Class 4 285-pound division.
Reitz stayed alive through the weekend after dropping his opening match of the state tournament Thursday.
“It was all pride and confidence in myself,” Reitz said. “I was trying to fight back to put my name in Joplin’s yearbook saying I was a placer at state my senior year. It feels amazing having that on my title now.
“I wish it was for third or fourth, but I’ll take fifth.”
Reitz (40-6 overall) lost his consolation semifinal match by decision, 3-2, to Lafayette (Wildwood) senior Chase Behrndt. Reitz then disposed of Graves in just 51 seconds in his final career match.
Reitz was making his third career appearance at state, but this marks the first time he’s ended up on the medal stand.
“It just means, ever since youth, I’ve worked hard every practice,” Reitz said. “I was trying to do everything I can and I think it paid off this year.”
Reitz overcame some injury adversity before and during the season. He tore his PCL during football season, then suffered a torn meniscus one week before the Ozark Conference Wrestling Tournament.
“I wasn’t going to let that stop me,” Reitz said. “I knew I was so close to being done. I didn’t want to end my career so close to districts."
