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Local Class 2 wrestling was all about Monett and a Rogersville freshmen on Friday at the state championships.
On an individual basis, the Monett Cubs are on the brink of their best weekend at state in program history.
The Cubs just hope past history doesn’t come nearly close to repeating itself.
Monett went 4-for-4 in Saturday’s Class 2 semifinals matches, as Joseph Semerad (106), Joel Barrientos (113), Gunnar Bradley (132) and Ian Meyer (195) won their respective matches.
The foursome will compete for individual gold Saturday night at Mizzou Arena in Columbia.
It’s the most state finals for the Cubs since they sent five into the finals during the 2004 state championships. Monett went a forgettable 0-for that year in the finals, dropping out of contention for a team title as well and placing second.
“We got four in (to the finals) tonight, so hopefully we come away with some titles tomorrow,” said Cubs coach Daryl Bradley.
Monett’s successful semifinals night began with the freshman Semerad. Leading 5-0, Semerad dispatched Cameron senior Sawyer Day with a second-period pin.
PHOTOS: CLASS 2 STATE WRESTLING
Semerad (51-3 overall) posted a tech-fall in his opening match and another pinfall in the quarterfinals. He’ll face Odessa freshman Austin Coons (41-8) in the finals. Semerad beat Coons 2-1 for a district championship last weekend.
Barrientos followed Semerad moments later on the same mat, taking a 5-2 decision against Benton freshman Cristian Dixon.
Barrientos led 3-0 going into the third period. He was called for stalling with 33 seconds remaining, cutting his lead to 3-2, but was able to score two points on a takedown seconds later.
“Once he pulled within a takedown of beating me, I knew I needed to move,” said Barrientos, who improved to 48-5 overall. “I had to get that next point to put it away.”
Barrientos, a junior, will earn a state medal for the third straight season. He placed sixth as a freshman and fourth as a sophomore.
“The last few years, I’ve focused on (my opponents’) records and everything they’ve done in the past,” Barrientos said. “Now, I’m just focusing on… today. One match at a time.”
Barrientos meets Savannah senior Jake Huffman (46-4) in the Class 2 113-pound finals. The two wrestled in a 3rd place match last year, with Huffman winning in sudden victory.
“I’ve been here two years. This is my third year now. I know what to expect,” Barrientos said. “I just have to come out and take care of business.”
Perhaps the most surprising result for Monett came from freshman Gunnar Bradley, the son of the head coach. Gunnar Bradley (42-12) defeated St. Genevieve’s Grant Staffen (34-13) by decision, 7-4.
Gunnar Bradley got a pair of second-period takedowns, the final one coming with three seconds remaining, to take a 5-1 lead into the third period. He added another takedown in the third, helping him overcame a stalling call and a pair of escapes by Staffen.
“It makes you pretty nervous, being a freshman,” Gunnar Bradley said. “No one expected me to be able to do this, but I’m here and I’m going to try to go out and compete.”
Although his dad is the head coach, Gunnar had Monett’s two assistant coaches – Dakota Greenhaw and Ben Hohensee – sit matside as the team’s two coaching representatives. Greenhaw and Hohensee are former state champion wrestlers for Monett themselves.
Dad (Daryl) watched from the exit tunnel and gave his son a congratulatory hug afterwards.
“It keeps me relaxed,” Gunnar said of the coaching switch. “The other coaches are calmer. My dad has a lot of emotion toward my wrestling and me winning and stuff.”
Daryl coached Gunnar’s opening-round match on Thursday and, seeing his son was feeling a bit anxious, elected to step aside for his next two matches.
“With Gunnar, I get a little emotional if you can believe that or not,” Daryl Bradley said. “I was out there for his first match and I was like, ‘Okay, I have to get away from all this.’ Basically, the reason it went from there is because I was just too excited after his match.”
Gunnar Bradley wrestles Chillicothe senior Chase Minnick (49-3) in Saturday’s Class 2 132-pound finals.
Ian Meyer, the starting quarterback for Monett’s state championship football team, capped a big night for the Cubs with a tech-fall victory (16-0) against Moberly sophomore Chance Richards (35-10 overall).
Meyer had three two-point near-falls and a three-point near fall.
“I felt good on my feet, but I got him into my cross-face series and I kept tilting him,” Meyer said. “We have a thing, ‘Tilt for days.’ I’m a tilter, which is weird for a big guy like myself. Usually, we’re power-happy.
“I was just in a groove, tilting him, and the points were racking up. I looked up at the scoreboard in the first period and I already had eight points up there. It was nice to be able to do that.”
Meyer also had Hohensee and Greenhaw serve as his coaching representatives during the semifinals. He trains with the pair during practices.
“Greenhaw, he’s so quick for a big guy. Hohensee, he’s a monster. I get the best of both worlds,” Meyer said. “I get some strength in, I get some scrambling in. It’s been working out really great this year.”
Meyer (43-3 overall) faces Benton senior Tage McNutt (35-3) in the finals.
The Cubs also went 6-for-6 in district title matches last weekend.
“We carried over that energy and that go-to attitude,” Meyer said. “If we just keep going and going and going, good things will happen.”
Monett has Karter Brink (120) alive on the consolation side.
In 2011, the Cubs saw a program-record three individual state winners as Chase Brennan (103), Cristobal Renteria (135) and Ethan Davis (145) all brought home gold.
Rogersville freshman beats COC-Small rival, advances to title match
Rogersville’s Jay Strausbaugh has seen Bolivar’s Luke Moffett a few times this season.
Six, in fact, after the pair battled again Friday, this time in the Class 2 120-pound state semifinals.
In the latest edition of Strausbaugh-Moffett, the Rogersville freshman utilized a dominant third period to post a major-decision (13-5) victory.
Moffett won the first meeting of the season between the two, but Strausbaugh has since won the last five matchups. Strausbaugh said tempo and aggression has been the key.
“Gotta keep putting pressure on him,” Strausbaugh said. “The first time, I laid back a little bit and that’s more to his style. So, I’ve tried to keep putting pressure on him and wear him out by the third period.”
The third period again made all the difference for Strausbaugh, as he got four takedowns and a near-fall against Moffett in the final two minutes.
Strausbaugh led 3-2 going into the third period. Moffett (38-9 overall) scored on a takedown 11 seconds into the match, but Strausbaugh (43-6 overall) went ahead in the second period with an escape and a takedown.
The Rogersville rookie will look to shock the state wrestling world Saturday when he battles a three-time defending state champ in Oak Grove senior and nationally ranked Connor Brown, who hasn’t lost since his freshman season and has committed to South Dakota State.
Brown beat Strausbaugh by major decision at the Monett Tournament earlier this season.
