By Derek Shore (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Monett, Mo – Two of the more premier wrestling squads in the state clashed for a dual on Thursday night.
But that didn’t stop the Class 1 No. 2 ranked Seneca Indians from cruising to yet another win, earning bragging rights atop the Big 8 Conference.
Keyed by Dalton Hembree’s decision over Gunnar Bradley to cut the Class 2 No. 1 ranked Monett Cubs’ lead down to 27-18, Seneca out-muscled arguably their chief rival on the mat the rest of the way, winning the dual 48-27.
“We don’t match up real good with Monett because they’re real tough in their lightweights and we have some opens in our lightweights,” Seneca head coach Jeff Sill said. “Then they have some opens in their middleweights where were good.
“You got some of those kids who push each other. You just need for them to come out on top or keep it close.”
The Indians accomplished just that.
To lead-off the match, though, Seneca jumped out to an early 12-0 lead after Kale Schrader (195) downed Wesley Merriman, who had to forfeit due to injury and Garret Babbitt (220) beat Christopher Thornburg by fall.
But…
Monett followed by taking the next five matches, ignited by Raymond Villata’s defeat over Grant Durman by fall. After defeating him in the final round of the Harrisonville Championship, Joseph Semerad also impressed with a 2-1 decision over former state finalist Levi Connelly.
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE DUAL
“They wrestle a lot,” Monett head coach Daryl Bradley said. “I knew it was going to be a tough match. I know Joey was disappointed he didn’t get to some of his leg attacks. (Levi is a) good, quality opponent at 106 first time up after Christmas. (Joey) will continue to work. He’s one of our hardest workers we got.”
Aside from those two matches, the Cubs also received contributions from Matthew Bahl (113), who won over Cole Whitehead by fall as well as two opens against Karter Brink (120) and Joel Barrientos (126) to take a 27-12 lead at that point.
After Monett’s Elias Barrientos (132) fell to Max Roark by decision, perhaps the turning point of the match was Hembree’s 8-2 decision over Bradley to make it 27-18.
“I think that was the fourth time they have wrestled each other (this year),” Sill said. “You are going to get a battle every time those two hook up. It’s always exciting to see those two wrestle.
“I wish Gunnar the best of luck throughout the year.”
The Indians didn’t look back from that point either, regaining the lead at 30-27 as Zane Cotten (145) and Dayton Fields (152) each won by fall over Jordan Withnell and Josh Bahl, respectively.
With Monett’s final three weight classes open against Cole Hatfield (160), Jordan Ishimura (170), and Skyleer Commons (182), Seneca eventually won by a final of 48-27.
“The thing about Seneca is they’re just generational,” Bradley said. “You look out here – their dads wrestled, their uncles wrestled, and they don’t go anywhere. They stay in town. A lot of those kids have been wrestling for a long time. A lot of our kids have wrestled them for a long time.
“It makes a good rivalry and is a good competition. Usually, it brings the best out in us. Some of our kids rose to the challenge tonight, but some of our kids didn’t. Ultimately, I’m disappointed that we didn’t come a little closer. I really wasn’t concerned about the outcome because I knew giving up some weight classes that was probably inevitable.
“My challenge to them was I wanted to see them compete and focus on individual performances. We will move forward and go from there.”
Seneca goes to the Platte County Invitational which starts Friday and concludes on Saturday.
“We want to be able to get better on our feet,” Sill said of improvements going forward. “Then improve on our mat wrestling of getting away but also learn to pin people and put them away when we got them on their back.”
“We are in our mid-stride right now. The kids have turned their weaknesses into their strengths. Everybody has fit into their role, and they know their role. They just want to tune in on everything, hone in on it, and make sure we’re ready to go for the final stride.”
Meanwhile, Monett returns to the mat and hosts a triangular on Tuesday with Central and Ozark.
“I got a great group of kids,” Bradley said. “They’re smart and work hard. We got to start honing in, and some of them are too nice. We gotta go attack and go get what we want. We got to be stubborn and not give stuff up.
“I just challenged them this week to have some guts and have a great urge to succeed. That’s what we got to have… Guts. Seneca is a good challenge. I don’t think we took steps forwards or backwards. We were just kind of the same.
“Hopefully, as we move forward, this is the time that I’ve got, and everybody is at the right weight now. I think we’ll progress and get better. We only got a couple of weeks left in the regular season. I think this group can do it. They’re young, but they’re hungry.
“I think they got an opportunity to bring home a state championship. We’ll see what happens, but we got to have more guts.”
