By Pat Dailey (For OzarkSportsZone.com)
Knocking off a reigning state champion earned Carl Junction’s Sam Melton the Kinloch Classic Most Outstanding Wrestler award and was part of the Bulldogs’ runaway team championship Friday.
Melton’s 120-pound title tilt with Monett’s Simon Hartline, a Class 2 state champion at 106 last season, lived up to its pre-match hype and then some. Melton (19-1) edged Hartline (12-2) 4-3, thanks to a last-second reversal.
“We’d never wrestled an actual match before, but grew up wrestling together,” Melton said. “We’ve practiced together and known each other for a long time. He’s a good friend.”
Melton turned in uncanny buzzer-beating dramatics at the end of the first and third periods. He scored a takedown in the final second of the first period. Trailing 3-2, he posted a reversal just before the end of the match.
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“He threw in his legs and tried to get a spladle and I popped out and got the reversal,” Melton said. ‘I heard coach saying, ‘4-3-2,’ and I was like, ‘I’ve got to go.’ It was nerve wracking and I was pretty lucky.
“It was a lot of fun,” he added. “I’m sure we’ll do it again.”
Melton was one of five Carl Junction champions. The others included 106-pound sophomore Carter Fogelsong (20-1), 113 senior Lukas Walker (23-1), 165 sophomore Tony Stewart (19-3) and 285 senior Cayden Bolinger (13-1).
The Bulldogs reached the elusive 400-point mark with 400.5 points. Fort Gibson (Oklahoma) was a distant runner-up with 269 points and Republic third with 236.
“We have high goals this year,” Melton said. “Everybody is putting in their share of work. It’s a good group. We all love each other. But there’s more work to be done.”
“We really took it to them this week,” Walker said. “I’m excited about it. We did a lot of damage on the front side racking up those team points and had seven kids in the finals.”
Walker picked up a major decision against Reeds Spring’s Shane Pearson 11-0 in the 113 final. Earlier, Walker pinned Pearson in the second round.
“This time around, he was a little tougher. He knew what I was doing and was blocking off on bottom,” Walker said. “I couldn’t really get to my stuff on top. I still turned him once and got to my feet. I feel I was pretty dominant.”
Walker was proud to see Melton edge Hartline. Walker downed Hartline earlier this season.
“(Melton) showed heart in the last few seconds of that match,” Walker said. “When it came down to it, he was in better position to score. Congrats to him on a big win. Coming over here, I knew (Hartline) has been wrestling 120 most of the year and I’ve been trying to get to 113, so I knew Sam would probably have the chance to wrestle (Hartline) and I was confident in his ability to beat him.”
Mustangs’ Murphy reaches milestone
McDonald County 215-pounder Sam Murphy picked his 100th career win on his way to a dominant championship run.
“It was something that happened. I didn’t think much about it,” Murphy said of his milestone. “I’ll reflect more about it tonight. I’ve had a lot of stuff happen in my career, it just feels like another step.”
Murphy pinned all of his foes, except Marshfield’s Eric Tomanek. Murphy won their title tilt 5-1.
“He’s a pretty worthy opponent,” Murphy said. “This was the fourth or fifth time I’ve wrestled him in two years. He’s got pretty good upper-body (strength). I don’t get a lot of that around here. Nobody challenges me around here, so it was nice to get good competition.”
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Murphy (17-1) was fresh from a runner-up finish at the Kansas City Stampede earlier this month. He lost in triple overtime in the finals.
The Mustangs’ Blaine Ortiz won the 138 championship and Levi Smith took the 144 title.
Ortiz recorded a :46 pin against Carl Junction’s Brenden Berry. Ortiz upped his record to 18-3.
Smith defeated Rolla’s Kayden Kinder 4-3 to improve his record to 19-2.
Two titles in two years for Central
Central went 30 years without an individual champion at the Kinloch before Lucas Gideon won at 120 last year. The Bulldogs’ Gaven Bremenkamp followed up by winning at 157 Friday.
Bremenkamp couldn’t have picked a better moment to gain what had been an ever-so elusive win opposite Rogrersville’s Beau Thompson. He won by ultimate tie-breaker.
“He used to beat me up in youth (wrestling). I would consistently get pinned in less than :10 against him,” Bremenkamp said. “There’s been a mental block within me for I want to say the better part of eight years. He was one of my goals to beat. I haven’t faced him since the fourth grade, but he’s been in the back of my mind and on my bucket list. I was so excited (to face him) and a little bit scared.”
Bremenkamp, who improved to 18-2, was motivated by inspirational words from Olympic gold-medalist Rulon Gardner.
“I’ve heard Rulan Gardner say when people saw a big monster he saw a big opportunity. I took that to heart,” Bremenkamp said. “The bigger the guy, the harder they are to beat but the more rewarding it is.”
As his match with Thompson dragged on, Bremenkamp reached deep inside himself for energy.
“It was less about conditioning and more about heart,” he said. “I was gassed by the end of the first period. But I was not about to show it.
Sandridge, Wilkins win titles for Republic
Republic’s Connor Sandridge faced a familiar foe in former Kickapoo wrestler Tai Koyama multiple times the past three years at the Kinloch and other tournaments. With Koyoma having graduated last spring, Sandridge is now facing newcomers the likes of Winsdor’s Brice Henry.
Sandridge edged Henry 12-9 in the 175 final.
“It was good having a rival back then and we grew up together,” Sandridge said of Koyama. “I had never wrestled (Henry) before and he shocked me a little bit,” Sandridge said of Henry. “It was a very good match. He’s strong. It could have went either way. I had to turn it on.”
Sandridge bolted to a 6-3 lead after one period.
“The first period felt like a full match,” he said.
It’s Sanridge’s second Kinloch championship. He has been a mainstay in the 160 and 175 classes for four years.
“I’ve had several people come up to me and say, ‘I thought you graduated last year.’ I say, ‘Nope, one more year,'” Sandridge said.
One of Sandridge’s practice partners, Maddox Wilkins, captured the 195 championship. He edged McDonald County’s Malosi Sosef 6-5 in their title tilt.
“I’m super proud of him,” Sandridge said of Wilkins. “We started practicing together a little bit last year. I’ve practiced with him a lot more this year. He got bigger. He went from 152 to 190.”
Wilkins is grateful to have Sandridge as a mentor.
“You learn a lot wrestling a guy like him. He’s a big reason I’ve improved so much this year,” Wilkins said.
Wilkins’ not only collected his first Kinloch title, but his first Kinloch medal.
“Freshman year, I didn’t place and last year I was sick and didn’t place,” he said. “Coming here and placing (first, it’s pretty awesome. I felt I had a good chance to win it all.”
Wilkins (15-3) admitted he had a hard time holding off Sosef (16-3) in the final minute.
“He’s an aggressive guy. I wanted to keep my distance and make sure he couldn’t beat me up,” Wilkins said. “At the end of the third period, he almost won because he had better conditioning and could push the pace more. I definitely need to run some more.”
