By Pat Dailey (For OzarkSportsZone.com)
BRANSON — With three individual champions, three runners-up and two third-place finishers, Ozark earned the Branson Tournament team title Saturday.
The Tigers totaled 204 points while storming past second-place Hillsboro, which had 197.5. No one else was within 50 points of the lead.
Ozark staged a comeback, after Hillsboro led early in the final round.
“They were ahead by a bunch,” 215-pound Ozark champion Ruben Arvizu said. “But we rallied back. They didn’t have many big boys in the finals. We had to pull away from them.”
“It’s a huge deal,” Tigers 144 champion Caden Harrington said. “My senior year, getting a championship here is amazing.”
“We knew it was going to be anything but easy,” Ozark coach Tod Sundlie said. “(Hillsboro is) a championship program. This was a good tournament. It was good to see new teams.”
Arvizu and Ozark 132 champion Colton Wilson also won individual titles while helping Ozark take the Kinloch Classic team title earlier this month.
Arvizu moved to 26-5 with a 3-2 tiebreaker win over Kickapoo’s Jonathan Vargas (19-3) in the 215 title tilt.
Wilson (26-7) recorded an 11-3 win by majority decision against Hillsboro’s Jordan Penick in the 132 final.
Wilson, who was the lone freshman champion at the tournament, broke out to a 7-0 lead against Penick.
“He was good and kept going for funky moves. It made me nervous,” Wilson said. “But I felt I had the upper hand in all the positions we wrestled.”
Harrington (14-3) edged Bolivar’s Maddux NeSmith (22-4) by a 4-1 count in the 138 final.
Stewart repeats as Most Outstanding Wrestler
Carl Junction’s Tony Stewart was in the unusual role of being an underdog while making a return to a tourney that he was the Most Outstanding Wrestler a year earlier.
Stewart earned himself the Most Outstanding Wrestler award again by completing a dramatic turnaround against Ozark’s Dayton Moison in their 175 title tilt. Stewart edged Moison 12-10 only two weeks after dropping a 16-0 loss by technical fall to Moison at the Kinloch Classic.
“It makes me feel amazing,” Stewart said. “The last time we wrestled, he pushed me to my limits and I broke. He’s a good wrestler, I give it to him. I see Dayton as someone with a crazy gas tank. But I broke him this time. You always love your second time wrestling someone.”
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Stewart put in plenty of work. He went the distance in his final three matches, winning 4-2 in his final pool match and winning 6-2 in the semifinal round. All along, he heard opposing coaches telling their wrestler that he was tired.
Stewart obviously got the last word.
“Since that (loss to Moison), I’ve been in the gym on the row-machine and ski-machine, all that stuff. I’m trying to get my gas tank better than it already is,” he said.
The 175 bracket included four wrestlers with 20 wins or more, along with Bolivar’s Mason McCurry (17-2), who beat Stewart at state last year.
Lopez-Durman gives CJ two champions
Following Stewart’s title, Carl Junction’s Marcus Lopez-Duman claimed the 190 championship with a 21-9 win by major decision against Alex Bogart, of McDonald County.
Lopez-Durman, who improved to 21-2, is enjoying a fulfilling season on many fronts.
“I wasn’t going to wrestle this year,” he said. “But I decided I’ve got to help the team. I’ve had a lot of self-doubt, thinking I’m not good enough. But this year is different. The work and effort I’ve put in has really paid off.”
Isringhausen, Moore keep perfect records intact
The 120 title tilt offered Branson’s Ryzen Isringhausen a rare chance to be in the position of seeking revenge. Prior to Saturday, he and Carl Junction’s Carter Fogelsong had met each other only once, with Fogelsong winning a decision in their youth wrestling days.
This time around, Isringhausen pinned Fogelsong in 2:58.
“In my opinion, it’s always better to be the underdog,” Isringhausen said. “You’ve got nothing to lose, you get to throw it all out there. I felt pretty good overall. I was attacking well and defending well.”
Isringhausen had three wins by technical fall while improving to 32-0. He welcomes the pressure that comes with being undefeated this late in the season.
“Being undefeated definitely brings pressure, but pressure makes diamonds,” Isringhausen said.
Bolivar’s Cooper Moore also stayed undefeated. He upped his record to 19-0 by collecting the 144 championship.
Moore received a medical forfeit in the final.
Moore didn’t get much mat time the entire tournament. He posted three pins in a total of 3:12.
Rolla’s Kinder easy winner at 157
Kayden Kinder was a dominant 157 champion. The Rolla senior’s championship run included a pair of pins, one win by majority decision and a 16-0 win by technical fall in the final against Cassville’s Tristan Thompson.
Kinder was disappointed fellow Class 4 entrants Ozark and Kickapoo didn’t have championship-caliber 157-pounders.
“The competition wasn’t as good as I thought it would be,” said Kinder, who improved to 28-3.
Taking into account takedowns being upped to three points this season, Kinder is focused on improving his takedowns and takedown-defense.
“I have to keep getting better on my feet,” he said. “Three-point takedowns are a huge advantage. If you’re good on your feet, you’re going to win matches. I’ve got to keep on improving there. I’m not good enough, yet. I’ve got to keep on working.”
