The Trenton Bulldog wrestling team put an impressive tournament together on Saturday at the Quad State Classic in Maryville. Trenton scored 115.5 points to take third place in the 10-team field, which had representatives from Missouri, Nebraska, Iowa and Kansas.
Trenton picked up three individual titles on the day as well as Karson Hill (135), Dakota Galvin (171) and James Fairchild (189) all took first place in their respective weights. Trenton also had a runner-up finish from Bruce Fair (119), third-place finishers in Clay Oneal (145) and Jacob Spillman (160) and a fourth-place finish from Carlos Gonzalez (103).
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“I felt like this was the best our team has wrestled so far this season,” Trenton Head Coach Bill Hill said. “The competition was good and I was especially pleased with our execution of quality technique. We are beginning to see more and more of the technique we have been drilling since day one show up in our matches.”
Karson Hill collected his title in dominating fashion, going 3-0 on the day. Hill scored 10 takedowns in his first match on his way to a 23-8 tech fall and advanced to the finals with a 20-8 major decision in which he scored 10 more takedowns. Hill scored three takedowns and two nearfalls in the final to pick up a 13-2 major decision.
“With a tech fall and two major decisions, Karson scored with several takedowns,” Coach Hill said. “He just never seems to be out of position and never stops coming at you.”
Galvin and Fairchild picked up their first tournament titles of their careers. Galvin received a bye in the first round and won his semifinal match with a 10-7 decision in which he fended off two nearfalls in the final period to win. Galvin then picked up the title with a win by fall at the 0:44 mark in the first period. Fairchild picked up three wins to earn his title, winning all three by fall. Fairchild picked up a second period pin in the first round, a third-period pin in the semis and a first-period pin at the 0:54 mark in the championship match.
“These were Dakota and James’ first tournament titles,” Hill said. “They are improving each and every time they step on the mat. They each managed to pin some quality opponents that they weren’t supposed to be able to handle. That is exciting and I am proud of them. The thrill of their victories was sweet for them and for every Trenton fan.”
Bruce Fair made the finals, falling just one win shy of another Trenton title. Fair won his first match with a quick first-round pin and then advanced to the finals with a thrilling 9-4 decision in the semifinals before falling by a 5-2 decision in the title match.
“Bruce wrestled one of his best matches of the season to get a big win in the semis,” Hill said. “It was a pretty tight match, but Bruce wrestled smart, stayed in good position and sealed the deal by scoring a nice throw late in the match. He wrestled well in the finals, but fell, 5-2 to last year’s 112-pound Nebraska state champion.”
Oneal and Spillman followed up first-round byes with semifinal losses by close decisions. Oneal fell 6-3 and Spillman lost 6-4. Both bounced back in the third-place semifinals of their respective brackets with wins. Oneal scored an 8-2 decision victory and Spillman won 7-1. In the third-place matches, Oneal won 1-1-3 and Spillman won 6-1.
“Oneal and Spillman both finished their day strong by dominating their third-place matches after the semifinal wins they wanted kind of slipped away,” Hill said. “They don’t come away from every match with a win, but every match should make them better.”
Trenton also had a medalist in Gonzalez, who rounded out the team scoring for Trenton with a fourth-place showing at 103. Gonzalez advanced to the semifinals with a win by fall, but was relegated to the third-place semifinals with a 17-7 decision loss. In the third-place semis, Gonzalez picked up another win by fall before losing by a single point, 6-5, in the third-place match.
“It’s always fun to watch Carlos just to see what new things he has learned since his last match,” Hill said. “What Carlos gives up to his opponents in size – he is well below 103 pounds – and experience, he makes up for it with athleticism, mental toughness and an uncanny body position awareness. Despite finishing fourth, Carlos gave kids with years of experience all they could handle.”
Also in action for Trenton were Tyler Carpenter (215), who was 1-2; Alex Lovell (152), who was 1-2; Brandon Dolan (125), who was 0-2; Maria Stevenson (130), who was 0-2; Kody Westcott (140), who was 0-2; and Layton Harkins (285), who was 0-2.
“Brandon, Maria, Kody, Alex, Tyler and Layton put out their best efforts, but came up short of a medal this time,” Hill said. “I’m seeing improvement as I watch them and know they are moving in the right direction.”
Millard South took the top spot at the tournament with 186 points and Cameron was second with 163.5 points.
The Trenton Bulldog wrestlers will return to action on Thursday as they travel to Higginsville for dual action with the Huskers. The first match is scheduled for a 6 p.m. start time.