The Trenton High School wrestling team will be well represented at the MSHSAA Wrestling Championships in Columbia at the end of this week. On Saturday in Bethany, seven Bulldogs punched their ticket to the state tournament, giving Trenton representatives in half of the weight classes.
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Three Bulldogs will enter the state tournament as district champions after winning their respective weight classes. Karson Hill (138), Carlos Gonzalez (106) and Jacob Spillman (170) were all seeded first going into districts and all three made good on the top spot, capturing district titles.
Hill, a two-time state champion already winning at 103 pounds in 2009 and 130 pounds in 2011, appeared primed for a third title when he captured his district championship. The district title was the fourth in Hill’s career and he won it with relative ease, dominating the competition at 138 pounds as he has done all season long. In the championship match, Hill racked up 11 takedowns en route to a 22-11 major decision victory. His opponent, Maysville’s Garret Wightman, only scored when Hill released him after takedowns, giving him one escape point each time.
Hill finished the day 3-0, picking up a win by fall in the quarterfinals and a win by a 32-17 tech fall in the semifinals.
Spillman also looked strong in his championship match, winning by pin over Ethan Crowe of Southwest Livingston. Spillman went 3-0 on the day as well, winning by fall in the quarterfinals and by a 15-4 major decision in the semifinals.
Gonzalez had the toughest test of Trenton’s trio of champions. It took overtime before Gonzalez was able to score a 17-15 decision victory over Dillon DeRosier of Rock Port and clinch the 106-pound championship. Gonzalez finished the day 3-0, reaching the finals with two wins by fall.
“Carlos, Karson and Jacob were outstanding,” Bulldogs’ Coach Bill Hill said. “I don’t think any of them ever had any doubts that they would be on top of the medal stand. Each round they just confidently took care of business.”
Two other Bulldogs made it to the finals before falling and finishing runner-up in their respective weights. Clay Oneal (160) lost by a 10-3 decision to Matt Schieber of Hamilton and Mason Mounce (145) reached the finals of his first district tournament ever as a freshman, but fell by a 7-5 decision to Ramzie Cooper of Brookfield.
“As a freshman in a tough middleweight class, Mason had an awesome district tournament,” Hill said. “He is one of those kids who really rises to the occasion. Oneal came up short in the finals against the Hamilton kid who is ranked first in the state at that weight. Clay had some good shots in the match, but Schieber is a good scrambler and we were unable to finish the leg attacks to score.”
Oneal reached the finals with a win by fall and a win by a 12-7 decision. Mounce had to win three matches to get to the finals, winning two by fall and one by an 18-2 tech fall.
Other qualifiers for Trenton included Dakota Galvin (182) and Lane Beverlin (126), both of whom finished third place in their respective weight classes. Galvin pinned Michael Stanley of Gallatin to earn his third-place finish while Beverlin won a 5-1 decision over Trent Stiener of Maysville in the 126-pound third-place match.
Beverlin opened the tournament with a 10-6 decision win, but fell in his second match by a 10-2 decision. He battled back with a win by fall before winning the third-place match.
“Lane had a good tournament,” Hill said. “He was great under pressure in the do-or-die round and then put a little icing on the cake in the consolation final to take third. He has been wrestling like a state qualifier all season and it was great to see him prove he is one.”
Galvin opened with a win by fall, but a loss by fall in the next round relegated him to the third-place bracket. Galvin punched his ticket to state with a win by fall, then followed it up with the third-place victory.
“After losing a tough one in the semis, Galvin kind of took his frustration out on the next two opponents,” Hill said. “Dakota left no doubt about his third-place spot, securing it with two pins.”
Other Bulldogs wrestlers in action at the district tournament included Brandon Dolan (120), who was 3-2; Dalton Ellis (132), who was 0-2; Thomas Mack (152), who was 1-2; Tyler Carpenter (195), who was 2-2; and Layton Harkins (285), who was 1-2.
Brookfield would win half of the weight classes, racking up 197 points to claim the overall team district title. Trenton finished 35.5 points back, totaling 161.5 points and finishing as runner-up. Maysville was third with 107 points and Stanberry collected 105 points to place fourth in the 14-team field.
“We were disappointed that we were unable to win the team title, but Brookfield got outstanding performances from several kids, while we wrestled well, just not above our seeds,” Hill said. “With seven qualifiers, we still have the possibility of finishing high as a team in the state tournament.”
The Class 1 State Tournament gets under way on Thursday in Columbia and continues through Saturday.