The Trenton Bulldogs wrestling season came to a close on Saturday at the Class 1 MSHSAA Wrestling Championships at Mizzou Arena in Columbia. Trenton had four wrestlers in action at the state tournament, including seniors Mason Mounce (160) and Thomas Mack (170), who saw their careers with the Bulldogs end one win short of state titles. Underclassmen Drew Rorebeck (132) and Trey Shields (182) were both in action at state as well, but did not place at the tournament.
For Mounce, getting back to the finals was the first step. He placed second at state at 152 as a sophomore, but during his junior campaign, at 170, Mounce was handed a semifinal loss, dropping him to the third-place match, where he would close out the year with a win and a third-place medal.
This year, after picking up wins by fall over Zack Siebert of Maplewood-Richmond Heights and Austin Nye of Lawson in the first round and quarterfinals respectively, Mounce faced off with Kurtis Hahn of Whitfield. Mounce was pushed for the first time at the state tournament, but still came out on the winning side and topped his opponent by a 4-3 decision. The win set up a finals match-up with Mid-Buchanan’s John Anderson, to whom Mounce’s lone two loss-es on the season had come.
In the finals, history repeated itself as Mounce was handed a 5-4 decision loss to relegate him to second place. Mounce trailed 4-2 late in the match, but scored a reversal with just under a minute to go to pull even at 4-4. An escape by Anderson with just 20 seconds left would be the difference, however, as Mounce fell by a single point.
“Mason Mounce looked sharp throughout the tournament, as he usually does,” Trenton Head Coach Charlie Bacon said. “He won a very close semifinals match against a tough Whitfield opponent to secure his spot in the state finals. Mason wrestled John Anderson in the finals, who had given Mason his only two losses in the season. Mason was so close to his ultimate goal of a state title, but lost by one point. It was a close match the whole way through but we just couldn’t get that last takedown that we needed.”
Despite the loss, Mounce wraps up his THS career with 170 wins and three state medals. He finished his senior season with a 43-3 record.
Thomas Mack’s road to the finals was a tough one. The Trenton senior was unable to get a single win by fall, but kept advancing throughout the bracket with decision victories. Mack opened with a 5-2 decision win over Principia’s Greg Lovegren and followed that up with an 8-3 decision win over Preston Smidt of Lawson. In the semifinals, Mack punched his ticket to the championship match with a 5-2 decision over Mason Rosier of Stanberry.
The three decision wins set up a rematch for Mack in the finals as well. He took on South Harrison’s Austin Ward, who had defeated Mack in a dual with South Harrison earlier in the year and in the district finals a week ago. Mack wouldn’t be pinned by Ward, but he couldn’t stop him from capping an undefeated season as South Harrison’s first-ever state champion. Ward picked up a 6-0 decision victory to give Mack a second-place showing.
“Thomas Mack had a great tournament at 170,” Bacon said. “Thomas won a close first round match to put him in the quarterfinals against a Lawson opponent who has beaten him three times already this season. Thomas had a great game plan and he went out and executed it to come out with what many would say was a huge upset, even though there was little doubt in his mind that he could win. Thomas continued the streak in the semifinals, controlling and winning a great match against his Stanberry opponent. Thomas faced Austin Ward in the state finals, which was a repeat of the district finals from a week before. Thomas wrestled his best match yet against him to take a 6-0 loss. Thomas finished the season as number two in the state after falling short of a medal the previous two years.
“As a coach I couldn’t have asked for two better seniors to share these last four amazing years with. The amount of hard work and dedication these two have put in is next to none. They have made their families, community and coaches very proud.”
Like Mounce, Mack finished his career with triple-digit victories, totaling 110 wins in his career with THS. Mack wrapped up his senior season at 40-9 overall.
Drew Rorebeck wrapped up his season with a 2-2 showing in the 132-pound bracket. Rorebeck got off to a good start, picking up a win by fall in the opening round. Rorebeck was relegated to the wrestleback bracket in the quarterfinals, however, as he was pinned by Cayden Bertz of Lexington. Rorebeck staved off elimination with a 6-2 decision win in wrestlebacks, but lost by an 11-2 major decision at the next level, ending his run for a medal. Rorebeck wrapped up the year with a 37-10 record overall.
“Drew Rorebeck came out with a big first round win, which would lead him to the eventual state champion at 132,” Bacon said. “After a slow start in the first period, Drew locked up a cradle in the second period and held his opponent for the next 30 seconds. I really felt like the pin could have been called but the official was just a little out of position to see that Drew’s cradle was secure. After losing in the quarters, Drew would go 1-1 to just fall short of a state medal.”
Shields, meanwhile, went 1-2 in the 182-pound bracket. He was pinned in the opening round, but bounced back with a win by fall over Sean Hannan of Principia. The second round of wrestlebacks was Shields’ last, however as he was pinned by Albany’s Duncan Payne to end his run. Shields finished the season with a 31-19 record.
“Trey Shields lost his first round match to the eventual runner-up at 182, who we had lost to before earlier in the season,” Bacon said. “Trey came back and won his wrestleback match by pin, but fell short against Albany’s Duncan Payne. I thought Trey really gave it 100 percent like he always does. If Trey keeps up the hard work, there is no doubt he will medal next year.”
Trenton received 48 points in the team standings at state, good for a 12th-place showing overall. Whitfield won the Class 1 team title with 153.5 points. Seneca was runner-up with 137 points, Lawson was third with 110 and Tolton Catholic was fourth with 85.5. Centralia rounded out the top five with 81.5 team points.
“It was an exciting three days in Columbia at the state wrestling tournament,” Bacon said. “Our four boys really came out to wrestle. It was obvious what their goals were and they were not content with just being a state qualifier.”