For the second year in a row, the Trenton Bulldogs are sending five wrestlers to the state tournament. But, while the number is the same, the group of Bulldogs bound for state feels quite a bit different.
That has nothing to do with the tournament moving from its traditional location at Mizzou Arena in Columbia to the Cable-Dahmer Arena in Independence. It’s not because the normal three-day event is being condensed to a single Wednesday.
It has everything to do with experience.
Last year’s five wrestlers bound for state included one senior, a sophomore and three freshmen. The sophomore and two of the freshmen are back as returning state qualifiers. Now-junior Caleb Johnson and sophomore Hunter McAtee are going back to state as defending state medalists. Coleman Griffin is also returning to state – a year older, a year stronger, a year wiser.
This year’s group also includes one senior – Brice Gibler. All he has done in the last month is go from a hopeful state qualifier into a state medal contender.
Sam Gibson, a sophomore, rounds out Trenton’s group of five.
“This year I feel like we have gained more experience,” Trenton coach Charlie Bacon said. “Three of our five have had a year under their belts at the state tournament and had a chance to see what it was all about last year. I think all five of our guys have a great opportunity to go out and get a state medal.”
For McAtee, maybe Trenton’s strongest hope for a state title, the path to the top of the podium might be the toughest.
Due to a big upset at sectionals McAtee’s first match at state will likely come against Centralia’s Brayden Dubes. Dubes is one of only three wrestlers to hold a win over McAtee this season, doing so by an 11-2 major decision at the Gary Haag Invitational in Brookfield. Dubes has been the top-ranked wrestler in the state for the majority of the season and was the District 2 champion at 113, holding a 39-0 record on the season at the time.
But, at sectionals, Dubes inexplicably dropped his first match-up of the day by a 9-6 decision to Lane Kimbley, who was third in District 2 just two weeks earlier. Kimbley went on to take the section title and the first-round bye at state that it assured. Dubes, meanwhile, angrily pinned two foes to place third. He now has a first-round match-up with Richmond’s Ricky Russ at state and the winner will advance to face McAtee, who received a first -round bye due to his own section championship.
McAtee will more than likely have to avenge his loss in Brookfield to keep his hopes of a state title alive. One loss for any wrestler at state takes them out of the state title picture leaving them with a third-place medal as the highest possible outcome.
“To beat the Dubes kid, Hunter is going to have to be offensive on his feet and look for his takedown,” Bacon said. “Hunter has a really good single-leg (takedown) that he got to the last time we wrestled (Dubes), but didn’t finish. So finishing our takedowns in the neutral position is key. The last time we wrestled I felt like Hunter was looking for a reversal on bottom rather than getting to our feet and getting the escape. We can’t be greedy and we have to be focused on getting to our feet and not giving up any back points. If Hunter does those things, he will win the match.”
Johnson will have to wrestle an extra match after falling to Hamilton’s Fisher Nixdorf in the sectional final at 220. Still, his road to a state final might be easier than McAtee’s. If Johnson can get past West Platte’s Lamar Henderson, a wrestler with a 23-13 overall record, in the first round, he will get Centralia’s Sam Lynn, whom Johnson pinned at the Brookfield Tournament. A repeat of that performance would put Johnson into the semifinals where he would face another opponent he has already defeated this year in Brookfield’s Trace Alexander, or a wrestler with seven or more losses this season in Richmond’s Larry Pinniston (24-7) or Adrian’s William Brown (15-9).
“I feel like Caleb is set up really well,” Bacon said. “There are about four kids in that bracket who are very evenly matched, but Caleb wrestles really well in big matches so I feel like he has the edge. If he wrestles as well as he did last year in the state tournament he has a very good chance at a run at the finals and even the championship.”
At 24-9, Gibler’s overall season record isn’t as intimidating as some other marks in his bracket. What should concern any opponent Gibler faces is the fact that the Trenton senior has saved the best wrestling of his career for last.
Gibler has been at his best the last month, winning district and sectional titles along the way. Palmyra’s Collin Arch, at 17-0, is the odds-on favorite in the weight class, but Gibler wouldn’t see Arch on the championship side of the bracket until the finals.
“It’s like Brice is just putting everything he has ever learned in the wrestling room to use the last month,” Bacon said. “He has found a takedown that he is very good at, is getting up off of bottom and has been very tough on top. Brice is also a very smart wrestler who doesn’t give up points that he shouldn’t – in other words – he is very conservative. He likely won’t score a ton of points each match, but he is really good at winning close matches by a few points, which is going to be crucial at the state tournament.”
Griffin is making his second straight trip to the state tournament and the sophomore will be looking to get his first win at state after going 0-2 last season. Having that state experience will help and his first opportunity to get into the win column will come in the first round against Central New Madrid’s Jakob Wilcox.
Griffin is 27-5 overall on the season with three of his five losses coming to Gallatin’s Rodell Sperry. Griffin wouldn’t see Sperry until a potential state championship match, but the Trenton 152-pounder has plenty to worry about before that point including potential quarterfinal foe Conner Johnston of Knob Noster, who is 35-3 on the season, and potential semifinal opponent Colton Kirkham of Mid-Buchanan, who owns one of the other two wins over Griffin this season.
“Last year I feel like Coleman was a little bit overwhelmed by the experience,” Bacon said. “After getting a year under his belt I feel like Coleman is ready to make a run at a state medal. He has been very consistent all year long and has looked very good, which should give him the confidence this year to go out and take care of business.”
Gibson will be making his first career trip to state, but needed overtime to get to the premier wrestling tournament of the year. He defeated Gallatin’s Gage Wright on the ultimate tiebreaker in the third-place match at the sectional tournament. His first-round match-up at state will come against Chris Corley of Tipton – a senior wrestler with a 30-9 record on the year. Christopher Bryant of the Missouri Military Academy, who is 20-0 on the season, awaits the winner in the quarterfinals. The 182 bracket is stacked with six wrestlers boasting four or fewer losses.
“I was so happy for Sam when he fought his way through such a tough bout in the sectional third-place match,” Bacon said. “The 182 bracket is very good, however, making it through our section, which I feel like was the toughest, Sam has a really good shot at picking up a state medal. I have also told the kids to not pay attention to all of the good records on their brackets. I feel like we wrestle a tougher schedule than most and that records really don’t mean a whole lot when you get to the state tournament.”
The single-day Class 1 Tournament in Independence will begin at 9:15 on Wednesday with the national anthem and grand march. First round matches will follow at 9:30. The state championship matches will close out the day at 6:30 p.m.