Martin falls in title match; Jays finish seventh at state

Jefferson City's Jalen Martin (right) grapples with Timberland's Chance Cooper in the Class 4 195-pound championship match Saturday at Mizzou Arena.
Jefferson City's Jalen Martin (right) grapples with Timberland's Chance Cooper in the Class 4 195-pound championship match Saturday at Mizzou Arena.

COLUMBIA, Mo. - Jalen Martin gave it all he had and that's all anyone could ask.

Martin, a Jefferson City junior, took on undefeated Chance Cooper of Timberland for the title at 195 pounds in the Class 4 state wrestling championships Saturday night at Mizzou Arena.

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"Jalen probably wrestled (Cooper) the best match he's had all season," Jays coach Phil Cagle said after Martin dropped an 8-5 decision in the title bout. "Cooper's just good, very good."

After a scoreless first period, Cooper got a reversal early in the second to take a 2-0 lead. After Martin got a point for an escape, Cooper scored a takedown to make it 4-1. Martin then got another escape and it was 4-2 heading into the final period.

Martin started down in the final period and Cooper let him up to make it 4-3. Cooper then got a pair of takedowns in the final two minutes to two more escapes by Martin to make the final 8-5.

Martin repeatedly took shots at takedowns in the match, only to have Cooper fight them off.

"We just tried to match Cooper's aggressiveness, but he did a good job of keeping us from scoring," Cagle said. "We got in a couple of times, he was just able to stop us."

It's the second state medal for Martin (51-3), who was fourth at 170 as a sophomore. Cooper (47-0), a senior, picked up his first state title after finishing second at 170 as a sophomore and at 182 as a junior.

Jefferson City finished seventh in the final team standings with 73 points, one point behind Lee's Summit West and two behind Timberland.

"I don't know how many coaches have told me they've noticed how hard the kids are wrestling and that's a great credit to their work ethic," Cagle said. "That makes me so proud of these kids."

Park Hill repeated as the Class 4 team champion with 129.5 points. Holt was second with 103, while Francis Howell Central took third with 100 and Seckman was fourth with 89.

"We were just two matches out of being getting a trophy," Cagle said, looking back to a pair of close losses in the high-point semifinals Friday night. "It shows the kids what we can do if we keep our focus and it will give us some momentum heading into next season."

III

Martin was one of four medalists for the Jays, matching their total of last season.

Logan Moriarity finished third at 160. After dropping a decision in Friday night's semifinals to eventual undefeated state champion Connor Flynn of Francis Howell, the Jefferson City junior defeated Jake Mattson of Francis Howell Central and D.J. Brasfield-Thogerson on Saturday.

"Logan wrestled (Flynn) to his closest match he's had all year and that was probably the state championship match," Cagle said.

Moriarity is now a three-time medalist, having taken fourth as a freshman at 120 and third last year at 145.

Christian Mayberry, a sophomore, took fourth at 126 for the Jays.

"It was a great tournament for Christian," Cagle said. "He's really becoming a student of the sport, he's always picking up on little things to make himself better."

Mayberry rebounded from a two-point loss in Friday night's semifinals to defeat Dakota Thevel of Northwest: Cedar Hill 6-3 in the wrestlebacks Saturday morning before falling 4-0 to Gavin DeWitt of Ozark in the third-place match.

Rashaun Woods, a sophomore, had a successful first trip to the championships by taking sixth at 182. After winning his first two matches to advance to the semifinals, he dropped his next three in close decisions, including a 6-3 loss to eventual champion Michael Aldrich of Parkway South.

"We cannot be happier with Rashaun or for Rashaun," Cagle said. "He's young, he's raw, but he's getting better each and every time he gets on the mat."

Cagle can see a very bright future for Woods, who participates in three sports at Jefferson City.

"And I think he does, too," Cagle said.

The Jays, who were undefeated in regular-season duals this year, will return eight of their 10 state qualifiers.

"The kids know how good we have the chance to be," Cagle said. "The expectations are high, but it's Jeff City and we're used to that. We're going to take a couple of weeks off and then start to prepare for next season."

See also:

Prep Wrestling: State Tournament results for area teams