COLUMBIA, Mo. - The definition of infinitesimal is immesurably or incalculably minute. Or, better put, the difference between Blair Oaks' Frankie Falotico and Seneca's Trey Smith.
It was well known going into Saturday night the two wrestlers were evenly matched, but nobody could have known just how small the difference was.
As it turns out, the two needed an ultimate tiebreaker to determine their state-championship match, and if the final period had been one second longer, the result might have been reversed.
As it was, Smith emerged with a 4-3 victory and the Class 1 state title at 145 pounds.
"If you wrestle that match 100 times, it's going to be 50-50," Blair Oaks coach Tim Karsten said.
It was especially tough for Falotico as a senior, as it ends a state-tournament run where he finished fifth at 120 as a freshman, second at 126 as a sophomore and second at 132 as a junior.
"It's a tough, tough loss for him, for his family, his friends, his school," Karsten said. "He's a great kid, everybody loves him. He worked hard this year, he had all his ducks in a row. It just went down to sudden death and we were on the short end of the stick."
When Falotico and Smith met up seven days prior in the district championship match, Falotico came up with a 3-2 victory.
"Sometimes I wonder if it's not better to lose at districts and come back and have that drive at state, but you never really know," Karsten said.
Neither wrestler scored in the first period, and when Falotico won the flip between periods, he chose bottom. He then came up with an escape 19 seconds later for the second period's only score.
Smith, followed the same blueprint in the third period, escaping after just :06 to force overtime.
"They're both quick on their feet, so they knew they were going to score by escaping on the mat," Karsten said. "We both had our plans for the overtime. We wanted to win the toss and score first so we'd have the ultimate tiebreaker."
In the first extra 30-second session, neither scored, and Falotico started on the bottom and got an escape for a 2-1 lead in the next extra period.
Falotico then appeared to be in trouble when Smith got a quick reversal in the ensuing extra period for a 3-2 lead. But when Falotico almost escaped after a restart, Smith pushed him out of bounds and was called for stalling, tying it at 3.
Falotico then started down in the ultimate tiebreaker round. Needing to get an escape to win, he appeared to break free just as time expired, but Smith was ruled to have held on long enough, giving him the win.
"They didn't show their last trick until the last ride there," Karsten said. "(Smith) used his height to underhook Frankie and lift him up where he couldn't quite get a grip with his feet.
"A good plan for them, a tough result for us."
Smith improved to 45-3 with the win, while Falotico's season ended at 44-1.
"It's going to take awhile, but he will realize that he's going to go on in life and have success, and he had a lot of success here," Karsten said. "He lost this match, but he's still a champion in everybody's eyes at Blair Oaks.
"He has the career record with 182 wins and is a four-time medalist - that speaks for itself. There's guys I've coached that I wished could just make it to the state tournament. He's come here and produced, and he helped us win a state championship in 2014."
The only other Falcon in action Saturday was 220-pounder Tanner Lueckenhoff.
After winning by medical forfeit against Brookfield's Reed McBroom in the fourth round of wrestlebacks, Lueckenhoff lost by fall in the third-place match to Polo's Gunner Martin (44-7).
Lueckenhoff ended his senior season with a record of 39-10.
"He had a great year, and a great state tournament," Karsten said.
Smith's win clinched the team title for Seneca, which ended up with 160 team points. Whitfield was second with 154.5, Marceline was third with 109.5 and Versailles won the final team trophy with 81.5. Blair Oaks ended up tied for 12th with 50.5.
"It was a tough year, and I thought it was going to be that way," Karsten said. "There were three teams above everybody else and then there were going to be 20 teams where, if they had the right breaks, were going to join them on the top there. We were just a little short."
See additional Blair Oaks results below.
CLASS 1
Teams
- 1. Seneca 160; 2. Whitfield 154.5; 3. Marceline 109.5; 4. Versailles 81.5; 5. Lawson 78; 6. (tie) Brookfield and Lafayette County 62; 8. Maplewood-Richmond Heights 57.5; 9. (tie) Carrollton and Plattsburg 56.
- 11. Centralia 52.5; 12. (tie) Blair Oaks and South Harrison 50.5; 14. Holden 50; 15. Lexington 44; 16. Hallsville 43.5; 17. Maysville 40; 18. Father Tolton 37; 19. Fatima 34; 20. Lathrop 32.
- 21. Gallatin 30.5; 22. Mid-Buchanan 28; 23. Butler 26; 24. Rock Port 25; 25. West Platte 24; 26. Adrian 23; 27. Polo 22; 28. Principia 21; 29. Lutheran: St. Charles 18; 30. Summit Christian Academy 17.5.
- 31. New Madrid County Central 17; 32. Tipton 15.5; 33. Trenton 15; 34. (tie) North Andrew and Warsaw 14; 36. (tie) Lift For Life Academy, Sherwood and Stanberry 11; 39. (tie) Maryville and Wentworth Military Academy 10.
- 41. Penney 9; 42. Diamond 7; 43. Knob Noster 6; 44. Lone Jack 5; 45. (tie) Herculaneum and Valle Catholic 4; 47. (tie) El Dorado Springs, Lutheran North and Missouri Military Academy 3; 50. Albany 1.
Blair Oaks
First Round
126 - London Gaydos, jr. (33-12) lost 8-6 in OT to Clayton Stallo, fr., Marceline (39-10).
132 - Bo Thomas, jr. (30-24) lost 9-6 to Rhiley Smith, sr., New Madrid County Central (43-7).
145 - Frankie Falotico, sr. (42-0) WBF against William Buchanan, soph., Principia (13-23).
170 - Paul Karsten, jr. (29-25) LBF to Noah Elmore, soph., Whitfield (40-10).
182 - Riley Boeckman, jr. (36-10) WBTF against Brian Mickle, jr., New Madrid County Central (26-20).
195 - Scott Farley, jr. (16-8) LBF to Richard Menconi, jr., Brookfield (33-8).
220 - Tanner Lueckenhoff, sr. (36-8) won 7-4 against Ethan Staton, soph., Carollton (16-24).
285 - Chance Cumpton, sr. (14-8) LBF to Robert Anderson, sr., Butler (50-4).
First-Round Wrestlebacks
126 - London Gaydos, jr. (34-12) won 7-6 against Joshua Garner, soph., Cleveland NJROTC (24-9).
132 - Bo Thomas, jr. (30-25) LBF to Logan Dietz, sr., Lawson (30-20).
170 - Paul Karsten, jr. (29-26) LBF to Cole Chisler, sr., Holden (39-12).
195 - Scott Farley, jr. (17-8) WBF against Mitchell Skinner, sr., Principia (14-12).
285 - Chance Cumpton, sr. (15-8) won 9-4 against Garrett Trosper, soph., Penney (32-12).
Quarterfinals
145 - Frankie Falotico, sr. (43-0) WBF against Wyatt Bird, jr., Gallatin (43-12).
182 - Riley Boeckman, jr. (36-11) LBF to Brett Campbell, soph., Summit Christian Academy (49-5).
220 - Tanner Lueckenhoff, sr. (36-9) lost 9-0 to Max Darrah, soph., Whitfield (46-3).
Second-Round Wrestlebacks
126 - London Gaydos, jr. (34-13) lost 3-1 to Dawson Stephens, soph., Seneca (28-12).
182 - Riley Boeckman, jr. (36-11) WBF against Shane Stark, sr., Carrollton (38-18).
195 - Scott Farley, jr. (17-9) LBTF to Jacob Aeschbacher, jr., Versailles (42-10).
220 - Tanner Lueckenhoff, sr. (37-9) WBF against Kenneth Wescott, jr., Missouri Military Academy (18-14).
285 - Chance Cumpton, sr. (15-9) LBF to Elory Anderson, jr., Stanberry (40-6).
Third-round Wrestlebacks
182 - Riley Boeckman, jr. (36-12) lost 5-4 to Andrew Robb, sr., Hallsville (43-10).
220 - Tanner Lueckenhoff, sr. (38-9) won 6-5 in ultimate tiebreaker against Matthew Schneader, sr., Lexington (43-10).
Semifinals
145 - Frankie Falotico, sr. (44-0) WBF against Luke West, soph., Hallsville (46-9).
Fourth-Round Wrestlebacks
220 - Tanner Lueckenhoff, sr. (39-9) won by injury default against Reed McBroom, sr., Brookfield (39-5).
Third-Place Match
220 - Tanner Lueckenhoff, sr. (39-10) LBF to Gunner Martin, jr., Polo (44-7).
Championship
145 - Frankie Falotico, sr. (44-1) lost 4-3 in an ultimate tiebreaker to Trey Smith, jr., Seneca (46-3).