VERSAILLES, Mo. - The Blair Oaks Falcons will have a trio of wrestlers competing this week in the Class 1 state tournament at Mizzou Arena.
Dalton Bridges, Ben Thomas and Kyler Griep all placed in the top-four of their respective weight classes Saturday at the Class 1 District 2 Tournament. Blair Oaks finished eighth out of 15 teams in the final standings, posting 80 points.
Bridges won the district title at 126 pounds to finish with a 4-0 record in the two-day event. Bridges won an 8-4 decision in the semifinals against Knob Noster's Conner Johnston and then won by fall in 3:13 against Adrian's Carter Lalumia in the finals.
Thomas took runner-up at 145 to go 2-1. He picked up a 6-3 win against Seneca's Zane Cotten in the semifinals before losing by technical fall to Warsaw's Kolby Estes - ranked No. 1 in Class 1 - in the championship match.
Griep lost by fall to Seneca's Dayton Fields in the semifinals, but the Blair Oaks sophomore was able to clinch his first state tournament appearance with a pin in 4:46 against Holden's Jack Sullins in the consolation semifinals. Griep then won a 12-0 major decision against Knob Noster's Brandon Rogalski in the third-place match to finish 3-1 at districts.
Blair Oaks had three wrestlers come up one win short of reaching state with losses in the consolation semifinals.
Addison Canale dropped a 7-1 decision against Seneca's Max Roark at 132 to finish 2-2, while Levi Haney lost 12-6 to Buffalo's Keaton Rackley at 138 to go 3-2 at districts. Shane Gillmore lost by fall to Buffalo's Pete Herrera at 182 to finish 2-2, winning both matches by fall.
Jayce Griggs lost a 10-3 decision in his only match at 120 on Saturday to tie for seventh place with a 1-2 record.
Seneca won the district championship with 205.5 points, qualifying 10 wrestlers for the state tournament. Buffalo took second with 133 points, followed by Knob Noster with 131.5 and Father Tolton with 124.
Versailles finished 11th with 61 points, qualifying three for state.
The Tigers had two runner-up finishers. Payton Lafoy won an 8-7 decision by ultimate tiebreaker in the semifinals at 120 to clinch at state berth before losing by fall in the championship match to finish with a 2-1 record. Michael Trotter won by fall in the semifinals at 182 before finishing 3-1 with a loss by fall in the title match.
Kooper Wilson posted a 4-1 record at 138, bouncing back from a semifinal loss with back-to-back wins to take third place.
Versailles had two wrestlers come up short in the consolation semifinals, with Riley Rademann finishing 1-2 at 195 and Ben Dornan going 0-2 at 106.
Fatima finished 14th in the team standings with 43 points and has two state qualifiers.
Lucas Laux won with a first-period pin in the semifinals at 113 before dropping a 4-1 decision in the title match to finish in second place with a 2-1 record. Jason Strope posted a 3-1 record at 106, winning a 5-4 decision in the third-place match.
Kagan Froning fell in the consolation semifinals at 120, coming up one win short of qualifying for state and finishing with a 2-2 record at districts.
Tipton took 15th place with 23 points. Trevan Isaacs had the best finish for the Cardinals, tying for fifth place at 152 with a 3-2 record.
Drew Loganbill (1-2 at 126), Caleb Myers (1-2 at 170), Zac Cox (1-2 at 220) and Nickolas Howard (1-2 at 285) also had their seasons end Saturday.
The Class 1 state tournament begins at 10 a.m. Thursday in Columbia.
Class 2 District 3 tourney
CLINTON - The Eldon Mustangs came away with four state qualifiers - including two district champions - and a fifth-place finish as a team Saturday at the Class 2 District 3 Tournament. That marks the Mustangs' best district finish in program history.
Eldon, which had six wrestlers competing on the second day of the two-day event, finished with 91 points. Odessa won the district title with 168.5 points, followed by Monett (163), Bolivar (146) and Logan-Rogersville (134.5).
Trenton Dillon, who became Eldon's first wrestler to reach a state championship match last season, repeated as district champion at 160 pounds, becoming the first Mustang to win two district titles. Dillon won both matches by major decision Saturday, defeating Odessa's Jake Evinger 18-6 in the semifinals at Bolivar's Hayden Burks 10-2 in the title match to go 3-0 at districts.
Dawson Brandt also claimed the district championship at 182 with a 4-0 record, winning all four matches by fall. He pinned Bolivar's Drayton Huchteman in 3:27 in the semifinals, then recorded a third-period pin in 5:31 against Odessa's Colby Wilson in the championship.
Isaiah Simmons joined Dillon as a three-time state qualifier with a third-place finish at 120. Simmons dropped a 12-5 decision in the semifinals, but he answered with back-to-back wins, including a 15-6 major decision against Reeds Spring's Eric Holt in the third-place match to go 3-1.
Kaden Dillon also took third at 195 to finish districts with a 3-1 record. Dillon was pinned in the semifinals, then won a 7-2 decision in the consolation semifinals to clinch a state berth. He pinned Pleasant Hill's Ryan Edenburn in 2:42 in the third-place match.
Shane Strickland and Scott Johnson both lost in the consolation semifinals for the Mustangs, coming up one win short of qualifying for state. Johnson dropped both matches Saturday to finish with a 1-2 record at 285, while Strickland posted a 1-2 record at 106.
School of the Osage placed 13th out of 16 teams with 46 points.
Austin Magnuson won the district title at 152 for the Indians to become the team's only state qualifier. After winning an 11-5 decision in the semifinals, Magnuson won 5-0 against Daryin Sharp of Bolivar in the championship match to finish with a 3-0 record.
Four Osage wrestlers fell in the consolation semifinals. Tying for fifth place for the Indians were Kody Dowell (2-2 at 113), Jack Creasy (2-2 at 138), Jesse Schillinger (3-2 at 170) and Matt Russell (1-2 at 195). Tristan Satterlee tied for seventh place at 126, finishing with an 0-2 record.
The Class 2 state tournament begins at 10 a.m. Thursday at Mizzou Arena.