Peter Kuster ends high school career with fifth-place finish

Jefferson City's Peter Kuster tangles with Fort Zumwalt West's Austin Landow during a fifth-place match Saturday in the Class 4 state championships at Mizzou Arena.
Jefferson City's Peter Kuster tangles with Fort Zumwalt West's Austin Landow during a fifth-place match Saturday in the Class 4 state championships at Mizzou Arena.

COLUMBIA, Mo. - Peter Kuster decided to just be himself in the final match of his high school career.

"I wrestled like Peter, I wrestled like myself," Kuster said. "At the end of the day, that's all that matters and I'm happy with that."

The Jefferson City senior closed the season with a win, topping Austin Landow of Fort Zumwalt West 6-2 in the fifth-place match at 145 pounds in the Class 4 state wrestling tournament at Mizzou Arena.

"Walking out of here winning your last match is a very good feeling," Jays coach Phil Cagle said. "It's something Peter can remember for the rest of his life."

Kuster, a four-time state qualifier, was looking to wrestle for a state title for the second straight year. But a 3-2 loss in overtime in Friday night's semifinal dropped him to the wrestlebacks Saturday morning.

"As a wrestler, you wonder why that match didn't go my way and if the next one will be the same," Kuster said. "But when I lost the first match (a 3-2 loss in the wrestlebacks Saturday), I learned from it and went into the fifth-place match with the plan."

Kuster took a 2-0 lead with a late takedown in the first period against Landow. A reversal in the second period made it 4-0 before a takedown early in the third sealed the victory.

"I had my ups and downs in the tournament, just like I did all season," Kuster said.

Kuster ends the season at 45-7.

"A two-time medalist and a four-time qualifier, there are a lot of wrestlers around the state who trade places with Peter," Cagle said. "He's going to do great in college."

Kuster will wrestle next year at Drury University.

"I think it's going to be a great fit for me," Kuster said. "I know a lot of the guys, I like the coaches. It feels like family."

Kuster was the lone medalist among the seven qualifiers for Jefferson City.

"Nobody is ever happy here unless they win," Cagle said. "But there are some positive things happened for us here and we're going to build off them."

The Jays will return four of their seven qualifiers - Garrett Butel at 106, Jeremiah Wallace at 113, Will Kuster and 132 and Brandon Backues at 220.

"We have a lot of young kids coming back, they've been here now," Cagle said. "They know what it takes to get here and they know what it is going to take to win up here."

The Jays battled injuries to returning medalist Sam Rackers and qualifier Tyler Bise to finish 8-4 in duals and take 18th in the final team standings at the state tournament with 25 points.

"When you put things into perspective, this may be one of our better years with everything that we overcame to accomplish what we did," Cagle said.

C.B.C. took team honors Saturday night with 155.5 points. Park Hill was second with 142, while Staley was third with 118.