COLUMBIA - Peter Kuster of Jefferson City will wrestle for a state title.
Kuster, a junior, advanced to Class 4 championship match at 138 pounds with a 7-0 victory in the semifinals of the state tournament Friday night at Mizzou Arena.
Kuster got a takedown midway through the first period of his semifinal against Jeff Farris of Holt to take a 2-0 lead. Kuster padded his advantage to 5-0 with an escape and takedown in the second period before closing the scoring with a late takedown in the third period.
Kuster (42-1) will meet Tyler Stegall of Northwest: Cedar Hill (49-3) in the championship match. Stegall finished fourth at 138 last year.
The championship round is scheduled to begin at 4:30 p.m. today.
Kuster, a three-time state qualifier, advanced to the semifinals with an 8-3 win against Collen Divers of Fort Osage in the quarterfinals earlier Friday. Kuster led 2-1 after one period before outscoring Divers 5-2 in the final period.
Charlie Kusick of Jefferson City dropped a 3-1 decision in overtime to Garrett Kloeppel of Parkway South in his semifinal match at 126 on Friday.
Kusick (37-7) took a 1-0 lead on an escape with :36 left in the second period. Kloeppel (43-0) tied it with an escape of his own with 1:36 remaining in the third period.
Kloeppel got the win with a takedown in overtime.
Kusick will be joined in the fourth round of wrestlebacks this morning by teammate Sam Rackers.
Rackers, a freshman, advanced with a 6-3 victory against Staley sophomore Blake Berryman in the third round of wrestlebacks.
Trailing 2-0 after one period, Rackers (34-12) got a set of back points midway through the second period to take a 3-2 lead. Rackers picked up an escape point, followed by a takedown in the third period to ice the victory.
Rackers advanced with a win by fall against Triston Jones of Lee's Summit earlier Friday.
The fourth round of wrestlebacks will start at 10 a.m. today, followed by the third- and fifth-place matches around noon.
The Jays lost four wrestlers in the third round of wrestlebacks Friday night - Christian Mayberry at 145, Tyler Bise at 170, Brandon Backues at 220 and Davonta Finney at 285.
Jays teammates Reece Neighbors (152) and Dennis Barnes (160) were eliminated with losses in the second round of wrestlebacks Friday afternoon.
The Jays enter the final day of the championships in eighth-place in the team standings with 57.5 points. C.BC. leads at 91.5, followed by Staley (89.5), Lafayette: Wildwood (76.5) and Park Hill (71).