COLUMBIA — It was a perfect start to the Class 2 girls state wrestling tournament for Capital City’s Jacinda Espinosa.
The 140-pounder opened her second state tournament with a matchup against Parkway South’s Taya Stanford, using five takedowns, a three-point near fall, a two-point near fall and three escapes to build an 18-6 major decision and move on to the quarterfinals at Mizzou Arena.
“Jacinda wrestled really well, she stuck to setting the pace and wrestling her moves,” Capital City girls coach Jenna Germer said. “That’s what we want to see, we want her to set the tone and she definitely did that today.”
Gallery: 2023 Class 2 Girls Wrestling State Championships -- Day 1
When the Capital City sophomore returned to the mat to face Raytown South’s Zayla Vann, she wasted no time before scoring a takedown with 1:12 left in the first period and followed it by turning Vann for a three-point near fall with :38 left in the first period. Vann escaped, but Espinosa was able to take her down once more with :14 on the clock, then earned another three-point near fall with :02 showing to take a 10-1 lead into the first break.
Vann was able to gain a reversal out of the down starting position in the second period, but Espinosa escaped and took Vann to the mat with 1:14 left to build a 13-3 lead going into the final period.
After starting neutral, Espinosa scored a takedown and immediately earned another three-point near fall to create an 18-3 technical fall in 4:33.
“I’m excited to watch her continue with that momentum tomorrow,” Germer said.
With the win, Espinosa (41-4) moves on to face Rockwood Summit’s Madelina Haynes (41-1) in today’s semifinals, set for 10:15 a.m.
“”She just needs to stay focused and keep her eye on her goals,” Germer said. “She continues to raise the bar for herself each time. … Just taking it one match at a time.”
On the boys side in the Class 3 competition, four Cavaliers hit the mats Friday, but only one will continue their tournament today.
Reyce Turner (42-11) will be the lone remaining Cavalier today when he takes on Hillsboro’s Griffin Morris (32-22) when the Class 3 boys kick off at 8 a.m.
“He’s gotta win one more to place,” Capital City coach Mitch Werdehausen said. “He’d be our first (boys) placer at Capital City if he can get that win. I think he’s ready for it He beat the kid once at the Hillsboro tournament, but it was a really close match. It’ll be a close match tomorrow, I’m sure.”
Turner dropped his opening- round matchup against Willard’s Brady Griffin in the 285-pound bracket.
After a first period takedown from Griffin and a second-period penalty point for Turner, Capital City’s sophomore started the final period down 2-1 and in the top starting position.
But Griffin -- who placed fifth at 195 pounds last year -- was able to flip Turner for a reversal with 1:40 left and took Turner straight to his back for a loss by fall in 4:31.
“He got a real tough draw in the first round,” Werdehausen said. “We knew that was a tough one.”
Turner moved to the first-round wrestlebacks to face Hannibal’s Ryan Ross where, after starting the scoreless second period in the up position, Turner was able to turn Ross for a two-point near fall with 1:28 left in the middle segment. Ross fought to get out of bounds with 1:05 left, but when they resumed, Turner was able to turn Ross again from the down starting position for a win by fall in 2:30.
“All week, I’ve been telling all of them, ‘Just one match at a time,’” Werdehausen said. “Just keep winning until you lose two.”
Turner advanced to the second-round wrestlebacks to face Fort Zumwalt South’s Jayden Moffett. The pair were scoreless through the first period, then Turner escaped the down starting position with 1:33 left in the second period to create a 1-0 lead.
The second period ended with the same score, leaving Turner to start in the up position with a one-point lead. Turner was able to maintain control through the two-minute segment and held on for a 1-0 decision.
“Just don’t wrestle scared tomorrow, don’t worry about winning or losing,” Werdehausen said. “If you worry about that, you’re going to lose. Just wrestle.”
AJ Kempker went 1-2 for Capital City in his return to the state tournament at 126 pounds.
Kempker opened the tournament with a tough-fought match against Windsor: Imperial’s Luke Patterson.
Kempker earned the first takedown in the first period, but Patterson was able to escape to create a 2-1 score after one period. Kempker escaped the down starting position in the second period to build a 3-1 lead after two periods, but Patterson was able to escape the down starting position in the third and forced a takedown with :34 remaining to take a 4-3 lead. Kempker was able to free himself and tie the match at 4 with :10 left, forcing sudden-victory overtime.
The pair fought through most of the extra period, but Patterson was able to take Kempker to the mat with :11 left to send Kempker to the wrestlebacks.
Kempker was able to force a takedown in the second period to take a 2-1 lead against Camdenton’s Logan Tibben, but Tibben escaped to send the pair to the third period tied at two.
Capital City’s senior then escaped the down starting position to take a 3-2 lead before holding off Tibben’s final attempts and taking him to the mat with :05 left to build a 5-2 decision and advance.
Kempker moved on to face Fort Zumwalt South’s Zack Tihen, with the pair ending the one-minute first period scoreless.
With Kempker in the up position to start the second period, Tihen was able to force a reversal straight into a two-point near fall to help build a 6-2 decision and end Kempker’s high school career with three wins at state and 98 for his career.
Kempker finishes his senior season with a record of 30-18.
Levi Casey dropped his opening match in the 144-pound bracket by an 8-0 major decision against Whitfield’s Rome Tate, but was able to bounce back with a pin of Farmington’s Trace Dunlap -- who placed fifth at 145 pounds last season -- at the 4:33 mark.
Casey fell behind 5-0 early, but was able to fight back to tie the match at seven in the third period after a reversal directly into a three-point near fall.
Capital City’s sophomore then matched up with Rolla’s Kayden Kinder in the second-round wrestlebacks, with Kinder controlling the match for a 12-1 major decision.
Casey ends the year with a record of 26-17.
Bishop Boyd went 0-2 for the Cavaliers at 138 pounds.
Boyd lost by fall in 1:01 against DeSoto’s Drake Peeler, then dropped to the first-round wrestlebacks where he faced Willard’s Noah Rogers. Rogers took Boyd to the mat at the :41 mark of the one-minute first period, then immediately got Boyd in a cradle for a pin in :35.
“I’m proud of their effort, they wrestled hard,” Werdehausen said. “State is a tough tournament. A.J. got some good experience, Levi went 1-2 he got some good experience, Bishop got some good experience. And with Bishop and Levi coming back next year, it’s something we can work on.”
Boyd finishes his sophomore season with a record of 19-14.