COLUMBIA — Last year, Jacinda Espinosa became the first Capital City wrestler to win a state medal. This season the Cavaliers and Lady Cavaliers are bringing home twice the hardware.
Espinosa became Capital City’s first two-time medalist with a fourth-place finish at 140 pounds, while Reyce Turner earned a spot on the podium in his first state tournament, taking fourth at 285. With his effort, Turner became the first Cavalier boy to bring home a state wrestling medal.
“We’ve got a big sophomore class … it’s a big help having underclassmen with some success,” Capital City coach Mitch Werdehausen said about the pair of sophomores. “That way we can look forward and they can hopefully lead the way on what it takes to get here and now they have kids on the team with championship experience.”
Turner was first up on Day 2 at the state tournament at Mizzou Arena, needing a win in the bubble round to guarantee himself a medal.
Matching up with Hillsboro’s Griffin Morris, who Turner beat in the Hillsboro Tournament earlier this season. Turner used a first-period takedown, a second-period escape and a third-period takedown to build a 5-0 lead. Morris was able to reverse control late in the third period, but Turner held off the comeback for a 5-2 decision.
The win guaranteed Turner a spot in at least the fifth-place match, but the sophomore entered the tournament with a goal of placing third, meaning he would need another win for the opportunity.
Turner faced off with Carl Junction’s Cayden Bolinger in the final round of wrestlebacks and needed only 18 seconds to turn a high shot from Bolinger into a backward-rolling takedown leading to a pin.
“(Reyce) got a shot on him, he sprawled, he got him to his back and pinned him,” Werdehausen said. “It was really fast, I don’t think the other kid was expecting that. Reyce has really good hips and he’s really athletic.”
The win set Turner up for a spot in the third-place match against Grandview’s Derek Joiner, who beat Turner 2-1 in the Class 3 District 4 heavyweight championship last week.
The pair battled to a scoreless first period, but with Turner starting in the down position in the second, Joiner was able to turn an escape attempt into a pin in 1:45.
“Reyce lost his first match so he had a long road to get that medal,” Werdehausen said. “He did a great job. It means a lot for the program, it means a lot for him. I’m proud of his efforts this weekend.”
Turner ends his sophomore season with a record of 46-12 after winning four consecutive matches to reach the third-place bout.
Espinosa started Day 2 of the tournament in the 140-pound semifinals against Rockwood Summit’s Madeline Haynes after winning both her matches Friday.
Haynes controlled the match throughout for an 8-0 major decision, sending Espinosa to the fourth-round wrestlebacks for a chance to earn a spot in the third-place match.
“I think all of these matches will help her grow in the future as a wrestler because 140 had a lot of really good opponents,” Capital City girls coach Jenna Germer said. “I know she’s disappointed, but I think she’ll be excited to set another goal and keep reaching them the next couple of years.”
Espinosa faced off with Winnetonka’s Jorgie Johnston and built a 4-0 lead after one period with a takedown and a two-point near fall, then took a 6-0 lead with another takedown early in the second.
Johnston cut Espinosa’s lead to 6-3, but Capital City’s sophomore was able to extend her lead to a 12-5 decision.
“She wrestled really well, and obviously she made progress from last year (when Espinosa placed fifth at 130 pounds) and that’s the goal,” Germer said. “We always want her to keep improving. Being only a sophomore, I think fourth place is a great place to be.”
The win set Espinosa up with a match against Holt’s Maria Slaughter, who took fourth at 137 in 2021 and second at 125 in 2020, for third.
Slaughter was able to build a 4-0 lead with a takedown and a two-point near fall, then turned the takedown into a pin in 3:42.
With her fourth-place finish, Espinosa earned another first, becoming one of the first medalists in the newly-formed Class 2 of girls wrestling.
“All girls wrestling progress is great, it’s awesome to see it grow over the last four years and for sure continue to grow in the future,” Germer said. “Boys wrestling is super historical and established and I can’t wait for girls wrestling to be that way. It’s really cool for them to get to be a part of the foundation of that.”
Espinosa finishes her season with a record of 43-7.