ST. CHARLES - Drury freshman Will Kuster took first place out of 24 wrestlers in the Black Division 165-pound weight class Saturday in the Lindenwood Open.
Kuster (Jefferson City High School) posted a 5-0 record in the tournament, winning each of his first four matches by technical fall in the freshman/sophomore bracket.
Kuster won 16-1 against Fontbonne's Micah Dennis in the first round, 22-4 against Lindenwood's McKinley Kemper in the second round, 23-8 against Cowley College's Jesus Nunez in the quarterfinals and 19-4 against Cloud County Community College's Cooper Mosier in the semifinals.
In the championship match, Kuster won 7-4 against Central Oklahoma's Hunter Jump.
This is Kuster's second title of the season. He also won at 165 during the Dan Harris Open on Nov. 7 at Baker. He has a 9-0 record.
Junior Peter Kuster (Jefferson City High School) took third place at 141 in the Gold Division for the Panthers in the Lindenwood Open.
Kuster finished the tournament with a 5-1 record, starting the day with an 8-0 win against Oklahoma State's Colt Newton. He then lost by technical fall (17-2) to Oklahoma State's Dusty Hone, who went on to take first place.
In the consolation bracket, Kuster won 5-0 against Maryville's Taylor Jokerst, won 4-2 by sudden victory against Central Oklahoma's Nate Keim, won 2-1 against Lindenwood's Colby Smith and won 12-7 against Illinois' Danny Pucino.
According to InterMat, Smith is ranked No. 2 in Division II at 141, Keim is ranked No. 9 and Jokerst is ranked No. 13. Kuster entered the tournament ranked No. 12 nationally.
At the Dan Harris Open, Kuster took second place, losing the first-place match 4-3 to Keim. This season, Kuster has an 8-2 record.
Maryville freshman Lucas Laux (Fatima High School) came in sixth place out of 30 wrestlers with a 3-3 record at 133 in the Black Division for freshmen/sophomores.
Laux won his first two matches, 8-3 against Drury's Jackson Caswell and 9-5 against Missouri Valley's Brayden Bradley, to reach the quarterfinals, where he lost 12-4 to Cumberland's Hayden Lemmons.
In the consolation bracket, Laux won 2-1 against Maryville's JP Homfeld, before losing 12-6 to Liberty's Logan Robertson. In the fifth-place match, Laux lost 15-7 in a rematch against Lemmons.
The Lindenwood Open was the collegiate debut for Laux, who won his second state title at 126 in March for Fatima.
McKendree freshman Jason Strope (Fatima High School) finished with a 2-2 record at 125 in the Black Division.
Strope won 6-4 against Drury's Caden Howard in the first round, lost 20-3 against Oklahoma's Cooper Birdwell, won 10-2 against McKendree's Christian Cartright and lost 3-2 to Maryville's Sam Shafer.
Strope has a 5-4 record this season, beginning the year with a fourth-place finish earlier this month at Maryville's Kaufman/Brand Open.