COLUMBIA - Day 1 of the Class 2 state wrestling championships went as well as could be expected for the Blair Oaks Falcons.
Blair Oaks advanced six of its seven state qualifiers past the first day of action Thursday, and five will wrestle in this morning's quarterfinal matches at Mizzou Arena.
"Everything kind of went the way we planned," Blair Oaks coach Mike DeMilia said.
Caleb Meeks opened for Blair Oaks at 132 pounds. The returning Class 1 state medalist won a 14-2 major decision against Marshall's Isaac Jackson to reach the quarterfinals.
"He got off to a good start," DeMilia said. "Sometimes he's a slow starter, and he was able to avoid that. In the second period, the tide turned for a little bit when the kid took him down, but he pretty much controlled him from there."
His younger brother, Camden Meeks, followed with a pin in 1:02 against Normandy's Carnellius King at 145, advancing to the quarterfinals in his state debut.
"Camden always has the aggressiveness," DeMilia said. "Sometimes he's out of control, but today, he was after the kid and stayed in good position. He ended up catching the kid for a pin and that was a good start for him."
Levi Haney opened a 5-0 lead against Pleasant Hill's Lane Brattin after one period in his first-round match at 160, scoring a three-point nearfall just before the period ended.
"Any time you get the first takedown, you're at a huge advantage," DeMilia said. "To catch him on his back for five seconds was huge."
Haney gave up a couple of takedowns in the last two periods, but he built enough of an early lead to hold on for an 11-6 win.
Kyler Griep, a returning two-time state medalist, picked up an easy first-round win at 170. Griep scored four takedowns, an escape, a two-point nearfall and a pair of three-point nearfalls to claim victory by technical fall in 2:26 against Logan-Rogersville's Gage Meadors.
"He came out and did what we expected," DeMilia said. "We expected him to be on the attack, and we felt like it was a good matchup for him. I thought we had him pinned, but we'll take a tech fall anytime."
Shane Gillmore also advanced to the quarterfinals at 285 for Blair Oaks. In his first state appearance, Gillmore broke a tie at 2 midway through the third period with an escape against Ste. Genevieve's Ryan Schmelzle. Gillmore scored a takedown with :01 left to pad his 5-2 victory.
"Shane was real active in the first period, but I thought he backed off in the third period," DeMilia said. "He got taken down because of that, but to his credit, he kept wrestling, he got the escape and he got the final takedown."
Caleb Meeks (35-10) opens today's quarterfinals against Park Hills Central's Kade Willis (39-4), who was a state runner-up at 126 last season. Camden Meeks (27-5) is scheduled to face Monett's Elias Barrientos (43-60, while Haney (42-8) will go against St. Joseph Benton's Hunter Armstrong (20-5).
Griep (33-5) will take on Maryville's Gaven Gray-Walker (15-10) in his quarterfinal match, while Gillmore (34-10) matches up against Odessa's Nick Wright (34-11).
"We have a lot of tough matchups tomorrow," DeMilia said. "It's going to be really hard to get all five through to the quarters, but we have a shot in each match."
Eli Batiste went 1-1 at 152 to keep his state tournament alive Thursday. Batiste lost by technical fall in 5:34 in the first round to Bolivar's Austin Coons, who took second place last year at 145.
Batiste bounced back with a 3-2 win in the first-round wrestlebacks against St. James' Zachary Achterberg, scoring the deciding takedown midway through the third period.
"Their guy forced the shot, and Eli countered and got him in a tough spot," DeMilia said. "Eli's not 100 percent, he's not wrestling the way he's wrestled most of the year, but he's competing and battling hard."
Batiste (30-9) awaits the loser of the quarterfinal between St. Clair's Dalton Thompson (38-7) and Monett's Gunnar Bradley (39-6).
DeVonte Sanders dropped both of his matches at 195, losing by fall to St. James' Zachary Woodson and Maryville's Keiren Watkins to finish the season with a 19-23 record.
"We would've liked to have seen him win a match, but he gave good effort," DeMilia said. "This is definitely something he can build on."
After Day 1, Blair Oaks is 12th in the Class 2 team standings with 15.5 points. Odessa is first with 35 points, followed by Monett (31.5), Kirksville (27) and Oak Grove (24).
"We just have to keep doing what we're doing," DeMilia said. "We had a good first day."