Blair Oaks finishes ninth in Class 2 state wrestling

Camden Meeks of Blair Oaks works to control Priory's Adam Rolwes during their third-place match at 182 pounds Thursday in the Class 2 state wrestling championships at Cable Dahmer Arena in Independence.
Camden Meeks of Blair Oaks works to control Priory's Adam Rolwes during their third-place match at 182 pounds Thursday in the Class 2 state wrestling championships at Cable Dahmer Arena in Independence.

In just their second year at Class 2, the Blair Oaks Falcons took a big jump.

In 2020, Blair Oaks had one state medalist and finished 20th as a team. On Thursday, the Falcons had three state medalists and placed ninth as a team in the Class 2 state wrestling championships at Cable Dahmer Arena in Independence.

"Overall, we're happy," Blair Oaks coach Mike DeMilia said. "There's always the 'what ifs?' and you wish you could have a match back here or there, but we did about what we were predicted to do."

Blair Oaks posted 56 points in the final standings, one point ahead of School of the Osage and two better than Fulton.

"This tournament is just so much deeper than Class 1," DeMilia said. "The top-end guys are similar to Class 1, but the depth, when you get to the loser's bracket, there are still really tough matches."

Senior Eli Batiste and junior Camden Meeks each finished with 2-1 records and third-place performances to lead the Falcons. Senior Levi Haney added a sixth-place finish, as Blair Oaks had three state medalists for the second time in three years.

Blair Oaks opened the state tournament with three wins in first-round matches, which put six Falcons in the quarterfinals and one win from clinching a state medal.

"Unfortunately there, you face some really good competition," DeMilia said.

The Falcons went 2-4 in the quarterfinals, with Batiste and Meeks advancing to the semifinals. Each were searching to become the first state finalists for Blair Oaks since 2016.

Instead, both lost to the eventual state runner-ups. Batiste lost his semifinal at 160 pounds by technical fall (16-1) to Excelsior Springs' Damon Ashworth, while Meeks dropped a 6-4 decision to St. Joseph Lafayette's Jay Greiner at 182.

Meeks scored a pair of reversals in the third period, but couldn't get a nearfall to extend or win the match.

"We were hoping to capitalize on it, but their guy had a really good game plan against Camden," DeMilia said.

Batiste finished his high school career against a familiar opponent, Helias' Alex Tesreau, in the third-place match. Batiste won 5-1 against Tesreau at districts and 6-4 at sectionals.

Thursday's match was tied at 1 through three periods, each scoring an escape point. Batiste got an escape in overtime, but a stalling point was later awarded to Tesreau to tie it again at 2. In the ultimate tiebreaker round, Batiste started on bottom and got an escape to secure the win.

"Every time Tesreau wrestled Eli, he got a little bit closer," DeMilia said. "To be honest, we got lucky, he could've very easily won that match. But Eli gutted it out."

Batiste earned his first state medal in three tries at the state championships. He ended his season with a 40-9 record.

"His weight class had two defending state champions," DeMilia said. " He was a kid that told me earlier in the year that all he wanted to do was win the state title. When he walked out, he said, 'Coach, I'm good with third.'"

Meeks also faced a sectional rematch in his third-place contest. Less than two weeks after defeating Priory's Adam Rolwes 5-3 at sectionals, Meeks scored an escape with :15 remaining Thursday for a 5-4 victory to end his season.

"He got the first takedown against Camden, and sometimes that can set the tone for a match," DeMilia said. "But Camden just kept wrestling and ended up getting it done."

Meeks, up four weight classes from last year, finished his season with a 43-6 record.

Senior Levi Haney wrestled the maximum number of matches at five in his 170 bracket. He took the hardest route to get his state medal, needing to win back-to-back matches after a quarterfinal loss.

Haney won by fall in 4:21 in the second-round wrestlebacks, then held a 10-4 lead against Oak Grove's Adrian Whitehead before winning by injury default in the bubble round.

"He hurt his thumb in the first period, and in the third period, he had a takedown out of bounds and I think he landed on his shoulder," DeMilia said.

In the fifth-place match, Haney lost 9-3 to Mexico's Jokiah Sewell. It was the fourth time this season Haney had faced Sewell, but Sewell won the previous three matches by fall.

"He wrestled that kid tough," DeMilia said. "We were hoping the fourth time was the charm."

Haney, Blair Oaks' lone medalist last season, ended with a 35-7 record.

Freshman Brady Kerperin came up one win short of a state medal, losing a 1-0 decision to Sullivan's Ty Shetley in the third-round wrestlebacks at 152. Kerperin wrapped up his season with a 27-8 record.

"He had a tough first match, facing the No. 2 kid in the state," DeMilia said. " He responded really well winning his next match, and against the Sullivan kid, we knew it was going to be that kind of match.

"We thought we'd get an escape, and I wasn't necessarily happy with how that match ended with the calls that happened, but he fought to the end."

The remaining four state qualifiers for Blair Oaks all lost in the second-round wrestlebacks.

Finishing 1-2 were freshman Easton DeMilia at 106 and senior Nick Welch at 145. DeMilia (35-14) won a 9-4 decision in his first-round match, while Welch (35-16) won by fall in his opener.

Junior Aidan Bolinger went 0-2 at 113 to end his season with a 27-20 record, while senior DeVonte Sanders - a two-time state qualifier - lost both his matches at 285 to finish with a 29-16 record.

Pleasant Hill won the Class 2 state championship with 137 points. Monett and Seneca tied for second with 100 points, while Helias - which edged Blair Oaks for the district championship last month - placed fourth with 98.5 points.

That gives the Falcons something to aim for this offseason.

"The best programs have guys that will come in, and when they lose a good senior, they'll have good guys to replace those guys," DeMilia said. "I think we took a lot of strides this year, and hopefully we'll take more next year."