For the first time since 2004, Gallatin wrestlers brought home two medals from the state meet held over the weekend in Columbia.
This website brought to you in part by the following sponsor:
Find out how to advertise here - Email us! [email protected]
Juniors Chad Ness and Jimmy Dale each rebounded from early losses to complete runs to the medal round. Ness won three of his last four matches at state to finish fifth in the 170-pound weight class. Dale went 3-3 for the tournament with a sixth place finish in the 220-pound class.
Ness pinned Bishop Hogan’s Ryan Jones-Franks in his opener but came up against the eventual state champion, Craig Clark of Blair Oaks, in his quarterfinal match. Clark won a 13-2 major decision that sent the GHS junior into the wrestleback round.
Not to be deterred, Ness defeated Stanberry’s Mason Rosier, 9-0, and knocked off Whitfield’s Andrew McLaughlin, 9-6, before a loss to Trenton’s Jacob Spillman. Taking on Knob Noster’s Nick Vansell in the fifth place match, Ness jumped out early on his way to an 8-1 decision.
Ness closed out his season with a 42-8 record.
Dale’s losses at state came against second, third and fifth place finishers. He fell to Lawson’s Colden Denisar in the opener, but beat Butler’s Michael Coy, Principia’s Garrett Moulton and Blair Oaks’ John Karsten in straight matches. A loss to Polo senior Harley Martin dropped him into the fifth place match, where he fell to Whitfield’s Stephen Scobee.
Dale’s successful season was reflected in his 39-13 record.
Senior Peter Steele failed to repeat last season’s success when he finished third in the 140-pound bracket. Wrestling at 152 pounds, Steele defeated Payton Woolsey of St. James, 7-5, in his opening match on Thursday, but lost in the quarterfinals to Holden’s Max Mickey in a tight, 6-4, decision. Mickey would go to finish runnerup in the 152-pound class.
Steele could not recover and fell by pin to Zach Vogt of Versailles in the wrestleback round. After a 45-5 season record, Steele goes into the GHS record book with single season bests in victories and career wins (142).
Freshman Michael Stanley got his first taste of state competition and finished 2-2 in the 182-pound weight class but just short of the medal round. He fell to eventual third place finisher Caleb Roberts of Blair Oaks in his opening match.
Moving to the loser’s bracket, Stanley pinned Polo’s Wiley Martin and won an 8-3 decision over Adrian’s Vince Romi before falling to Chris Pittman of Diamond. Stanley finished 24-24 in his first season of varsity wrestling.