Drayton Harris, Class 1, sixth place
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To say Saturday’s state wrestling competition started badly for Gallatin may be an understatement.
Despite an injury and only one win in eight matches on the final day of Class 1 competition, Bulldog wrestlers came home with four state medals.
Gallatin’s 2017 state tournament closed with a fourth place medal for sophomore Graydee Rains and sixth place medals for freshmen Ross Critten and Drayton Harris and senior Wyatt Bird.
Saturday’s competition certainly didn’t begin as planned for Critten and coaches Zach Morrison and Tim Michener. Critten, who began the day looking to get into the afternoon’s 106-pound third place match, squared off against James Jury, whom he had beaten in the district championship match, 9-1.
Graydee Rains, Class 1, Fourth Place
Both wrestlers struggled to gain the upper hand until the end of the match, when Jury took Critten to his back in the final seconds. Jury got the pin but it was academic as Critten suffered a dislocated elbow during the sequence and could not respond to the match-ending move.
Critten’s elbow was relocated by the match-side doctor but he was taken to the hospital for x-rays and did not return for his fifth place match. Saturday’s hospital x-ray was negative for a break but a second opinion will be sought.
The Bulldog freshman took a path through the consolation side after suffering a 3-2 overtime loss to eventual champion Tanner Dalinghaus of Lathrop in the semifinal round. Critten’s season ended at 46-6.
Saturday’s theme was also won of narrow, heartbreaking losses.
Harris, who battled back from a opening round loss on Thursday to win three straight matches in the 132-pound class, had to settle for sixth place after a 3-2 loss to Centralia’s Grafton Littrell in the final round of wrestlebacks, and a 3-0 loss to Richmond’s Dylan Caldwell in the sixth place bout.
Ross Critten, Class 1, sixth place
Harris finished his first varsity season at 45-13.
Bird finished 3-3 in the tournament and all three losses came by close decisions. After a 3-1 opening loss, he won three straight matches to set up a bout with Whitfield’s Dylan Shotwell in the fourth round of wrestlebacks. Shotwell scored a takedown with 12 seconds left that gave him a 5-4 victory.
Bird came back from a 4-0 deficit to Plattsburg’s Dalton Schlie in the 145-pound fifth place match, but again fell by a single point, 4-3, ending his season at 44-11. He was a four-year state qualifier, three time medalist and finished his high school career with over 150 wins.
Rains came away with Gallatin’s highest medal finish of the tournament and only victory on Saturday. He defeated Buffalo’s Blake Williamson, 3-1, to move into the 195-pound third place match against Whitfield’s William Boldt. The Whitfield senior built a 9-0 lead into the third period but Rains rallied with one penalty point and a two-point reversal to finish the match, 9-3.
Wyatt Bird, Class 1, sixth place
Boldt also defeated Rains in the quarterfinal round, but Gallatin’s sophomore defeated foes from Principia and Trenton in order to get to the final wrestleback round, where he defeated Williamson.
Rains, in his second straight trip to state, finished the tournament 4-2 and the season at 49-7.
Senior Declan Schweizer and freshman Keegan Allen also competed at state for Gallatin. Schweizer won his first match against Lathrop’s Payton Wolfe but lost to eventual 152-pound state champion Jarrett Jacques of Father Tolton Catholic in the quarterfinals. Schweizer rebounded by pinning O’Hara’s Nick McGurn but exited the tournament through a technical fall loss to Knob Noster’s Stevie Elwell. His final record was 36-14.
Allen lost his opening match to eventual fourth place finisher Wade Raeman of Whitfield but came back to defeat South Harrison’s Nick Williams in the first round of wrestlebacks. A loss to Lathrop’s Andrew Beane dropped Allen out of the tournament with a 28-12 season mark.