Gallatin’s second place team finish at Saturday’s Class 1, District 3 Tournament produced eight wrestlers who will advance to this weekend’s MSHSAA Class 1 Wrestling Championships in Columbia.
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The Bulldogs fell just 12 points short of Marceline’s winning team total of 157 points. Gallatin, at 145, outdistanced third place Brookfield, which finished with 117 points.
The Bulldogs’ record eight state qualifiers topped six from a season ago and included a pair of district champions in Ross Critten and Graydee Rains. Two others, Keegan Allen and Rian Critten made it to championship matches. Rian Critten and Drayton Harris qualified with third place district finishes. Ayden Wayne and Caleb Boyd brought home fourth place district medals.
Keegan Allen: Gallatin’s #4 state-ranked 106-pounder pinned opponents in both the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds before going up against top-seeded Cooper Fisher of Marceline, the #3 ranked wrestler in Class 1. Fisher took charge of the match early and captured the lightweight title with a pin. Allen 23-2, will face Fatima freshman Jason Strope, 29-10, in his first state match on Thursday.
Ross Critten: The top-ranked 113-pounder, both at district and in the state, did not disappoint as he ran his unbeaten record to 44-0. He defeated Hamilton’s Chance Cummings, 6-1, in the semifinals and took the district title with a 7-0 decision over Marceline’s Colton Fisher, who came into the tournament ranked #6 in Class 1. Critten will face South Harrison sophomore Nick Williams, 28-21, in his first state match.
Ayden Wayne: Gallatin’s 120-pounder heads to state for the first time. A junior, Wayne received a first round bye, and then won a major decision (16-6) over his quarterfinal opponent. A semifinal loss to eventual 120-pound district champion Donavan Parn of Brookfield sent him to the consolation side of the bracket where he defeated Higginsville’s Nick Strathman to qualify for state. Wayne took on his second state-ranked foe in the third place match, losing to Hamilton’s Radley Reed. Wayne, 30-14, will take on Whitfield junior Wade Raeman, 39-10, in his first state match.
Rian Critten: The GHS senior earned his 100th career victory by beating Marceline’s Colton Nelson in the 126-pound district semifinal. He also pinned Trenton’s Brice Gibler in the quarterfinal round. Critten went up against the #2 wrestler in the state, Richmond’s Rance Waigand, and lost the title bout by pin. Critten, 33-12, will wrestle his first round state match against Hancock freshman Xavier Smith, 31-13.
Jacob Maize: A freshman, Maize was one of three Bulldogs to finish one win short of state qualification. Maize won two of four matches on Saturday but was eliminated in the 132-pound consolation semifinal. He reversed Higginsville’s Joey Livigne in the final seconds of that match but could not pull off a pin.
Drayton Harris: Harris followed up a first round bye with a win by fall in the quarterfinals. Clayton Stallo, Marceline, the #2 138-pounder in Class 1, sent Harris to the consolation semifinals with a 9-5 decision. The Gallatin sophomore gutted out a 4-0 win over Brookfield’s Dawson Baker and rolled up an 11-3 major decision over Hallsville’s Trent Rowland to complete his third place finish. Harris, 36-5, will face Warsaw senior Jayden Schepker, 33-16, in his first state match.
Caleb Boyd: The Bulldog senior worked hard for his spot at state, defeating Hamilton’s Derek Aiken, 3-1, in the quarterfinal round before losing to Higginsville’s Rankin in the semifinals. Boyd battled back with a 7-4 victory over Trenton’s Eric Lovett but fell by a 12-2 decision to Hallsville’s Luke West in the 145-pound third place match. Boyd, 33-13, will take on Warsaw junior Kolby Estes, 44-2, in his Thursday match at state.
Brigham Steele: Wrestling at 152 pounds, Steele’s only win came in the consolation round. He ended the season with six victories on the mat.
Tom Crouse: The GHS sophomore took a long road to Columbia. A quarterfinal loss sent him to the consolation side, where he won his next four matches. Crouse pulled off one of the most exciting victories of the tournament in the consolation semifinal round. Trailing, 5-0, he reversed and pinned Richmond’s Kenton Delana with 36 seconds left in their match. Crouse gained a third place medal at 160 pounds with a 3-1 win over Polo’s Joseph Hilburn. Crouse, 32-9, will face Maysville freshman Cole Gripken, 31-15, in his first state match.
Gage Wright: Wright also finished one win short of a state berth after some close matches. He lost to Hamilton’s Eli Harper, 4-3, but came back to win 6-0 over Carrollton’s Noah Frank, and scored a pin over Macon’s Augustus Davis. Wright and Marceline’s Hunter Teeter battled to a 1-1 tie in regulation in the state qualifying match but Teeter scored a take down ahead of the buzzer in sudden victory to move to the 170-pound third place match.
Owen Schweizer: The Bulldog junior lost to Brookfield’s Carson Wilkerson in the 182-pound quarterfinal round but kept his state chances alive with a win over Macon’s Tucker Gresham. Samuel Long, St. Paul Lutheran, ended Schweizer’s season with a victory in the consolation third round match. Schweizer finished the season with 22 wins.
Cody Arnold: Like Maize and Wright, Arnold came away one win short of qualifying for state. He received a pair of byes during the 195-pound competition and earned a third round consolation victory over Lexington’s Brenden Menego. Arnold finished with 15 wins on the season.
Graydee Rains: The district’s 220-pound weight division featured four of the top wrestlers in Class 1. Rains, ranked #4, defeated Marceline’s Nick Fotenos and Lexington’s Kane Dobson, both by fall, to earn a berth in the championship against #6 ranked Mason Owen of Trenton. Trailing, 5-3, Rains took Owen to the mat with four seconds left in regulation and clinched his first district title with a 7-5 win in the first overtime period. Rains, 34-1, will face Li Bowen, a senior from Lutheran St. Charles, 22-23, in his Thursday match at state.
PICTURE: Gallatin varsity wrestlers capped their season of team competition on Saturday with a second place finish in the Class 1, District 3 Tournament held at Marceline High School. A school-record eight individuals will be competing in the state tournament, which begins Thursday evening and wraps up on Saturday at Mizzou Arena on the University of Missouri campus in Columbia.