Jackson wrestling earns fourth straight Cape Central Tiger Classic title

The event may have Cape Central's name on it, but it has become increasingly clear that, right now, Jackson holds ownership rights.

Indian wrestling went on to its rival's floor Saturday and won the Cape Central Tiger Classic for a fourth straight year, scoring 326.5 points to hold off closest challenger Northwest House Springs (316.5) at Cape Central High School.

Jackson's Carson McCord celebrates his victory after pinning Dexter's Storm Massey in the 170-pound championship match of the Tiger Classic on Saturday, Dec. 19, 2015 at Central High School. (Fred Lynch)

Gus Guilliams (120 pounds), Jake Byrd (126) and Carson McCord (170) were all champions for Jackson, with Byrd taking home the tournament's Most Outstanding Wrestler award.

Northwest actually had six individual winners and defeated the Indians three times in finals head-to-head matchups, but Jackson's depth and consistency won out.

"I love it," McCord said. "I love every bit of it. One of the happiest things is seeing one of our guys up on that podium.

"It's pretty important just because it's a Cape tournament and we're rivals with Cape."

The hosts' only representative on the podium was Patrick Buck, who finished third at 285 pounds.

"It's really cool," Buck said. "I'm the only guy up there from my school and really representing, and that's how I looked at it -- show out for my team."

But Jackson stole the show, with 10 representatives battling in the final six of 14 weight classes.

Byrd's standout performance in the final bout saw him prevail in a nip-and-tuck showdown with Rolla's Coleman Brainard, who was a state qualifier a year ago and won the 106 weight class in the 2014 Tiger Classic -- he was one of five 2014 champs returning to defend their crown.

It was a cagey duel without much action in the opening period, with Byrd taking a 1-0 lead with a second-period escape before Brainard got a point back in the third period. Heading to an extra frame, Byrd got the Bulldog wrestler down to take a 3-1 edge and tacked on another two points to secure a 5-1 decision.

"I knew he was going to be tough when I went out there," Byd said. "I just thought about wrestling my match and hopefully the outcome comes to my side, and it did.

"My game plan was to stay on my attacks. If he wasn't shooting on me then he wasn't going to score. So if I stayed on my attacks I thought I could take him down."

Cape Central's Patrick Buck has the advantage over University City's Jonathan York in the 285-pound third-place match of the Tiger Classic on Saturday, Dec. 19, 2015 at Central High School. Buck won the match. (Fred Lynch)

McCord's victory was one of the most heated and explosive of the final round, as he grappled with Dexter's Storm Massey, a 2014 state qualifier who was 12-1 on the season. The pair of 170-pounders wasted no time going at it, but McCord struck first with a two-point takedown before snagging a 4-0 lead with a quick reversal. The Indian wrestler worked Massey's leg for much of the period, and then nabbed another two points as the buzzer sounded to end the first. Massey emerged down 6-0 and hobbling, and it opened the door for McCord to put him away in the second period. He stretched his lead to 8-0 before getting Massey down for a quick pinfall near the edge of the circle at 2:25.

It was one of just four falls in championship bouts, and the quickest of the evening.

"[The plan] was pretty much just take him down, wrap legs and pin him. Just as quick as I could get it done," McCord said. "We've got to get those team points. I was expecting it later, because he's a tough wrestler. We grew up wrestling and he's a good friend."

Guilliams was the first Indian to land on top, scraping out a tight 120-pound battle with Marquette's Luke Milla. It was a showdown between the class' top two seeds, and it played out as such, with Guilliams getting into Milla's body early and grabbing two points before Milla responded with a takedown and a 2-2 score after one period. The second period saw Guiliams slip out to a 4-3 lead, and that margin of victory remained, with the two grapplers exchanging points but the Indian junior maintained control late for a 6-5 decision.

Jackson also dropped three championship matches, with Payne Guilliams dropping his 138-pound pound bout 7-2 to defending Tiger Classic champ Tyler Stegall of NWHS, with Stegall comfortably controlling things for most of the contest. Another reigning Classic winner, Micah Collier, went down for Jackson in the next final, falling to Northwest's Dakota Thevel at 145 in a 7-4 decision. Ben Stahlman completed three straight winners for NWHS when he defeated Jackson's Gabe Dudley with a 13-3 major decision.

Jackson featured three third-place finishers, with 106-pounder Riley Mansker posting a breezy 8-2 decision over Francis Howell North's Eric Mayfield, Hunter Clardy (113) pinning Poplar Bluff's Cade Richardson in four minutes and Zach Norrick nipping Union's Dylan Ahern with a 4-3 decision at 182 pounds.

Jackson's Carson McCord reacts after pinning Dexter's Storm Massey to win the 170-pound championship match of the Tiger Classic on Saturday, Dec. 19, 2015 at Central High School. (Fred Lynch)

Cole Welker also made the podium as the Indian wrestler finished fifth at 132 pounds thanks to a 3-0 decision over second-seeded Union's Gabe Luna. Welker was the classification's No. 6 seed.

Buck worked his way into the medal standings after a disappointing loss in the morning session's quarterfinals. The Tiger senior dropped a 2-1 decision to University City's Jonathan York, but got his shot at revenge when the two met again in the evening's third-place duel. The two heavyweights kept to a slow pace early, with a lot of grappling and not much to show for it, with a scoreless bout heading into the third period. Buck went up 1-0 with an escape, but York responded with a two-point takedown to earn the lead. Each traded two points before, with 10 seconds left in regulation, Buck managed another escape to earn a point and knot things at 4. That forced things into extra periods -- three to be exact -- and the slugfest came to a close when Buck managed a three-point takedown for a 7-4 decision.

"I just outlasted him," Buck said. "That's my style of wrestling -- I'll outlast you, try to tie you down, and once I've got you, I've got you. That's kind of what I did to him."

Along with McCord, Brainard, Stegall and Collier, Sikeston's Mitchell Garner was the other wrestler returning to defend a 2014 Tiger Classic title. He was not successful, falling in the 220-pound semifinals to eventual runner-up Tyeler Collins of Francis Howell North.

Saturday's tournament action was Day 2 of the event, after Friday evening featured pool competition to determine the arrangement for the championship and consolation brackets.

Team Standings

1. Jackson (JA) 326.5; 2. Northwest House Springs (NWHS) 316.5; 3. Sikeston (SI) 217; 4. Marquette (MA) 215.5; 5. Poplar Bluff (PB), 204; 6. Union (UN) 201.5; 7. Rolla (RO) 183.5; 8. Dexter (DX) 181.5; 9. Christian County [Ky.] (ChCo) 178.5; 10. Francis Howell North (FHN) 128; 11. Carterville (CV) 122; 12. University City (UC) 111; 13. New Madrid County Central (NM) 95; 14. Cape Central (CC) 92; 15. Park Hills Central (PH) 90; 16. Sikeston JV (SIJV) 65.

Championship Bouts

106 -- Jack Lenox (MA) dec. Daniel Knight (ChCo) 5-2.

113 -- Austin Akins (NWHS) p. Austin Grant-Hall (ChCo) in 4:00.

120 -- Gus Guilliams (JA) dec. Luke Milla (MA) 6-5.

126 -- Jake Byrd (JA) dec. Coleman Brainard (RO) 5-1 OT1.

132 -- Cody Dunnegan (NWHS) dec. Camerin Cole (ChCo) 7-2.

138 -- Tyler Stegall (NWHS) dec. Payne Guilliams (JA) 7-2.

145 -- Dakota Thevel (NWHS) dec. Micah Collier (JA) 7-4.

152 -- Ben Stahlman (NWHS) maj. dec. Gabe Dudley (JA) 13-3.

160 -- Caleb Camacho (NWHS) maj. dec. Diion Leavell (ChCo) 12-2.

170 -- Carson McCord (JA) p. Storm Massey (DX) in 2:25.

182 -- Josh Stinnett (SI) dec. Ethan Stevens (DX) 8-7.

195 -- Steven Haley (PB) p. Michael Hurst (DX) in 2:54.

220 -- Toriano Johnson (UC) dec. Tyeler Collins (FHN) 8-6.

285 -- Josh Lewis (PB) p. Derek Mann (CV) in 4:56.