Moore, Jackson wrestling confidently heading into stretch of season

SIKESTON — For Jackson’s powerhouse wrestling team, Wednesday’s tri meet at Sikeston High School went pretty much the way most fans thought it would.

The Indians rolled to a 2-0 finish after taking out reigning Class 2 third-place finisher Ste. Genevieve 44-24 before dusting the host Bulldogs 69-8.

No surprise there — Jackson looked like the Class 4 District 1 title contender it is.

“We were kind of like a big roller coaster ride in that Ste. Gen match,” head coach Steve Wachter said. “Some of them wrestled really well. Some of them wrestled extremely cautious and they were a little bit like they were scared to lose, and that'll get you beat in big matches. So, they've got to wrestle a little more relaxed and a little more confident in what we did tonight. But you can't say that about everybody because half my team wrestled really well. They were real offensive.”

At 120 pounds, Indian junior and returning state qualifier Graidy Rice showed off his offense and high motor with a second-period pin over Ste. Genevieve’s Brody Winters. After picking up his second takedown of the match, Rice secured a reverse headlock before putting Winters flat on his back.

Teammate Kade King cruised to a 2-0 outing at 132 pounds, as did 113-pounder Kamden Gerhardt and several other Jackson grapplers.

About what was expected.

And then at 175 pounds, Jackson’s Joah Moore joined the party.

Sure, there was little surprise that the promising sophomore tore apart the competition Wednesday night behind a 15-0 tech fall over Ste. Genevieve’s Dane Evelsizer and a quick pin against Sikeston — the more routine part of the Indians’ story.

The surprising part is Moore's early emergence.

The Jackson upperweight came into Wednesday with Francis Howell North and Farmington Scramble tournament titles under his belt after bumping up from 165 pounds this season. In his second year as a varsity starter, Moore has made much progress on the mat, especially — and most importantly — with his mental game.

“I think I came a long way wrestling-wise, but I think mostly mentally,” said Moore, who also is an outside linebacker for the Jackson football team. “I cleared my mindset and I realized I can go out there and beat anybody. That's helped me a lot this year.”

Over the course of the season, Moore said he and his teammates have made a commitment to emphasize scoring more points and forcing the action to happen, which was quite evident Wednesday night.

As for what has given Moore more of a boost this season, it boils down to a little more than just his mental edge. First, he put in a ton of offseason work, mainly focusing on his neutral game because of "getting taken down a lot last year”. Secondly, he sees his training partners in the room in Jackson as second to none. Lastly, a lot of his success stems from the relentless support he gets from his parents and family.

“I definitely give it to my coaches, my teammates and my parents,” Moore said. “They have always been there, helping me get through everything so far.”

For Moore and Jackson, the team currently stands at 7-0 in the dual meet season and believes it is all beginning to peak at the right time with the postseason knocking on the door.

And with the SEMO Conference Tournament going down next Friday and Saturday, Wachter and his wrestlers are well aware of the task at hand.

“We’re definitely focused in,” Wachter said. “One of our goals is to be conference champions, so we're thinking about that as a team. I definitely want all of them high on the podium, and like I tell them, ‘We'd like to stick a bunch of you in the finals.’ So, it's a big focus for us. Winning a conference championship would be a big deal. We haven't won it for the last four years.”

Moore agrees, saying the most important step is focusing on the day to day.

“We’ve just got to stay healthy and stay in good shape,” he said. “And, you know, you get better every week, so hopefully we keep getting better and keep winning big matches like this.”

Now that sounds like business as usual at Jackson.