JHS WRESTLERS WIN 4 BATTLES, BUT LOSE WAR

Just like the frigid gusts and the pelting snow invaded Cape Girardeau, a pair of Jackson freshmen stormed onto the local wrestling scene Saturday, taking two of the Indians' four individual titles in the Tiger Classic.

But the Indians' four individual titles which included seniors Mark Wade at 171 pounds and Ray Goodson at 215 pounds weren't enough to take the team crown as Ste. Genevieve won its third Classic championship in the last four years. Ste. Genevieve finished with 254 1/2 points, while Jackson took second with 229 1/2. Cape Central, after finishing the first day in 11th place, moved up two spots and finished with 85 points.

"Ste. Genevieve has got a great program," said Cape Central coach Josh Crowell. "Their coach, Chris Werner, has got the ball rolling up there. He and the kids put in the work and they deserve it. They earned it tonight."

Jackson

Perhaps it was no surprise that Indian freshman Brock Howard -- the top seed -- won in the 103-pound division, but Howard's classmate, Matt Wright, stunned the 119-pound field, winning first place as the fifth seed.

"I'm very proud of both," said Jackson coach Steve Wachter. "Both have wrestled a lot as youth so they have a lot of experience even though they're freshmen."

Even Wachter seemed a bit surprised that Wright battled his way to the championship round, knocking off the fourth seed in round one, the top seed in round two and finally the fifth seed -- Sikeston's Cleveland Anthony -- in the championship match.

"Michael has some good tools," Wachter said. "But his attitude might be his best quality. He has the attitude to come and do his best every day."

Wade, who came in as the third seed, defeated both the No. 2 and No. 1 grapplers, en route to his championship. He won the title with a pin of Marion's Kris Roberts in 1:41.

"Mark Wade did a great job and just had an outstanding tournament," said Wachter. "When the talent level increases, it's tough to pin somebody in the finals."

While Wade took an aggressive approach in his match, Goodson and top-seeded Tyler Wolk refused to take a lot of chances in their title bout. Goodson, who took fourth in Class 4A last year, defeated Wolk 4-1 with Goodson missing a shutout in the last second when he gave up a stalling point.

"Tyler was second in state last year and that was an outstanding match," Wachter said. "When you get two good wrestlers together who respect each other quite a bit, they tend to be cautious because one mistake can mean the match. Neither one opened it up very much."

Overall, Jackson had 10 wrestlers place in the top four. Brett Stroud (125), Ricky Feiner (130) and James Love (152) took second place; Justin Rice (140) and Willie Southerland (160) took third and Seth Harrell (189) took fourth.

Cape Central

O.J. Turner led the Tigers with a second-place finish in the 189-pound division.

Turner took Ste. Genevieve's Tyson Gegg to the final seconds, but couldn't quite manage an escape in a 7-6 loss to the top seed.

"O.J. had a heck of a match," said Crowell. "He only lost by a point to a kid who is a very tough wrestler."

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the tournament was Nick Harter's capture of third place in the 171-pound division. The unseeded Harter defeated Murphysboro's Chris James 10-2. James had defeated Harter earlier in the tournament.

"I tell you what, he had a phenomenal tournament," said Crowell. "All four of the guys who made it to the championship rounds were seniors. I just told them to go out there and have fun tonight."

Also for Central, Leland Woelk (145) and Jamell Austin (160) took fourth.