The Hillsboro High boys wrestling team took the final step to the top of the medal stand Saturday, capturing the Class 3 championship in the Missouri state tournament at Mizzou Arena.
Wrapping up the two-day event with 179.5 points to beat out 11-time team champion Whitfield (144.5), Hillsboro improved from third in 2021 and second last year.
Whitfield won six consecutive state championships, two in Class 3 and four in Class 1, from 2016-22.
“Beating a team that has been as successful as Whitfield, it means a lot to us,’’ Hillsboro senior Griffin Ray said after capturing the title at 165 to cap off the Hawks’ big day. He will wrestle in college at Nebraska.
“We’ve competed with those guys the last few years and it definitely feels good to finish on top. Toward the middle of this season, I think we started thinking more and more about maybe being able to win it.
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“And we did it. It feels great.”
Hillsboro had seven medalists Saturday, getting individual championships from freshman Carter Wallis (43-3) at 106 pounds, sophomore Jackson Tucker (43-1) at 132, junior Sam Richardson (37-4) at 157 and senior Ray (44-3) at 165.
Other top finishers for Hillsboro were senior Gavin Alexander (38-5), who took second at 126, Jordan Penick (fourth at 120) and Evan Morris (fifth at 150).
“Winning the team title means a lot to us because we know the work it took,” Richardson said, a three-time medalist. “We worked for it and got what we deserved.”
Whitfield’s Rallo captures fourth state title
A.J. Rallo led the way for Class 3 team runner-up Whitfield by becoming a four-time champ. He finished off a 44-5 season with a 6-0 win over Hannibal’s Cody Culp in the 138-pound title match.
Rallo took first at 106 as a freshman, at 113 as a sophomore and at 126 last year.
“It’s a relief. I’m grateful for the opportunity to do this and at the same time, I can’t believe it’s over,’’ Rallo, who’ll continue his wrestling at Bellarmine University in Kentucky. “My goal was to jump on him right away and that’s exactly what I did.”
Whitfield’s Porter Matecki (41-2) won 4-1 at 126, picking up his third consecutive state title. He won at 106 as a freshman and at 120 last year. He beat Hillsboro’s Alexander 4-1.
“It gets better every time,’’ Matecki said. “We push each other in practice all the time. For us, the tournaments are when we get to have a little fun.”
At 150, Whitfield senior Noah Bourke (43-6) won 3-2.
“It means a lot, it means that all the hard work paid off,” said Bourke, who placed fifth as a freshman at Kirkwood High. He sat out the next year because of the COVID-19 pandemic and then tore his right meniscus and then his left meniscus before transferring. “I was out for a long time — at my old school, I thought about quitting — but I stuck with it and at Whitfield, I fell in love with wrestling again.”
Whitfield freshman Jackson Bassett (40-6) was runner-up at 106.
Other area Class area champions included:
• North Point sophomore Kaden Purler (43-1) won the Class 3 title at 120, thanks to a 7-0 victory over Sam Melton of Carl Junction. Purler took second last year.
It was the seventh state title for the Purler family.
“It feels pretty special,” he said.
North Pont sophomore Chad Benwell Jr. (26-4) fell short of his state title dream, losing by major decision to Hillsboro’s Tucker.
• Holt junior Logan Rubenstein (11-1) won the Class 3 championship at 144, coming away with a 4-2 overtime victory over Caleb Caldwell of Willard.
• Warrenton junior Jacob Ruff (48-6) took second at 190, losing 11-6 to Jefferson City’s Elijah Teiberis.
• At heavyweight, De Soto’s Isaac Foeller (41-2) lost by fall in the first period to unbeaten Jayce Hitt (26-0) of McDonald County.
Class 4 roundup
Area wrestlers capturing Class 4 championships were Francis Howell Central’s Peyton Shepard (40-7) at 126, Seckman’s John Bamvakais (45-7) at 157, Francis Howell Central’s Aidan Hernandez (29-1) at 165, Troy Buchanan’s Brett Smith (43-2) at 175 and Seckman’s Cole Ruble (38-7) at 190.
Area runners-up were Lafayette’s Dylan Roth (40-11) at 126, Fort Zumwalt North freshman Cole Aguirre (48-10) at 144 and Lafayette’s Andrew Wier (37-5) at 190.
Liberty ran away with the Class 4 team title, amassing 218 points. Francis Howell Central (90.5) took second and Staley (88) third while Lafayette and Ozark tied for fourth with 81 points.
