Central, Jackson boast sectional champ, advance total of five wrestlers to state

Central all-state wrestlers Garrett New and Tyler Yeargain qualified for their third straight state meet Saturday with top-four finishes at the Class 3 sectional in Farmington.

The top four finishers in each weight class advance to the state meet, which will begin Thursday at Mizzou Arena in Columbia, Mo.

New, a senior, was the champion at 152 pounds, beating North County senior Cameron Dugger with a 3-2 decision. Dugger, all-state last year at 145 pounds, had beaten New in the semifinals of the SEMO Conference meet earlier this year.

"Garrett is wrestling really tough," Central coach Josh Crowell said. "He came back to beat a kid from North County in the finals that stuck him in the semifinals of conference. ... He just wrestled an incredible match against him."

Last year, both New and fellow senior Yeargain finished sixth at the state meet. Yeargain earned his trip back with a third-place finish at 135 pounds.

Central's other returning state competitor, senior Matt Latham, was unable to compete this weekend due to a shoulder injury. Latham was also aiming for his third straight trip to the state meet.

"That's a heartbreaking loss for him, especially as a senior," Crowell said.

The Tigers had three wrestlers come up just short. Desmond Howard (112), Zach Wilson (140) and Raymond Woldtvedt (145) all fell one win shy of a state berth.

Jackson sends three

In Class 4, Jackson will send three wrestlers to the state meet. Jamie Schumacher, Will Perry and Blake Peiffer all finished in the top four at the Northwest sectional.

Schumacher, a junior who qualified for the state meet as a freshman, finished first at 145 pounds with a pin in the championship. Despite failing to qualify for the state meet last year, Schumacher was the lone Jackson wrestler with state experience in the field.

"I was really happy to have two in the finals, and I was very proud Jamie was sectional champ," Jackson coach Steve Wachter said. "Last year he didn't make it out and had a very tough weight class, and this year he had a tough weight class and wrestled well."

Perry, a senior, finished second at 145 pounds after falling 4-3 in double overtime. Peiffer, a sophomore, finished fourth at 215 pounds.