Central, Jackson pick up pair of dual wins

At this time next weekend, high school wrestlers from across the state will have secured their spots in the state tournament in Columbia.

So for Jackson and Central, Saturday's double dual with Dexter and Poplar Bluff at Jackson gave each team one last shot to work out the kinks. Both teams looked impressive, as Central and Jackson each cruised to wins over Dexter and Poplar Bluff.

Jackson finished its dual season undefeated at 9-0. The Indians defeated Poplar Bluff 81-6 and Dexter 69-12. The two wins came after shutting out Herculaneum on the road Friday.

Indian coach Steve Wachter said wrestling on consecutive nights, like they will have to do next weekend, was a good final test for his squad.

"The good thing the last two nights: No. 1 you've had to weigh in, and No. 2 we've competed against some good schools," he said. "That was a good tune-up for us."

Cody Rouse (44-0) remained undefeated at 152 pounds with a pair of pins. Rouse did not have to go more than 30 seconds in either match. At 189 pounds Kamden Rampley picked up a pair of pins as well.

Jackson will travel to Oakville for the Class 4 District 1 tournament on Friday.

"Our sectional will be a very competitive sectional," Wachter said.

Central was able to complete another successful dual season with a 51-21 win over Dexter and a 55-12 win over Poplar Bluff. The Tigers finished their dual season at 7-2.

"We solidified three winning seasons in a row, which we had never done before," Tiger coach Josh Crowell said.

The Tigers appeared sharp despite a week layoff. Central had not wrestled since competing at the Liberty Invitational last weekend.

"We hadn't wrestled since last week at Liberty, so I was kind of worried about us being flat, but we wrestled tough," Crowell said.

Central's top wrestler, Cory Huskey, got a pair of pins at 160 pounds. Tyler Yeargain won a tough match over Dexter's Jordan Siegert 6-3 at 130 pounds, and won his match with a tech fall against Poplar Bluff's Zach Fears.

Central will be in action on Friday at the Class 3 District 1 tournament in Farmington.