Jackson seniors share an elusive dream

~ Sean Gant and Ben McMillian still seek trips to the state meet.

Jackson wrestlers Sean Gant and Ben McMillian are trying to make the most of their senior seasons.

Gant and McMillan have come as close as possible to qualifying for the state tournament but have yet to step on the mat at the University of Missouri.

If their performances Saturday are any indication, the two Indians wrestlers could find themselves at the state meet this season.

Gant won his weight class and McMillian finished second in his, as the Indians placed second at the 12-team Mustang Invitational at Marquette High School in west St. Louis County.

Gant, who won at 152 pounds, was one match away from qualifying for state last season. He had an ankle injury which hampered him earlier this season and kept him out of the season-opening Parkway South tournament, but he appears to be close to 100 percent.

"We had two-a-days during Christmas, which helped my conditioning, and now I finally feel like I am at 100 percent," said Gant, who won four matches during the pool play, round-robin tournament. "I had to be more of a defensive wrestler after the injury. I am still wearing a brace, but I feel fine now."

Gant had a pair of pins and two wins by decision, one coming by one point over Jason Rodick of Liberty. His anticipated match with Fox's Kenny Brengel did not take place. Brengel was one of several wrestlers who did not compete for the Warriors because of violations of team policy.

"I was hoping to face him, but the competition overall was still good," said Gant, who was at home at Marquette, where he trained once a week throughout the summer as a participant in the Purler Wrestling Academy.

Two close calls

McMillian, who has missed out on going to state by just a single point twice, won his first four matches in the 145 division at Marquette before falling in his final match 4-2 to Trevor Isringhausen of Jefferson City.

"I've lost some close matches through the years and this was another one," said McMillian, who lost a double-overtime match en route to a third-place finish at the Tiger Classic earlier in the season. "It came down to one big takedown. I was overall pleased with the day, though.

"Sean and I are kind of in the same boat being seniors who have never made it to state. I am sure it would mean a lot to us if we get there this season."

Kamden Rampley, who has been to state and is ranked second this year among 215-pounders in Class 4 by missouriwrestling.com, won his weight division title Saturday.

The Indians, who also finished second last year, finished behind only Blue Springs. The tournament featured five top-10 state-ranked teams.

"I just wanted to come up here and wrestle consistently, and I think we did that for the most part today," Jackson coach Steve Wachter said. "It's a high-level tournament, and we competed well. When you wrestle teams of this caliber, you find things you need to work on and we will do that."

Central has three medalists

Tyler Yeargain, coming off a championship at the Tiger Classic, was Central's top finisher at Marquette with a second-place showing at 130 pounds. Yeargain compiled a 4-1 record.

Chris Griffith finished fourth at 119 pounds, and Garrett New was fourth at 152 pounds. Griffith and New each finished 2-3.

Central went 1-1 in the dual format of the tournament, losing to champion Blue Springs. The Tigers defeated Ritenour.

Central coach Josh Crowell said the team was still a little rusty after getting back from the holiday break.

"There's a lot of fine-tuning we need to do," Crowell said. "With this next week, we're hitting the bulk of our schedule and most of that should take care of itself."