Mitchell Hazelwood, Jackson wrestling

The Jackson wrestling team had nine finalists in the SEMO Conference wrestling tournament Saturday, but only one of them had no idea he would even be wrestling last weekend.

Junior Mitchell Hazelwood, a member of Jackson's powerhouse junior varsity team, stepped into the varsity lineup for the conference tourney due to an illness. He went on to win six matches and claimed the championship at 135 pounds.

"Unbelievable feat," Wachter said. "He just had a tremendous day, a really unbelievable day. I can't tell you how proud I am of him."

Hazelwood came into the meet with a 20-2 junior varsity record but just a 3-3 varsity mark from the Missouri Duals. He pinned Ste. Genevieve's Derrick Greishaber in the semifinals and was dominant in an 8-4 decision against Poplar Bluff's Cameron West in the final.

"I knew he was probably better on offense than I was," Hazelwood said. "I let him shoot, and I just wanted to judge his offense against my defense. I did pretty good, and he didn't score on me.

"Then, I just wanted to wear him out. I had watched his other matches and he got tired, and I have really good endurance. That's probably my strongest point. By the third period, he was pretty tired."

It was a good weekend, especially considering Hazelwood was a last-minute pinch-hitter for the two-day tournament.

"I didn't know until about seventh hour Friday," Hazelwood said. "I had talked to Chris before lunch and he said he was fine, so I ate a pretty big lunch. Coach called and asked if I'd kept my weight down. I said, 'I hope

so.' I was right on the weight."

With Hazelwood and eight other finalists, Jackson cruised to its third team title in five years and first since 2006.