Poplar Bluff's Logan Hite wins third SEMO Conference wrestling championship

By the slimmest of margins, Poplar Bluff senior Logan Hite defeated Jackson senior Hayden Wessell by a 3-2 decision to win his third SEMO Conference championship on Saturday, Jan. 20, in Sikeston, Missouri.

Hite’s three-peat is the first in school history, an amazing feat for a program with such a rich wrestling history.

Hite’s matchup with Wessell was a long time coming. The two seniors wrestled each other numerous times in their youth but their last official match came in the eighth grade. While Hite was a four-year varsity star in Poplar Bluff, Wessell was in junior varsity stuck underneath some of Jackson’s greatest wrestlers from recent years.

Both wrestlers scored their takedown points but a single point from an escape made all the difference for Hite. He reached the top of the bracket by defeating Joel Lopez of Kennett and Issac Owens Farmington by tech fall to reach the semifinals, where he narrowly defeated Gabriel Willett of Ste. Genevieve (30-4) by a 1-0 margin to reach the finals.

Hite finished his two-day tournament run improving his record to 33-1. He went 37-8 in his junior year and finished with a district championship and a trip to the Class 4 State Tournament. With only a few weeks left in the regular season, there is a chance that if he were to win out, Hite could have 40 wins going into the Class 4 District 1 Tournament on Feb. 16-17. Hite said a lot of hard work in both the weight room and wrestling room has led to this improvement, but a change in mental approach is probably the biggest factor.

"I feel like I have a different mindset. It's my last year so I'm trying to give it my all," Hite said. "I have more confidence coming into this season too, so that helps me out."

Hite said he is also driven by not reaching the medal stand at last year's state tournament.

"I was really ticked off about that," Hite said. "It really hit me mentally so that changed my mindset this year and I got to crank it up a notch and place."

Despite what his record suggests, Hite's entire season has been about fighting adversity. He entered the winter with a shoulder injury from football that will require surgery in the spring.

And that is just the start.

"I sprained my hand a couple of weeks ago and I have a rib out of place," Hite said. "I'm trying to stay healthy but it does affect me quite a bit."

With every tournament victory comes days of painfully recovering from the aches in every muscle that's powered his progress. His rise to the top of the state has been a life-long journey. Poplar Bluff head coach Kelton Thompson said earlier in the season that Hite is, "one of the most dedicated kids I’ve ever been around."

After finishing his sophomore year in the state tournament, Hite visited college wrestling practices and experienced training in what he previously described as "100-degree rooms". He saw then what kind of work ethic was required for college wrestling and applied it to upperclass years. With his senior season less than 30 days from completion, Hite sees his collegiate future over the horizon.

"I'm thinking about maybe attending Maryville to wrestle in St. Louis," Hite said.

Here’s how the other Semoball schools fared in the tournament:

__Cape Central__

Davarious Nunley (20-6) placed second in the 175-pound weight class for the Tigers. The senior pinned Ethan Harmon of North County in the quarterfinal round and won by a 13-4 major decision over Jordon Sostillio of Jackson in the semifinal round. He was defeated in the championship round by a 12-1 major decision against Brice Henry of Windsor, who improved to 32-0.

__Dexter__

Kasen Forkum (10-6) led the Bearcats by placing fifth in the 150-pound weight class. He first defeated Nickolas Fowler of Park Hills Central 12-0, and Matthew May of Jackson 8-7 to reach the semifinals. He dropped his next two matches but claimed fifth place after a medical forfeit.

__Jackson__

The Indians finished third in the team standings with 295.5 points, edging Ste. Genevieve by 1.5 points. Graidy Rice (25-6) and Brysen Wessell (30-3) each won their respective brackets. Rice won the 113-pound weight class by defeating Evan Litzsinger of Hillsboro by a 6-4 decision. The younger Wessell defeated Rowdy Vaugh of Farmington by a 1-0 margin to claim the 215-pound bracket.

Hayden Wessell (19-7), Caleb Schlick (23-12), and Kade King (26-8) finished second. Kamden Gerhardt (29-5), Kadon Shaw (18-9), and Landon Vassalli (28-4) finished third. Jordon Sostillio (25-9) placed fourth, Joah Moore (27-7) and Jacob Milam (32-15) finished fifth, and Tyler Hudson (17-13) secured sixth to round out the Indians on the medal stand.

__Kennett__

No wrestler from Kennett made it to the medal stand on Saturday. Fred Patterson (6-10) was the only wrestler to win a match throughout the tournament, a 26-second pin over Sikeston’s Jesse Haley in the second consolation round.

__New Madrid County Central__

The Eagles saw five of their eight wrestlers earn medals in the tournament. Caleb Moore (12-2) led the group by placing third in the 113-pound bracket. He won the third-place match by tech fall over Ryan Monroe of Farmington. Connor Henderson (15-5) won the fifth-place match by pinning Tucker Bertrand of Valle Catholic. Jason Jones (5-4), Gavyn Colbert (12-4), and Tharon Harper (10-6) placed sixth in their respective weight classes.

__Notre Dame__

Charlie West (17-1) led the Bulldogs with a third-place finish in the 215-pound weight class by pinning Riley Weisner of Windsor in the first round. Parker Lemmons (13-9) and Oscar Kester (10-10) placed sixth in their respective weight classes.

__Poplar Bluff__

Along with Logan Hite winning the 190-pound bracket, Jack Ernest was the other Mule on the medal stand, placing sixth in the 165-pound weight class.

__Sikeston__

The hosting school saw five wrestlers on the medal stand on Saturday. Jax Lancaster (27-8) was the best of the bunch, as he placed third by pinning Landon Sprous of Potosi in the first round. Tristan Leavitt (15-9) and Colin Scott (21-12) placed fourth, Sam McGill (13-18) placed fifth, and Louis Montjoy (18-11) placed sixth in their respective weight classes.

__Girls tournament roundup__

Zoë Freeman of Poplar Bluff (23-0) pinned Cape Central’s Niah Hopkins (25-3) in the first round to win the 190-pound championship and remain undefeated.

Dexter’s Kennedy McCormick (12-7) placed third in the 170-pound weight class by pinning Kennett’s Ahnisti Long (3-6) in the first round.

Sikeston’s Ellie Douglass (23-6) and Kimarhri Wilkins (31-5) won first place in the respective weight classes. Douglass defeated Camille Melahn of Ste. Genevieve in the semifinal and Taylor Simshauser of North County in the finals, both by first-round pins. Wilkins pinned Jade Ramsey of Potosi in the first round of the semifinal and Jayden Pendleton of North County in the second round of the final round.

Jackson sent three wrestlers to the tournament and all three ended up on the medal stand. Mollie Metzger (17-10) finished fourth, Haley Sanders (7-10) placed second, and Kaleigh Milam (22-6) won first place after pinning Paityn Basler of Ste. Genevieve in the second round of the finals.

Notre Dame’s only wrestler, Lily Ahlvin (5-3) won first place in the 135-pound weight class with second-round pins over Ragan Picou of Ste. Genevieve in the semifinals and Memory Raker of North County in the championship round.

__Boys team standings__

1. Hillsboro 349.5

2. Farmington 312.0

3. Jackson 295.5

4. Ste. Genevieve 294.0

5. Windsor 189.5

6. Potosi 143.5

7. Sikeston 124.5

8. New Madrid County Central 84.5

9. Notre Dame 73.0

10. Cape. Central 64.0

11. Valle Catholic 57.0

12. North County 56.5

12. Poplar Bluff 56.5

14. Dexter 45.5

15. Park Hills Central 34.0

16. Kennett 18.0

__Girls team standings__

1. Potosi 223.0

2. Ste. Genevieve 208.0

3. Park Hills Central 153.0

4. Windsor 140.0

5. Hillsboro 107.0

6. Farmington 81.0

7. Jackson 76.0

8. North County 73.0

9. Sikeston 63.0

10. Notre Dame 30.0

11. Poplar Bluff 26.0

12. Kennett 23.0

13. Dexter 21.0

14. Cape Central 18.0