Three Jackson grapplers earn all-state honors in Class 4

The Jackson wrestling team fought back in the wrestleback rounds and finished with three all-state wrestlers in Class 4 at the Missouri Wrestling Championships on Saturday at Mizzou Arena in Columbia, Missouri.

Senior Jake Byrd led the way with a fourth-place finish at 126 pounds, senior Carson McCord placed fifth at 170 pounds, while junior Gus Guilliams finished sixth at 120.

All-state honors went to the top six positions in each 16-man weight division.

It was the first all-state finish for Byrd in four qualifications for the state meet, while it was the second for McCord, who placed sixth in 170 as a sophomore.

"It was his fourth time on the bubble," Jackson coach Steve Wachter said about Byrd and his ability to stay alive after losing a match at state. "The bubble match is really huge to get that win. I was really proud of him, especially being a senior. I was really wanting him to get a shot to be all-state. It's a really tough weight class, and him finishing fourth, I thought, was really outstanding."

The three wrestlers were the only Indians among eight to win first-round matches Thursday to advance to Friday's quarterfinals, where each fell.

Byrd was pinned by Holt's Mike Brown (44-4) at the 19-second mark. Byrd had defeated Holt in an overtime decision earlier in the season.

"[Byrd] beat him in overtime at the Francis Howell Tournament, and this time he caught us in a cradle so we had to come back through the wrestlebacks to be all-state."

Despite the loss, Byrd ultimately finished ahead of Brown, who took fifth.

Guilliams and McCord lost decisions in the quarterfinals. McCord dropped a tight 5-4 match to Staley's Monterio Whiles (35-16), who ultimately reached the state championship match at 170, while Battle's Klayton Anderson (31-9) beat Gulliams, 6-0.

All three Jackson wrestlers recovered from their quarterfinals losses with victories in the second and third rounds of wrestlebacks.

Byrd was the only one of the three to win a fourth-round wrestleback, claiming an 8-2 decision over Corey Wait (31-10) of Francis Howell Central to reach the third-place match.

Byrd finished fourth after a 4-0 loss to Austin Hanson (44-6) of Lee's Summit North in the third-place match. Byrd finished with a record of 49-5.

McCord lost in the fourth-round of wrestlebacks to Canten Marriott (53-2) of Park Hill via a 10-1 major decision. McCord recovered with a 10-2 major decision over Chase Hosack of Ft. Zumwalt West (40-8) to claim fifth. McCord finished with a season record of 42-6.

"It was an outstanding career for Carson," Wachter said. "He's a two-time all-stater and three-time qualifier. He finished out on a good note, getting a major decision for fifth. I'm really, really proud of him."

Gulliams sustained a 5-1 loss to Tanner Irwin (45-7) of Jefferson City in the fourth round at 120. He finished sixth after dropping a 3-1 decision to Klayton Anderson (32-11) of Battle in the fifth-place match. Guilliams ended with a 48-8 record.

"Gus will be coming back next year, and hopefully the state experience will really help him," Wachter said. "Gus has made a level jump this year and kept improving every week, and it paid off for him here at the state championship."

The Indians also had three other wrestlers alive in Friday's second-round wrestlebacks after each dropping opening-round matches Thursday and won first-round wrestlebacks that evening. However, Payne Gulliams (138), Gabriel Dudley (160) and Zach Norrick (195) were all eliminated in second-round wrestleback matches.

"We went through a little bit of a roller-coaster ride," Wachter said. "We got some wins early, took some defeats, and then we came back and got three in the medals round. Overall, I was very proud of them.

"To be honest with you, our last four weeks of wrestling -- conference, Francis Howell, district and state -- I think our team really battled and showed a lot of courage and we improved right at the very end of the year."

Friday

Class 4 quarterfinals

120 -- Klayton Anderson (Battle) dec. Gus Guilliams (J), 6-0

126 -- Mike Brown (Holt) wbf Jake Byrd (J), :19

170 -- Monterio Whiles (Staley) dec. Carson McCord (J), 5-4

Second-round wrestlebacks

120 -- Gus Guilliams (J) dec. Will Edgar (CBC), 2-1

126 -- Jake Byrd (J) tech. fall Jacob Mirly (Northwest -Cedar Hill), 3:46

138 -- Michael Cassidy (Waynesville) dec. Payne Guilliams (J), 6-3

160 -- Austin Stofer (Lafayette-Wildwood) wbf Gabriel Dudley (J), 4:40

170 -- Carson McCord (J) dec. John Fogarty (Lafayette-Wildwood), 6-5

195 -- Jacob Sobbing (Park Hll dec. Zach Norrick (J), 4-2

Third-round wrestlebacks

120 -- Gus Gulliams (J) dec. Jeff Merlo (Blue Springs South), 5-4

126 -- Jake Byrd (J) dec. Christian Mayberry (Jefferson City), 5-3

170 -- Carson McCord (J) dec. Kyle Dickhaus (Eureka), 5-0

Saturday

Fourth-round wrestlebacks

120 -- David Berryman (Staley) dec. Gus Gulliams (J), 5-0

126 -- Jake Byrd (J) dec. Corey Wait (Francis Howell Central), 8-2

170 -- Canten Marriott (Park Hill) maj. dec. Carson McCord (J), 10-1

Third-place match

126 -- Austin Hanson (Lee's Summit North) dec. Jake Byrd (J), 4-0

Fifth-place match

120 -- Klayton Anderson (Battle) dec. Gus Guilliams (J), 3-1

170 -- Carson McCord (J) maj. dec. Chase Hosack (Ft. Zumwalt West), 10-2