Tough matchups test Sikeston and NMCC at triangular meet

SIKESTON — The Sikeston boys’ wrestling team grappled to a split decision at a triangular meet at the Field House on Tuesday, Dec. 12.

Building momentum for the season ahead, the Bulldogs put on a strong performance on Senior Night, defeating North County 44-19 while falling to New Madrid County Central 42-30.

“We came out and competed,” said Sikeston coach Blake Angle. “I would have liked to see us finish out some of those matches without giving up the fall and be a little more resilient, but we have some work to do and that’s fine. We’ll get back after it.

“Me as a competitive, I think we should have won both duals but obviously it says that there is some pretty good competition in our conference,” Angle continued. “We wrestling in a tough 16 to 18-team conference. It’s a little bit bigger than the typical conference and it doesn’t matter what weight class you’re at, there are going to be tough guys you have to beat.”

Pacing Sikeston’s victory over North County were forfeit wins by Louis Montjoy (113-pound weight class), Jesse Haley (120), Jax Lancaster (157) and Sam Lancaster (165), pinfall wins by Anthony Lindsay and Elijah Torres, and wins by a decision from Tristen Leavitt and George Rodgers.

Against NMCC, both Lancasters earned pinfall victories, as did Colin Scott (144), while Blaze Wren (132) and Leavitt picked forfeit wins.

“It was good to see the Lancaster boys go out on a win at home,” Angle said. “We have another home dual later in the season, but it was great to see them get wins on senior night. It’s also Rodgers and Torres’ first year in the varsity lineup and they both competed well. [Rodgers] went up against some pretty tough competition in a multi-time state qualifier, and lost a two-point match. If we go back and fix a few things it’s a different outcome.”

NMCC roared out of the gate with three consecutive pinfalls: Moore (113), Tharon Harper (120), and Jessie Perry (126) silenced the home crowd early. Colbert (150) and Jones (157) added gritty decisions, while Henderson (175), Treadwell (215), and Smith (285) closed the match with three dominant pins, clinching the victory for the Eagles.

“We start slow against North County,” said NMCC coach Rhiley Smith. “We didn’t like the same that one ended, but we came out finished strong against Sikeston. The guys were finishing shots and staying in a good position. I’m proud of them.

“Jason Jones is finally getting those takedowns, and that’s what we needed from him,” Smith continued. “He’s looking good and our heavyweight, Chayston Smith, picked up his first win of the season. Gavyn Colbert had a very tough match but was smart, staying up in points and not doing anything he didn’t need to do.”

NMCC fell 39-36 to North County.

The Sikeston girls’ wrestling team earned a 30-18 over North County with Ellie Douglass (100), Kimarhi Wilkins (155) and Shanell Williams (155) picking up pinfall victories, and Adlyn Newsom (115) and Dayton Owens (235) winning by forfeit.

Sikeston will compete in the Tiger Classic, beginning Friday, Dec. 15, while NMCC travels to Brenton Wrestling Invitational on Saturday, Dec. 16.