Hunter Pyle swept through the field at the Kinloch Classic wrestling tournament without a loss, beating Deryl Vonnostrand of Marshfield in a 5-4 decision to win the 195-pound weight class in Springfield Friday. Pyle had five pins in the tournament to lead Republic.
Michael Taylor finished 2nd in the 113-pound division. He had three pins. His only loss came in the championship match on points against Jake Nichols of Ozark.
The young Republic squad finished 10th overall, out of 25 teams in the field. The Tigers had 235.5 points. Buffalo won the team championship, followed by Rolla and Ozark.
In the 220-pound division, Julian Richardson won his first four matches before dropping a semifinal decision to PJ Walker of Kickapoo. He finished 4th.
Other top-10 finishers for Republic were Jonathan O’Connell (9th), Johnny Rexroad (10th), and Deric Woodman (9th).