Three Republic wrestlers qualified for the state tournament with their performances at the district tournament in Camdenton Friday and Saturday. Julian Richardson and Michael Taylor were both runners-up in their weight classes, and Hunter Pyle finished third. The top four wrestlers in each division advance to state.
For Taylor, it’s his second trip in two years as a high school wrestler. Last year, he finished fourth at districts, compared to this year’s second-place finish.
“This is a lot better, knowing I took second. I’ll get a better seed. I feel like I’m better skilled than last year,” Taylor says. “At first, I was a lot happier, but now I’m just ready to go see what I can do at state. I think my part of the bracket will be lighter. It depends on where some of the other kids get put in the bracket, but I think it sets me up better than last year. A lot of people don’t get to make it to state their freshman and sophomore years, so it makes me feel really good to be able to say that I can.”
Pyle is also making a return trip to Columbia, after surviving the so-called “bubble match” in the consolation bracket to qualify. The winner of that match is guaranteed a spot at state, and the loser goes home.
“It puts a lot of pressure on you and you’re like, ‘This is the match that puts me in state. If I lose this, I have to wait a whole other year.’ I don’t like waiting. I’m kind of an impatient person.
“Going out there, I just think … I’ll do anything I can to win. When I went out there, I just thought, ‘I’ve got to move my feet. I’ve got to keep shooting and score as much as I can every chance I get.’”
Pyle says he’s looking to improve on last year’s performance in Columbia.
“I’m not going to get the seed I wanted, but whatever happens, I’m going to go out there and give 100% every single match. I believe I can make it to the finals,” he says.
Richardson makes his first trip to state as a senior, after a near-miss in districts last year.
“This year blows last year out of the water, without a doubt. I wrestle better, I move better, and I feel better when I’m actually out there wrestling three rounds,” Richardson says.
After losing his bubble match in 2016, Richardson managed to bypass that pressure by winning his semifinal match this year, guaranteeing himself a state berth no matter what happened in the final. He still remembers the stress of his win-or-go-home match last season, and advancing straight to the finals this year made a world of difference.
“One is just the pressure to survive. Last year, being in the bubble match, you feel so pressured even to make it through the match. It’s all kinds of unbelievable stress,” he says. “Here, the pressure isn’t as bad because you know you’ve qualified. That’s the main goal of this tournament. But it’s also the drive to win. You want it so bad because you’ve worked so hard to get it. Why not just take it home?”
Richardson lost a close decision in the finals, and had an opportunity to win on points in the final round, but couldn’t get the move he needed.
“As time was winding down, I knew I’d have to throw him,” he says. “I was trying to get into the best position possible … and it just wasn’t happening.”
The state tournament is February 16-18 at Mizzou Arena in Columbia.