Top Ten Stories – #7 – Tiger Wrestling’s Historic Season

Wrestling 032Republic’s wrestling program had its best year ever, and readers voted it the #7 story of the year for 2011-2012.

The year was capped off with a state tournament in which five Tigers competed. The highlight of that tournament was a runner-up finish in the 182-pound division for Jake Laswell, who didn’t lose until the final round. Laswell’s record was 48-5.

Cody Sandridge also made history, becoming the first Republic wrestler to medal at the state tournament as a freshman. He finished sixth, and finished the season with a record of 37-20.

Lance Gregory, Dustin Eby and Kerik Crouse also earned spots in the state tournament. You voted their effort the #7 story of the year for 2011-2012.

State Tournament Wrapup
Photo Gallery – Kinloch Classic

Two Tigers Medal at State Tournament

402980 374713032538736 100000001263071 1613358 1434975946 nSenior Jake Laswell was the runner-up in the 182-pound weight class, and freshman Cody Sandridge earned 6th place in the 126-pound division, as the Republic Tigers finished their most successful state tournament in history.

Laswell’s first defeat of the tournament came in the finals against the same wrestler who had defeated him in districts last weekend. Jonathan Inman of Branson captured the state championship by defeating Laswell and improving his record to 47-1 for the season. Inman pinned Laswell at the 1:22 mark of the first round. Laswell ended his year with a 48-5 record.

Sandridge became the first freshman in Republic history to medal at state, advancing through wrestlebacks after an early loss to earn a spot in the medal rounds. He lost his fifth-place match to Jeff Miller (38-9) of Pacific, 6-1. Sandridge was 37-20 for the season.

Republic sent five wrestlers to state for the first time ever, with Lance Gregory, Dustin Eby and Kerik Crouse earning spots alongside Laswell and Sandridge. The Tigers ended with 33 points overall, tied for 15th out of 47 teams in Class 3. Kearney won the Class 3 title.

Take Five

Wrestling 032When the state wrestling tournament starts in Columbia Thursday, a record five wrestlers from Republic will be competing. The five Tigers made history by qualifying at the district tournament last weekend at Carthage.

“As a program, it shows we’re improving,” says second-year coach Jerry Morton. “It’s also a good thing that they’re not all five seniors. We’ve got underclassmen who are doing it, so we’re building a program from the ground up.”

In fact, all four high school classes are represented among the state qualifiers. That starts with the freshman class and Cody Sandridge. Sandridge is the first freshman in Republic history to qualify for state. He took 4th at districts, and enters the state tournament with a 34-17 record. Sandridge will compete at 126 pounds.

Sophomore Dustin Eby will make his first-ever visit to the state tournament. Eby is 39-13, and took 4th place at districts to qualify. He’ll compete in the 145-pound weight class.

Three Tigers will be making return trips to Columbia. Junior Kerik Crouse makes his second trip to Columbia. He’s 32-13 this season, and will compete in the 160-pound division. Crouse is ranked 10th in the state.

Senior Jake Laswell takes a 45-4 record into his third state tournament. He’ll try to build on his school-record 153-career victories in the 182-pound division. Laswell is ranked 2nd in the state heading into the tournament.

Senior Lance Gregory is attending his second state tournament. He qualified with a third-place finish in Carthage, where he defeated the 10th-ranked wrestler in the state in his 285-pound weight class.

Tigers Advance Five to State

IMG 8419The Republic Tigers had a big weekend at the district wrestling tournament at Carthage. The Tigers qualified five wrestlers for the state tournament next week. Wrestlers must finish in the top four to advance to state.

Cody Sandridge took 4th place in the 126-pound division, falling to Brad Watson of Rolla in the 3rd place match.

Dustin Eby placed 4th at 145 pounds. He lost in the 3rd place match, as well, to Sam Williams of Neosho.

Kerik Crouse was a runner-up at 160 pounds. He lost in the championship match to James Townsend of Neosho.

In the 182-pound division, Jake Laswell finished 2nd. He also advanced to the finals, suffering his first loss of the tournament to Jonathon Inman of Branson.

Lance Gregory finished 3rd at 285 pounds. He won his 3rd place match against Logan Bauer of Glendale.

All five Tigers will be in action Thursday in Columbia when the state tournament begins at Mizzou Arena.

Five Tiger Wrestlers in Semifinals at Districts

Five Republic wrestlers moved into the semifinal round with two victories at the district tournament in Carthage Friday night. Dustin Eby, Kerik Crouse, Jake Laswell, Hayden Puckett and Lance Gregory all won their opening two matches. The other Tiger wrestlers are in wrestlebacks.

Here are the semifinal matches facing Republic wrestlers Saturday:

Sophomore Dustin Eby 145 (38-11) vs Senior Michael Cuthbertson of Branson (37-5)

Junior Kerik Crouse 160 (31-12) vs So. Nick Brown of Lebanon (21-10)

Senior Jake Laswell 182 (44-3) vs. Senior Garrett Fletchall (32-8) of Willard

Senior Hayden Puckett 195 (20-15) vs Senior Jesse Ruark (28-6) of Willard

Senior Lance Gregory 285 (16-10) vs Senior Jacob Wall (28-9) of Carl Junction

Trio of Seniors Lead Wrestlers

Photo1Today marks a highlight of Republic’s wrestling season, when the Tigers host the Republic Invitational. But in addition to the competition, the wrestling program will also honor three seniors who have contributed to the program over the past four years.

Lance Gregory, Jake Laswell, and Hayden Puckett have been leaders on the wrestling team for more than just their senior season, according to coach Jerry Morton.

“They’re definitely the leaders on the team. They’ve been there, and they’ve been the leaders for a while,” says Morton. “It’s tough to get three guys to stick together for that long.”

Gregory, Laswell and Puckett have presided over an improvement in the program, especially this year. The team finished 7th overall out of 24 teams at Springfield’s Kinloch Classic. Laswell took first place in his weight class.

Morton says the three have pushed each other, and the younger member of the team.

“They’ve always been pretty close in weight, so they’ve always drilled with each other to help each other out,” says Morton. “They always pick up the intensity in practice for us.”

Laswell and Gregory both qualified for the state tournament last season. All three seniors, and the rest of the Tigers, are aiming for a visit to Columbia again this year, when the state tournament is held Feb. 16-18 in Columbia.

Wrestlers Split at Monett

Republic’s wrestling squad split its meet at Monett. The Tigers beat Monett 51-21, and lost to McDonald County 45-33.

Here are individual winners in each matchup:

vs. Monett
Justin Rogers
Bryce Osburn
Cody Sandridge
Paden Lucero
Dustin Eby
Jacob Dickens
Jake Laswell
Hayden Puckett
Lance Gregory

vs. McDonald County
Tanner Willis
Cody Sandridge
Paden Lucero
Dustin Eby
Jake Laswell
Hayden Puckett

Republic Takes 7th, Laswell Wins Title

Laswell 001Republic’s wrestling team took 7th overall, out of 24 teams, at the prestigious Kinloch Classic Holiday Tournament in Springfield. The highlight of the day was Jake Laswell’s championship in the 182-pound weight class. He pinned A.J. Harrell of Owensville to capture the title.

“We work hard in the wrestling room, and it pays off,” Laswell said. “We’ve worked harder this year than we have ever before, and it’s showing.”

The Tigers finished the tournament with 278 points, just behind Lebanon and just ahead of McDonald County. Sand Springs blew away the field with 520 points, exactly 100 points ahead of second-place finisher Carthage.

Several other Republic wrestlers finished in the top 10:

113 pounds – Tanner Willis, 7th
126 pounds – Cody Sandridge, 3rd
145 pounds – Dustin Eby, 4th
160 pounds – Kerik Crouse, 3rd
285 pounds – Lance Gregory, 4th

Tigers Take 5th at Zumwalt East

The Republic Tigers wrestling team placed fifth out of 18 schools at the Fort Zumwalt East Invitational in St. Louis this weekend.

Eureka dominated the tournament with 299 points, 80 more than runner-up McCluer North. Fort Zumwalt North (217) and Fort Zumwalt South (188) finished third and fourth. Republic finished with 181 overall points. Ritenour finished sixth.

Here are individual placers for Republic:

113# Tanner Willis 5th Place
132# Cody Sandridge 3rd Place
138# Kyle Campbell 4th Place
145# Dustin Eby 3rd Place
160# Kerik Crouse 5th Place
182# Jake Laswell 2nd Place
195# Hayden Puckett 2nd Place
285# Lance Gregory 6th Place

Wrestling Team Takes 4th at Bolivar

Republic’s wrestling team took 4th place at the Bolivar Varsity Invitational Saturday. The Tigers finished behind champion Carthage, runner-up Bolivar, and Reeds Spring.

Coach Jerry Morton says the team “had a pretty good day. We were open at two weight classes but still improved our team placing from last year.”

Republic’s Travis Thomas finished first in the 126-pound weight class. Jake Laswell was the 195-pound winner. Dustin Eby was runner-up at 152.

Overall team standings, along with other individual finishers, are listed below:

Team Standings
1 Carthage 259.5
2 Bolivar 223.5
3 Reeds Spring 181.5
4 Republic 161
5 Harrisonville 151
6 Osage 88
6 St. Joe Benton 88
8 Marshfield 67
9 Parkview 29
10 Buffalo 23

Individual Results

106
Hank White RS
Jericho Harris Har
Dakota Jones Car
Zach Curran Osage

113
Sam Hughes Bol
Tyler Harden Car
Chris Johnson Osage
Tannner Willis Rep

120
Gage Gartner Car
Alex Neal Bol
Danny Robb R.S.
Cecil Leivan Benton

126
Travis Thomas Rep
River Maggard Car
Levi Hopkins Bol
Mike Galbreath Mar

132
Trevor Feagons Car
Jesse Sherman Bol
Ty Cochran Har
Cody Sandridge Rep

138
Seth Logan Car
Kevin Cunningham Ben
Corey Barnes Bol
Kyle Campbell Rep

145
Ethan Grinder R.S.
Tyler McNutt Ben
Tyler Wood Har
Jacob Miles Bol

152
Joe Hunter Har
Dusty Eby Rep
Logan Bryan Car
Brandon Johnson Park

160
Tyler White R.S.
Larry Swinehart Car
Jake Chellew Ben
Keric Crouse Rep

170
Zach Kearney R.S.
Evin Barber Park
Arnold Herrera Car
Chance Barnes Ben

182
Aaron Allen Bol
Danny Poe Mar
Mrcus Roberg Har
Mason Robinson Ben

195
Jake Laswell Rep
Tyler Miller R.S.
Haryl Starkey Bol
David Overly Osage

220
Gareth Behr Bol
Cody Ellis Car
Micah Ragsdale Mar
Ryan Kohout Osage

285
Nick Meissen Har
Derrick Harris Buf
Lance Gregory Rep
Blaine Perry Car