CJ wrestlers win team title at Pacific, continue breakout season
Jan. 23—A four-hour drive home is a bit more enjoyable when you're fresh off of a tournament victory.
Just ask the Carl Junction wrestling team.
The Bulldogs added to an impressive season resume on Saturday by winning the team title at the Pacific (Mo.) Invitational with seven individual finalists and four champions. The St. Louis-area event featured 12 schools, including defending Class 3 state champion Whitfield.
"Chasing the competition is kind of what we're doing right now," Bulldogs head coach Mike Frizzell said over the phone as his team made its return trip to Carl Junction. "Whitfield was the reason why we went to this tournament. We wanted to be sure and see them before the state tournament."
CJ won the team championship with 223.5 points, besting runner-up Whitfield by 10.5 points. Washington placed third with 189 points, while Liberty-Wentzville (174.5) and Rockwood Summit (134) rounded out the top five teams.
"It was a pretty strong field we came into today at Pacific," Frizzell said. "Whitfield had a couple of starters that were out today — one was sick and one was hurt. But we also had three of our guys out, and plus we were giving up an open weight class. So I think our guys came out and performed well."
The Bulldogs now have two tournament titles under their belt in the current campaign, having won the CJ Classic dual tournament in December.
Winning individual titles for Carl Junction on Saturday were Lukas Walker (106-pound weight class), Sam Melton (113), Tony Stewart (170) and Cayden Bollinger (220).
Walker went 5-0 and capped the day with a first-period fall over his teammate, Carter Foglesong, in the finals to move to 28-4 on the season.
Melton went 3-0 with three falls in a round-robin bracket. He picked up a first-period fall over runner-up Couper Deckard of Washington in the second round and ultimately moved to 25-4 on the season.
Stewart, improving to 25-10, logged three falls and one technical fall before claiming a narrow 7-6 decision over Bowen Ward of Union in the finals.
Bollinger capped a 5-0 day with a 4-2 championship decision over Isaac Foeller of DeSoto. He had three pins earlier in the tournament and ultimately improved his season record to 24-12.
Second-place finishers for the Bulldogs included Foglesong, Lucas Watkins (160) and Chance Benford (182). Kameron Bennett (285) placed third, while Max Matthews (120), Kyran Addington (138), Arlen Wakefield (145) and Dexter Merrell (152) each placed sixth.
Carl Junction has two road duals — one at Marshfield on Tuesday and another at Neosho on Thursday — before competing in the Central Ozark Conference Tournament on Jan. 29 at Neosho High School.
"It's a tough week coming up," Frizzell said. "We have two good teams with Marshfield and Neosho, and then the COC tournament is turning into its own mini state tournament right now. A lot of good teams and good wrestlers."
The Bulldogs are 15-1 in duals this season and recently claimed a 47-30 win over Van Buren, which was ranked No. 1 in Arkansas' Class 5A.
"It's been a while since the program has had this much success (in a season)," Frizzell said. "I was away from the program for a little while, but I know probably in the last 15 years it hasn't been quite this strong. We've got a good group of kids. They work really hard and they support one another, which is a good culture to bring in the room. We're just starting to build on the traditions we've had in the past."
Contact Jared Porter on Twitter at @JaredRyanPorter.
