The Class 2 State Championship didn’t quite pan out the way Mexico had hoped—but the Bulldogs still came away with all four qualifiers placing in the top six.

Starting Thursday at Mizzou Arena, seniors Keith Ransom (145 pounds), Ricky Juarez (120), Dylan Mosley (138) and freshman Grant Van Horn (132) each won their first two matches to advance to the semifinal round.

From there, Ransom topped Garrett Lyons (Pleasant Hill) in a 5-2 decision to set himself up for a championship bout against Brock Woodcock. Woodcock, a junior from St. Clair, entered the title match at 55-0, with Ransom sitting at 49-2.

“We knew Woodcock was going to be a good opponent for us and we knew he was tough on his feet and a good tilter on top,” explained head coach Gayle Adams. “So we had a game plan and strategy, but he just got the better of us.”

Ransom—who opened the tournament with a 6-2 decision over Chase Short (Cameron) and 15-0 tech fall over Kit Farran (Logan-Rogersville) before topping Lyons in the semis—dropped a hard-fought 13-2 major decision to Woodcock in the championship.

“Keith’s a great wrestler and he’s placed in the top three at state all four years,” said Adams. “He had a great tournament, it just wasn’t his night.”

Ransom finishes his senior season with a 49-3 record and four career state medals. He placed second in 2019, third in 2020, was the 126-pound champ in 2021 and took second at 145 on Saturday.

Van Horn, Juarez and Mosley didn’t fare as well in their semifinal matches, each falling to the consolation side of the bracket.

“If you make it to the semis you’re guaranteed a medal, and when you make it there you’re wrestling some of the best kids in the state of Missouri,” said Adams. “My guys laid it out on the line and did a really nice job, we just came up a little short, and that’s part of wrestling sometimes.”

Van Horn (132) won his first two matches—a 5-2 decision over Jacob Foster (Logan Rogers) and 3-0 decision over Dominic Ransom (Sullivan)—before falling to Landen Davis (Excelsior Springs) 7-0 in his semifinal bout.

He responded by beating Foster a second time to set up a third-place contest against Gavin Gross (St. Genevieve), losing a heartbreaker 1-0 decision. Van Horn finished the season with a 42-4 record and came away with a fourth-place medal in his first year of high-school wrestling.

“Grant’s got work to do, but Grant’s the type of kid that’s going to put the work in and get to where he needs to be,” said Adams. “Because he’s not satisfied with fourth place. I commend him for what he’s done this year, only having four losses on the whole season, and everyone that he lost to was a state qualifier and a state placer.”

Juarez kicked things off at 120 with a 7-3 decision over Troy Gustin (Pleasant Hill) and 6-2 decision over Tony Valentine (St. Mary’s) to advance to the semis. He was met by eventual-champion Brady Roark, who won by 15-0 tech fall to send him to the consolation bracket.

There, Juarez dropped a 4-3 decision to Ryker Smith (Cameron), but was able to gather himself and beat Valentine for a second time—this time by 15-2 major decision—to claim fifth place.

“Ricky just wanted to go out with a bang, and he wrestled hard all weekend,” said Adams. “Great kid, great effort and there are a lot of good things that are going to happen to Ricky as he keeps growing as a person.”

Juarez finished his senior season with a 45-7 record. He also took home a sixth-place medal last year at state.

Mosley got off on the right foot at 138 with a 3-0 decision win over Brecken Gates (Cameron) and 6-0 decision over Dominic Federico (St. Mary’s), before falling in his semifinal contest to Gavynn Carpenter (Hallsville).

He then dropped a rematch with Gates 9-2, before being disqualified in the fifth-place match against Lane Snyder (Pleasant Hill) to finish sixth.

Mosley ends his senior season with a 48-6 record and sixth-place medal.

“As a senior, they didn’t just work for these medals, they worked to be great young men and build character,” Adams said of Ransom, Juarez and Mosley. “They’ve got great friends, great families and built great relationships with their teammates. I have great leaders and I thought they did a great job all weekend.”

While Van Horn is set to return, Ransom, Juarez and Mosley all say goodbye along with fellow seniors Deacon Haag, Jokiah Sewell and Ahrajah Givens.

“Wrestling is not an easy sport and they stuck it out,” Adams said of his senior group. “They’re going to be missed for sure. I’ve had a lot of good seniors come through this program and they’re right at the top of the list with all of them. They’re going to keep giving back to the sport as they get older and I can’t say enough to thank them. I wish I could have all my seniors back.”