Centralia boys wrestling didn’t rebuild but reloaded.
The Panthers won a state championship last season but graduated four medalists from that team. They still repeated as the Class 1 state …
This item is available in full to subscribers.
We have recently launched a new and improved website. To continue reading, you will need to either log into your subscriber account, or purchase a new subscription.
If you are a digital subscriber with an active subscription, or you are a print subscriber who had access to our previous website, then you already have an account here. Just reset your password if you have not yet logged in to your account on this new site.
If you are a current print subscriber and did not have a user account on our previous website, you can set up a free website account by clicking here.
Otherwise, click here to view your options for subscribing.
Please log in to continue |
Centralia boys wrestling didn’t rebuild but reloaded.
The Panthers won a state championship last season but graduated four medalists from that team. They still repeated as the Class 1 state champion on Thursday at the state tournament at Mizzou Arena in Columbia to win their third state title in four years and secure their seventh straight state trophy.
“The kids are pumped,” head coach Luke Gramke said. “It was a roller coaster of a tournament for us — lots of ups and lots of downs and lots of tears and lots of smiles. The kids are excited to go celebrate with their families, and they worked really hard for this.”
Centralia, who finished with five medalists, won the title with 115.5 points to beat Marceline’s 106.5 points and North Callaway’s 105 points. The Panthers won last year’s championship by 85.5 points but had to wait until the last matches to see if a repeat would be happening.
Charlie Robinson at 138 pounds and Rex Bryson at 175 advanced to the finals, but Marceline had three kids in the finals and North Callaway had four in the finals. On top of that, Robinson and Bryson each had to wrestle Marceline for a state championship.
Gramke said how Centralia started the tournament and how they won matches helped them hold off the challengers. He said the Panthers earned 24 extra points on Day 1 on Feb. 25, which usually happens via pin, major decision or technical falls.
“That’s where we made up a lot of ground on lack of state medalists (compared to last year’s 10),” Gramke said. “That’s what our kids do year-round. They just get the fall, are aggressive wrestlers and they put points on the board.”
In the finals, Bryson pinned Jack Sportsman in 39 seconds to become a back-to-back state champion while Robinson lost 11-3 to Carter Wallis. Waylon Adkisson was third at 113 pounds, Gradon Hedberg was fifth at 120 pounds and Marshall Kable was fifth at 285 pounds to be the other Centralia medalists.
Bryson “needed to bonus point his way through the tournament” to help the team, Gramke said, and that’s exactly what his senior did. He pinned all four of his opponents — four in the first minute and another in 2:16.
After more than 150 wins, over 100 career pins, four state medals, three team state titles and two individual state titles, Bryson’s Centralia career ended in Thursday’s finals. Gramke said the University of Buffalo signee left a great high school career behind him.
“He is leaving the program in a beautiful spot,” Gramke said. “He is a terrific leader, a terrific human, he is smart and he is everything you would want in a young man. We are going to miss him terribly, but I know he is going to leave a lasting impression in the program.”
Bryson said the goal is always to be a champion so it feels great to be a back-to-back state champion to end his time as a Panther. He said Centralia tries to look at each match and tournament as “just another” match or tournament so the stage doesn’t feel too big. This was the case for him this time, according to Bryson, but he said the nerves became a non-factor after finishing second and then third as a freshman and sophomore.
“Over those two years, I was really working on how to perform at a high level at these tournaments,” Bryson said. “I was able to work with my coaches and teammates, and they were able to get me through that.”
Bryson said his mat work has improved so he could last two minutes with anybody and stay on his feet because he can’t win big matches if opponents can hold him down. However, Bryson didn’t stay on his feet after winning the championship on Thursday. He did a backflip after he said his friend would pay him $60 to do it.
“I knew I had to get that $60,” Bryson laughed. “Maybe get some food tomorrow or something.”
Robinson returned to the finals but lost to a talented Marceline kid. Gramke said Robinson, who eclipsed 100 career wins this season, will want to be in the finals next year. He believes he can do it because he doesn’t back down from anybody.
“Charlie Robinson wrestled exceptionally well, but he ran into a buzzsaw in Carter Wallis, who is now a three-time state champion and four-time finalist,” Gramke said. “We were relevant late in the match. I know Charlie’s going to be even hungrier coming back next year.”
Adkisson, Hedberg and Kable also ended the tournament on a positive note by winning their third- or fifth-place matches. Adkisson won via 16-3 major decision, Hedberg won a 10-4 decision and Kable pinned his opponent.
“We had a really terrific final round on third- and fifth-place matches,” Gramke said. “We went 3-0, and that’s what leapfrogged us with momentum to get that final round.”
Gramke said the team looks good for next season.
“We lost a lot of bodies, but we were able to replace a lot of them,” Gramke said. “It was a very different state tournament for us this year. We lose Rex Bryson and Marshall Kable, who are completely invaluable, but we know we have some kids to follow in their footsteps.”
