Mexico boys wrestling qualified eight wrestlers each of the past two years.

The Bulldogs came back with five state medals from those seasons but had a bigger showing at the Class 2 state tournament on Thursday at Mizzou Arena Columbia. Six of the team’s 10 qualifiers medaled and Mexico finished third for its first state trophy since 2018.

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“I’ve been telling this crew all year that they’ve got the makings to do something special,” head coach Jake Vitale said. “We were right there. We were leading the tournament going into Day 2, and we finished up nine points shy of a team title.”

Mexico had 121 points, which was behind Odessa's 130.5 points and Seneca's 127.5 points. The Bulldogs led the field after Day 1 on Feb. 25 and also led going into the championship matches.

Trevor Cole and Carlos Juarez Ramirez wrestled for a state championship at 106 and 113 pounds, respectively, and each finished second. Logan Hilderman was third at 126 after winning a 4-1 against Logan-Rogersville's Zion Hibbert, Kyler Carr finished fourth at 157, Grant Walker was fourth at 190 and Travis Shramek was sixth at 285.

“We brought 10 kids, and 10 kids won a match,” Vitale said. “We were looking back through state championship years and state trophy teams, we never had a year where every single wrestler won a match.”

Vitale said some of this year’s group were underclassmen and still had their hand raised at least once. He said this is not easy to do at state.

Evan Blair was one win shy of earning a medal at 120, Brayden Arnold won his second match at 132, Israel Hernandez-Jarquin trailed 11-6 in his second match at 144 but still won via pin and Brenden Wilson won his second match at 165.

“They all worked together, supported each other and had fun wrestling,” Vitale said. “That’s the whole point. We’re out there having fun. That’s been one of our mottos this year.”

Cole and Juarez Ramirez consistently gave Mexico a good start in duals and typically won at its two lowest weight classes at tournaments this season. They were both wrestling at the same time in the state finals as MSHSAA rolled out two weight classes at a time for each class.

They both lasted all six minutes, but the freshman Cole lost his first match in high school 8-4 to Oak Grove’s Kale Martin, who also went into the 106 championship undefeated. Juarez Ramirez lost 1-0 to Caleb Dyer, of Lutheran St. Charles, to become a three-time state runner-up in his first three years.

“It sucks they were on two mats, and I only got to coach one of them,” Vitale said with a grin. “I kept glancing over my shoulder. Having those two to start the lineup is a great start. Momentum is contagious and winning is contagious.”

Cole and Juarez Ramirez said having the proper mindset and great teammates to cheer them on helped them find success at state. Each match is against one of the top kids in the state, but they kept winning to advance to the finals.

“I had a couple hard kids, and I just outsmarted and outwrestled them,” Cole said.

“What helped me the most was keeping my mindset throughout the whole match,” Juarez Ramirez said. “Even if I did wrestle terribly and I was down, I had to keep my mental state better so I could wrestle the match as best as I knew I could.” 

Vitale said having Cole and Juarez Ramirez in the wrestling room has a positive impact on the team. He said they each wrestle year round, with Juarez Ramirez traveling to St. Louis multiple times per week to be trained by some of the best kids in the state and Cole wrestles with former Mizzou wrestlers. 

He said Hilderman, who is already the third-best wrestler in the state at 126 pounds and was winning in the semifinals until the last 30 seconds, made plans to train with Juarez Ramirez. Vitale said Shramek, who was two points short of the finals, wants to compete in a national tournament in the offseason. 

“They’re getting trained by some of the best coaches in the state,” Vitale said. “For them to be wrestling year-round with them is a big deal to bring into our team when the season starts.”

Vitale said Carr also was short of the finals, losing 7-5 to Fulton’s Andrew Currier in the semifinals. Walker has shown Vitale “the best wrestling I’ve ever seen out of them” in the final three weeks of his Mexico career, losing only to a returning state finalist and a two-time state champion.

Cole and Juarez Ramirez said they have enjoyed the teammates they had this season and look forward to having pretty much the same team next year, with Walker being the only state qualifier not returning. 

“Being in my third year, I love seeing my team grow more and more,” Juarez Ramirez said. “This year, we finally got (a trophy). We kept getting those good kids, and the upperclassmen are helping the underclassmen get better and pushing them.”

“I thought they were all hardworking, and I felt like they were a good influence,” Cole said about his first impressions of this year’s team.