Mexico sophomore Keith Ransom leans on his 106-pound opponent Ryan Meek of St. Clair in his final match Saturday at the 2020 MSHSAA Class 2 Wrestling Championships held in Columbia. Ransom earned a 4-0 decision victory and a third place state medal.

COLUMBIA — While Mexico celebrated having seven wrestlers qualify for the grueling three-day MSHSAA Class 2 Wrestling Championships, three of those Bulldog grapplers returned home Saturday evening wearing some hardware around their neck.

Better yet, Mexico head coach Gayle Adams can find comfort knowing that five of this season's state qualifiers are set to return next year to strengthen the program.

“We had a very nice season and once again we had another great group of young men that put a lot of hard work into the program. I knew the seven guys we brought to state were mostly young, but the nice thing about this is they have the opportunity of going through this experience, work to clean up some mistakes and grow from it,” Adams said.

“They will have the opportunity to pass this knowledge to those who will be in our wrestling program next year and have the chance to return and improve themselves. I'm so happy for the guys that competed here and really pleased with everyone that has been part of our team this season.”

Sophomore Keith Ransom, a returning state runner-up at 106 pounds, was a third-place medal winner in the same weight class this past weekend at Mizzou Arena.

Ransom has been Mexico’s most decorated wrestler the past two seasons. Following his tough 3-2 decision loss to Seneca freshman Brady Roark in Friday's quarterfinals, Ransom bounced back strong to win by fall in his next three wrestlebacks.

Ransom met Ryan Meek of St. Clair in the third-place match where he recorded a takedown in the second period and a reversal in the third to come away with a 4-0 decision triumph Saturday and close out his season with a 44-2 record.

Mexico's two other state medal winners were seniors Kevin Duong and Brayan Juarez.

After qualifying three years to state, Duong at 145 ended his superb prep career having a fifth-place medal draped around his neck in front of several thousand spectators.

Duong notched a takedown of Pleasant Hill's Tommy Riffle with about 10 seconds left in the second period to take a 4-2 score into the third. The Mexico senior made a quick escape and then a takedown, and Duong (41-5) fended off Riffle’s attacks well enough to enjoy an 8-5 decision win.

“Once I got that takedown in the second, it gave me confidence going into the last period as I was really feeling it and wanted to finish strong. That kid I faced is a good wrestler and wore me down a bit, but I managed to do what I needed to do to get the win,” Duong said. “All of this is amazing. A lot of hard work paid off for me in the end because after qualifying for state three times I finally got the job done of getting a medal. I feel so grateful, so astonished right now.”

For Juarez, the third time was the charm for this 113-pound Bulldog who was accompanied at state by his sophomore brother Ricardo at 120.

While his younger brother made a strong fight in consolation wrestlebacks before bowing out in the third round Friday to post a successful 34-13 record, Brayan battled through several challenges to reach the fifth-place medal match Saturday.

“I'm disappointed that I did not reach my goal to wrestle for a higher medal, but I'm thankful that I made it here and ended up getting a state medal for my first time. This is something I'll remember,” the elder Juarez said. “Now I want to support my younger brother during his last two high school years of wrestling and hope he earns a state medal or two. He qualified for state this year and it was special to share this tournament with him.”

Ste. Genevieve's Gavin Gross was Brayan Juarez's medal-round opponent, and the grapplers wrestled to a scoreless tie in the first period. The Mexico standout yielded an early escape in the second but recorded a takedown to move ahead by a 2-1 score and seemingly had Gross under control when he shifted his right arm in a direction that was not favorable. Gross noticed the mishap and quickly secured a reversal and then two back points.

“This was a pretty good match for me except I messed up shortly after I took him down, allowing him to get a reversal and back points on me. Looking back, I wish I did something different,” Brayan Juarez said. “I tried to take a shot on him late in the third but he sprawled his legs to prevent me from wrapping him up. I tried to put different moves together but he kept his distance and was able to hold me off to beat me.”

Brayan Juarez (35-15) trailed at the start of the third period by a 5-2 score en route to a 6-4 decision loss to finish sixth at state.

Bulldogs sophomore Deacon Haag at 182 won his first match Thursday by fall, lost his quarterfinal bout by fall to Buffalo senior Pete Herrera and ended his run at state when Haag (25-23) was pinned by Marshall senior Ethan Stickels in second round of wrestlebacks.

Dylan Mosley, a 126-pound sophomore, and 160-pound junior Terrell Williams both lost their opening-round match to drop to the consolation bracket and bowed out of the tournament winning one of three matches. Mosley closed out the season with a 30-14 record and Williams went 24-23.

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