Mexico sophomore Keith Ransom is shown pinning Wright City's David Riggs with 0:55 left in the first period during one of his Class 2 District 2 tournament matches he wrestled. Ransom emerged as the district's 106 pound champion and carries a No. 1 ranking and a 41-1 season record with him to the 2020 MSHSAA Class 2 Wrestling Championships being held Feb. 20-22 in Columbia.

Led by district champions Keith Ransom at 106 pounds and Kevin Duong at 145, the Mexico boys wrestling team is celebrating seven Bulldogs that punched their ticket to compete in the Class 2 wrestling championships.

Each of them finished within the top four of their respective weight classes at the Class 2 District 2 Tournament on Friday and Saturday in their home gym.

Joining this duo at state, which runs Thursday through Friday at Mizzou Arena in Columbia, are the Juarez brothers, senior Brayan (113) and sophomore Ricardo (120), Dylan Mosley (126), Terrell Williams (160) and Deacon Haag (182).

“Getting seven through to state does not surprise me. We are celebrating two champions, two kids finishing second and three finishing in third place, so this was a good day,” Bulldogs coach Gayle Adams said.

As a team, Mexico collected 134 points to tie Moberly for fourth place in the district team standings among 15 schools. Kirksville repeated as district champion with 192.5 points, beating Blair Oaks by 35. St. Charles West took third (152.5).

Four of the Bulldog state qualifiers are returning qualifiers from a year ago, when Mexico finished 12th as a team at state.

At 103, Ransom was state runner-up as a freshman last season. Duong is now a four-time state qualifier at 145. Brayan Juarez is now a three-time state qualifier at 113, and Mosley returns to compete again at 126.

Ransom began his tour through the 106-pound bracket receiving a first-round bye and secured two pins before meeting Matthew Hornbeck of Winfield in the championship match Saturday afternoon.

“In my mind I'm going out there believing I'm the best in my weight class and want to set the tone of wrestling, doing what I want to do and force it upon my opponent,” Ransom said. “It's super important to me to win districts because it sets you up for a good seeding on the bracket.”

Ransom scored quickly on Hornbeck and acquired a 6-2 first-period advantage. He added a reversal in the second, and each grappler scored a reversal upon one another in the third period, with Ransom having his right arm raised high at the end to celebrate a 10-4 decision.

“When wrestling the Winfield finalist in the neutral, I was able to take him down pretty easily and saw that he was very good on bottom as he defended his legs very well,” Ransom said. “Normally I can turn about everyone pretty well, but he did not let me do it to him.”

Ransom, who takes an impressive 41-1 record with him to state, said for much of this season he's weathered through a torn labrum he sustained in the summer months. After state concludes, he will undergo surgery that will likely require up to seven months of recovery before being medically cleared to wrestle his junior year.

Duong has celebrated a storied prep career in wrestling considering he did not take interest in the sport until he reached seventh grade.

After a 15-5 major decision victory against Winfield’s Charos Sutton in his final match of the tournament, Duong (39-3) stands tall for winning a district championship and now qualifying for state for the fourth time in as many years.

“Being a four-time state qualifier now means a lot to me as it tells me that all the extra hard work I've put into this sport in a short span of time was worth the effort,” Duong said. “When I first started wrestling in seventh grade, I really did not like it at first but stuck with it that year and then it grew on me. I fell in love with wrestling my freshman year and wanted to learn as much as I could from the older guys.”

Sophomore Ricardo Juarez was the district runner-up at 120 and will take a 34-11 record with him to Columbia. Juarez met Fulton senior Jackson Caswell (46-1) in the title match where he lost 5-1. However, to reach the championship, Juarez outlasted Hunter Tarr of Kirksville in a semifinal match that went into sudden death where Juarez recorded a takedown to come on top by a 7-5 score.

“I've wrestled against Caswell before. He's a good one and beat me by decision something like 12-2 when we met at a tournament. I thought a lot about what I did wrong and wanted to come out and correct those mistakes,” Juarez said. “I learned a lot from that loss, as I do from any match that I lose, because the next practice I work hard to try and improve on certain areas and techniques that need worked on.

“It feels good to be a district champion, but I know I was not at my best and there are things that I still need to work on this week. I need to fix my reaction time, some new moves and how to scramble during times that I get myself into a problem.”

Juarez's senior brother, Brayan, joins him at state. Brayan (32-13) earned a 3-0 decision against Morgan Oser of St. Charles West to take third place at 113.

Also finishing third in their respective weight classes were Williams at 160 and Haag at 182. Williams (24-21) pinned Kirksville's Dominic Cahalan, while Haag (25-21) put the shoulders of Southern Boone's Dane Donigan to the mat.

“We shifted our lineup a little bit by moving Terrell Williams up to 160 and Deacon Haag up to 182 because I felt this was a better, competitive lineup for Mexico,” Adams said. “I'm proud of my guys who finished third because they still had that desire to compete at a high level and were not satisfied knowing no matter the outcome of the third-place match they were going to state. They competed, got third place and finished the district tournament on a high note.”

 

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