Gallatin High School won the 43-team wrestling tournament at Missouri Valley College in Marshall, held Friday night and throughout the day on Saturday. Gallatin, considered one of the top teams in the state in Class 1, rolled up 457 1/2 points. Second-place Lathrop had 405 and third-place Lawson 388. The Marceline Tigers, finishing in fourth position, had 376 1/2 points.
Trenton scored 65 1/2 points. THS wrestlers Mason Owen, Jadan Whitney, and Noah Lewis were not in the lineup. Owen did not compete as he is scheduled to participate in an All-Star football game in Arlington, Texas. Whitney suffered a high ankle sprain in Thursday night’s Trenton Quad. Head Coach Charlie Bacon hopes Whitney can return for the first dual after the Christmas Break, on Thursday, January 4th at Maysville. Meanwhile, Lewis suffered a concussion in Thursday night’s quad and will be held out of action for a couple of weeks.
The tournament at Marshall was coordinated by Lone Jack High School. It was held at Missouri Valley College, with ten mats used in the early rounds. The tournament is a continuation of the “Battle of Lexington”, which was discontinued this season after the closure of Wentworth Military Academy, where the event had been held in previous years.
Coach Bacon said Trenton did not have any individual medalists, but gained some much needed experience. Bacon told KTTN Sports that Brice Gibler and Quincy Griffin “both showed a lot of potential”, said Eric Lovett, Nick Wattenbarger, Lucas Clark, and Mark Trump all finished in the middle of the pack. Bacon described the difference between the middle and top of the pack as “a few points, and mastering the basic fundamentals of wrestling”.
