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Five's Alive! Nevada quintet going to state
Shouse, Hawks each win titles
By Joe Warren
Nevada Daily Mail
It was a triumphant day for Nevada wrestling as they stamped five tickets to the state wrestling championships Saturday at the Class 2, District 3 championships in Nevada.
Competing in the new "super-district" formula set up by the Missouri State High School Activities Association, the Tigers had two champions, one second-place finisher and two who placed fourth.
Under the new guidelines, four wrestlers in each weight class from each super-district get to move on to state, since the sectional round was eliminated and there were 13 schools in the district.
The winners were seniors David Hawks and Tyler Shouse. The two 100-win club members both won close decisions over evenly matched opponents.
Hawks had possibly the most exciting match of the tournament for Nevada fans. Facing off against Seneca's Corey Hatfield for the 135-pound title, Hawks had to come from behind to get the win.
Hatfield started out with a takedown and almost pinned the Tiger grappler, going up 5-0. Hawks was awarded a point when Hatfield clasped his hands together while trying to keep Hawks under control, and when the Nevada senior finally escaped he earned another point.
The first period ended with Hatfield up 5-2.
In the second period Hawks started off with an escape, then had a takedown of his own to tie it at five.
Hawks tried anxiously to get Hatfield in position for a pin but his aggressiveness cost him as Hatfield got a reversal to go up 7-5 and take control.
Hawks regained his composure, then got a reversal of his own to tie the match at seven before the second round expired.
In the third round Hatfield again went up with an escape, 8-7, and the match stayed that way for most of the period. Hawks made his move with only 13 seconds left, shooting and getting the takedown to go up 9-8. The Nevada senior retained control as the final seconds fell off the clock, giving Nevada their fist class winner of the tournament.
Shouse actually controlled the tempo in his 215-pound championship match against Harrisonville's Derek Schlotzhauer, but the scrappy Wildcat kept Shouse from putting him away.
Shouse went up 11-7 in the second period, before Schlotzhauer closed to 11-9 with only four seconds left in the period.
In the final period, Shouse was up only 12-11 with 35 seconds left, but an escape and a takedown gave him a 15-11 lead. Schlotzhauer was given a point when Shouse stalled, but the Tiger senior held on for the win.
Also going to state for the Tigers are 160-pound freshman Spenser Daniels, 152-pound junior Keith Overton and 103-pound freshman Mason Heard.
Daniels won second, coming close to winning the title, but falling 11-9.
The freshman actually came back from an 8-2 deficit to take a 9-8 lead in the third period.
His opponent, Taylor Mitchell of Monett, went up 11-9 in the final two minutes, and Daniels just missed a reversal in the final 10 seconds that would have tied it.
Overton had perhaps the best match of his life in the wrestle-back of the double elimination tournament, pinning Pleasant Hill's Tim Couch to clinch a berth at state. He finished fourth.
Heard finished fourth, and also got his spot in the state championships secured with a pin in the wrestle-back. He beat Matt Hedrick of Clinton to get in.
Wrestlers who just missed getting in were John Christie at 140 pounds, and Joe Roberts at 130 pounds.
Christie was one win from getting in twice, losing in the semifinals and again in the wrestle-back semifinals.
Roberts lost his second match, then worked his way through the wrestle-back before falling in the semifinals of that bracket.
The Tigers finished sixth as a team with 108.5 points. Seneca won the team title handily with 228 points.
Other Tiger wrestlers were Drew Shepherd, who went 0-2; Josh Palmer, 0-2; Cole Bond, 1-2; Jerrod Alexander, 0-2; and Klayton Leonard, 1-2.
The state championships begin Thursday in Columbia, and continue through Saturday.