In addition to concluding the regular season, Carthage’s seniors pointed out that Friday’s dual against former Southwest Conference rival McDonald County was their final match at home.
For seniors Erick Vargas, Tim Dannels and Nelson Horton, Friday night was, essentially, the last time to lead their teammates around the mat before prematch warm-ups in front of the home crowd.
After receiving what coach Kenny Brown referred to as a real “wake-up call” against Seneca on Thursday, the turned in a total team effort for a convincing 64-12 victory over the Mustangs on Senior Night at Carthage High School.
The Tigers sandwiched four pins, two major decisions and one technical fall between four forfeits to dismantle McDonald County. Carthage now has nearly a week to prepare for the Class 3 District 4 tournament, which, by the way, begins Friday at Carthage High School.
The Tigers are young at several weights this season, which goes without saying, but they put together a stellar performance against McDonald County, one of 12 other schools scheduled to join Carthage in the district tournament.
After shuffling through a series of open weights, Nate Kelly, the newest member of the 100-win club, helped set the tone after winning by technical fall 18-3 over Gaspar Ocampo. Trevor Feagans and Taylor Bogle followed with successive major decisions to give the Tigers a commanding lead. Logan Bryan extended Carthage’s dominating lead with a 4-0 decision over Robert Miller.
Brown was pleased to see his wrestlers close several matches out with major decisions, rather than just simply a victory by decision, specifically against a district opponent.
“It makes a huge difference,” said Brown. “Say Trevor, who was wrestling a tough kid in Cameron LeGrand, just won by decision, well if (another wrestler) wins by major decision, that gives them a plus one over us, when it comes to seeding purposes.
“It’s always nice to come in as a No. 1 seed,” explained Brown. “Statistically, you have an easier road to the finals, which is important.”
Seth Beckner, Dannels, Larry Swinehart and Seth Golay closed out the dual with four straight pins to seal the victory for the Tigers, who finish the regular season with a 4-8 dual record.
“I think Seneca was a wake-up call,” said Brown, “as much for the varsity as it was for the junior varsity. The junior varsity came out and really set the tone for us, which is something we talked about. I said to the varsity, ‘hey, you’re now the leaders.’ I know some of them are freshmen, but they are thrust into a leadership role as a varsity wrestler, and they need to understand the importance of the junior varsity side of the match.”
Next up, the Tigers welcome 12 schools, including rival Neosho and defending Class 3 state champion Oak Park, to town for the Class 3 District 4 Tournament, which begins at 6 p.m. Friday at Carthage High School and concludes on Saturday.
