Three Republic wrestlers advance to state tournament in Columbia, Mo

Three Republic wrestlers have advanced to the state tournament in Columbia. Jonathan O’Connell turned in the best performance of the weekend at districts in Union, finishing with a district championship in the 138-pound weight class. O’Connell had finishedasdistrictrunner-up and state runner-up last year, losing to the same opponent both times. This year’s result “feels so much better... It definitely feels like a weight’s been lifted off,” he said after winning the district championship.
Senior Michael Taylor is in a familiar situation
as he prepares for his fourth state tournament in four years. He qualified by finishing fourth at 132, pinning Jonah Peters of Willard in the “bubble match” that put him on the medal stand.
“My freshman year, I didn’t know if I was even good enough to make
it that year. I just knew that I had good seniors to push me, and they pushed me well enough to make it there,” he said. “Then I had a good partner
(O’Connell) come up to be a freshman, and I worked with him a lot, and that’s what got me here––my teammates and
my coaches.” Wyatt George earned
his first trip to the state tournament by finishing fourth in the 106-pound division. He beat Hunter Hoffman of Rolla in a sudden victory in overtime to guarantee his advance- ment.
Afterwards, George said
he didn’t have time to get nervous as the match entered sudden death. “Your adrenaline’s pumping, and there’s really no nervousness, because you’re just thinking of what you have to do to get past that.”