Republic wrestling sends three grapplers to state tournament

Republic’s wrestling team achieved its best district finish since moving to Class 4, placing fifth at the Class 4 District 3 tournament at Ozark on Saturday. Three Tigers qualified for the state tournament: Keaton Overcast (138 pounds) took second place, Chase Hicks (215 pounds) finished second, and Kameron Sutton (165 pounds) placed fourth.
For Hicks, reaching the state tournament carries special significance after narrowly missing qualification three years in a row.
“After the last three years of just barely missing it, it felt great,” Hicks said. “It just made me want it that much more, knowing that this is my last year and this is the last chance I have.”
Coach Eric Nolan praised Hicks’ dedication to the program despite falling one win short of state three years in a row.
“After being in the bubble match three years, it’s been kind of heartbreaking,” Nolan said. “He’s been one of the kids that’s bought into what we are trying to do as a program. I’m real happy to see him achieve that goal, and I think he has a real strong chance to go down and also be a state medalist.”
This marks Overcast’s third consecutive state qualification. He plans to approach this tournament differently after learning from past experiences.
“Last year I just got caught up in the moment. I was practicing 120%, and I just drove my body into sickness almost,” Overcast said. “My approach this year is … I’m going to manage my weight well, and I’m just going to go in there and start drilling the attacks I know I’m going to hit.”
Sutton secured his spot with a timely pin in his qualifying match, using a strategic counter-move against his opponent.
“I realized he gets in on a lot of high C’s, and I practice my chin whip a lot at practice,” Sutton said. “So I was like, if he gets in on the high C, I know what I’m going to do.”
Nolan highlighted Sutton’s commitment to off-season development.
“He’s a kid that’s done a lot of offseason work,” Nolan said of Sutton. “It’s rewarding to see when kids put in that time to see what can come of that. I think that he’s ready to bounce back and go to state as a junior and win some matches and hopefully put himself in position to medal.”
Republic’s fifth-place finish with 91.5 points may match the program’s best district performance ever. The Tigers previously finished fifth in their district in 2015–16 when competing in Class 3.
Neosho won the district championship with 267.5 points, followed by Ozark (186.5), Willard (117.0), and Nixa (105.0).
Saturday’s three qualifiers will join Millie Waterman, who qualified for the girls state tournament, in Columbia next weekend.