Three Republic wrestlers qualify for state tournament

Sandridge takes district championship, George, Wilkins also continue onward
 
Connor Sandridge won a district championship and two other Republic wrestlers earned the right to join him at the state wrestling championships in Columbia this week. Phillip George finished second in his bracket and Maddox Wilkins finished fourth at the district tournament in Nixa, Saturday.
For Sandridge, the biggest hurdle was his semifinal match. In each of his first two seasons, he had reached the district semifinal before being eliminated without advancing to Columbia. Before Saturday’s semifinal against Zander Dombrowski of Ray-Pec, Sandridge was “a nervous wreck,” but he took down Dombrowski in a little more than a minute. That win earned him a state berth, so the pressure was off in the district final against Ruben Miller of Lee’s Summit West. Sandridge pinned Miller in the first round to win the title.
George topped Zac Scherer of Carthage in the semifinals to lock up a trip to Columbia. He lost in the finals to top seed Damien Moseley of Ozark.
George took the hard route to the state tournament, losing his first match and working his way back through the consolation bracket. He beat Carter Merritt of Lee’s Summit and Ryan Heinrichs of Lebanon to punch his state ticket before losing in the third-place match to Braxdon Tate of Carthage for the second time in the tournament.