Prep wrestling: Tigers' Proctor, Kowalski hope to earn stripes at state

For Smith-Cotton wrestling coach Joel Sherman, the Class 3, District 4 tournament should have been a cause for celebration.

The veteran coach, who started with the program in 1995 then left in 2002 only to return in 2009, knew that despite wrestling in the toughest district in the state, his young team had the potential to qualify four to five wrestlers for state.

That would have been a pivotal turnaround for a program that hasn’t had an individual reach the state podium since 2006, when 125-pounder Alex Kelley finished fifth. But agonizingly, Billy Garrigus, John Simpson and Jacob Weeks missed on qualifying for the coveted trip to Mizzou Arena — the venue of the 82nd MSHSAA Wrestling Championships, which starts Thursday and runs through Saturday — by just one match.

“We always want to put ourselves in that position to get to that bubble match where you either go to state or go home, so we’re pleased in that regard,” Sherman said. “But in being so close, especially with Billy going to overtime in his match, it was a heartbreaker not to have more.”

But their absence from the transcendent field doesn’t overshadow the success of Smith-Cotton seniors Dakota Proctor (182 pounds) and Matt Kowalski (170), a pair embarking on their first trip to state.

So what are their chances to break that five-year dry spell of a top-six finish at state?

For Proctor, who finished second in the Class 3, District 4 tournament, his path could have been easier had it not been for a lapse in concentration last Saturday.

Proctor, who missed out on state by a single match as a freshman and sophomore, went into districts as one of the favorites — he had already beaten his main competition in the tournament, Staley’s fifth-ranked Nicholas Brown, earlier in the year 12-8 at the Kearney Duals.

So it was no surprise to find him pitted against Brown in the championship round, a match Proctor would like to put behind him. Tied at 3-3 in the third period, Proctor allowed a takedown to lose 5-3.

“To tell you the truth, I actually thought it was the second period when we were all tied up, and it was apparently the third we were wrestling,” Proctor said. “Tied 3-3 I kind of slipped up and I was taking him down and he got popped up behind me and got two (points). I just kind of sat there for a second and we had a few seconds left and it didn’t register. I just didn’t act real fast.”

How common is a lapse like that for Proctor?

“That’s the only time, when it counted most,” he said.

But Proctor, who is 31-6 during the season, said he’ll learn from the mistake as he aims for at least a top-three finish. Up first for the senior is a familiar opponent in Melik White, a senior from McCluer who is 27-10 but lost to Proctor twice during the regular season.

The quarterfinals, however, present a bigger obstacle in Branson’s Jonathon Inman, a senior from Branson who is 43-1 on the year.

“It’s very tough when you know you have to wrestle the top-ranked kid, who took second last year, in the quarterfinals,” Sherman said. “That’s where that first-place finish at districts would have helped him make the semis, but he can definitely wrestle back and make it into that medal round.

“I think he’s definitely a top-six wrestler, very capable of bringing home a medal.”

Proctor echoed the sentiment, noting that while a win over Inman would be a monumental upset, a loss would be far from crippling.

“I have to work real hard this week and find a way to pull that one out,” he said. “If I can’t beat him, no less than third place is my goal.”

Kowalski, at 18-18 on the season, is hoping the same district that produced six of the top eight teams at state and eight of the 14 individual championships last year has prepared him well.

“We have the toughest district, so I’m looking to take that experience into state, wrestle my best and hopefully place there,” said Kowalski, an all-conference defensive end who led the Tigers with three sacks (one for a safety) and two forced fumbles (one recovered) and was fifth on the team with 52 tackles.

Awaiting Kowalski in the first round is second-ranked Austin Brawner, a senior from Lebanon who is 42-2.

“He’s got a little tougher road than Dakota does, having to wrestle a district champion in the first round,” Sherman said.

The key for Kowalski is sustaining his defensive skills while still finding ways to be aggressive and put points on the board.

“Kowalski’s wrestling well,” Sherman said. “He’s not the kind of kid who’s going to score a lot of points, but he can keep it close. At this point, anybody’s got that chance. He just has to be able to score the offensive points.”

Unlike last year when the Tigers sent only Josh Brust to state, Kowalski and Proctor will have the benefit of a teammate’s company to calm their nerves and have a sparring option.

“It’s great to have someone going with me and ... we have our sights set high,” Kowalski said.

Class 1
Knob Noster
Led by junior Troy Kyser’s first-place finish in the 126-pound division of the Class 1, District 2 tournament, Knob Noster qualified seven wrestlers for state.

Kyser, ranked sixth, will be joined by freshman Kyler Milligan (132, 37-14); sophomores Tyler Rogalski (106, 18-3) and Nick Vansell (170, 27-16); and seniors Case Duggan (152, 27-16), fourth-ranked Zack McKenzie (160, 37-7) and Daniel Vannier (195, 13-4).

Versailles
Second-ranked 138-pound grappler Isaiah Clark (39-1) is at the top of the list of the Tigers’ state wrestlers, which includes freshman Nathan Long (106, 23-7) and juniors Zach Vogt (152, 18-6) and seventh-ranked heavyweight Wesley Davidson (31-9).

Warsaw
Tenth-ranked, 106-pound freshman Marshall Wilson (27-12) and 220-pound sophomore Austyn Blair (26-17) are the Wildcats’ lone representatives.