The Neosho boys wrestling team showcased its strength and depth at the Class 4 District 3 Tournament, securing an impressive first-place finish as a team.
Carthage and Joplin also made their mark on the mats.
Neosho’s dominance was evident across multiple weight classes. At 106 pounds, freshman Marztian Ioanis (31-14) clinched the title with a tight 7-6 decision over Carthage sophomore Randy Teo (26-10), who took second place.
The Wildcats continued their strong showing at 113 pounds, where sophomore Tucker Feagens (35-10) earned gold with a 5-0 decision against Lebanon’s Kaleb Branch.
The 132-pound class saw Neosho’s Kelton Shaffer (40-10) pin Ozark’s Colton Wilson in 5:45 to claim first place.
At 157 pounds, junior Carter Howard (43-3) dominated Lee’s Summit West’s Grady Mortensen with an 11-2 major decision.
Sophomore Lincoln Howard (42-6) added to Neosho’s tally at 165 pounds, securing a technical fall (16-0) over Nixa’s Owen Diemoz in 4:25.
Neosho’s success rolled on with junior Kaymon Rhone (35-8) taking the 175-pound title in a 4-1 decision against Ozark’s Dayton Moison, and junior Chase Kivett (39-3) winning at 190 pounds with a 17-2 technical fall over Ozark’s Graham Bennett in just 3:49.
In the heavyweight division at 285 pounds, junior Everson Tomlinson (38-7) earned second place, falling 5-0 to Willard’s Brady Griffin.
Other notable Neosho performances included sophomore Anthony Stotts (31-11) earning third at 126 pounds with a 2:22 pin over Smith-Cotton’s Adarein Hawkins, senior Fisher Butler (34-12) taking second at 144 pounds after a 6-2 loss to Willard’s Caleb Caldwell, and junior Dayton Kivett (28-15) finishing fourth at 215 pounds following a 2:53 fall to Ozark’s Ruben Arvizu.
Carthage also had a strong showing.
In addition to Teo’s runner-up finish at 106 pounds, sophomore Caden Groom (32-5) battled to second place at 126 pounds, dropping an 11-5 decision to Ozark’s Keaton Hurst.
Senior Tanner Putt (34-9) fought hard at 120 pounds, finishing fourth after a 4-0 loss to Branson’s Ryzen Isringhausen in the third-place match.
Joplin’s lone state qualifier was senior Toryn Jones (22-13) at 150 pounds, who took fourth after a narrow 4-2 defeat to Kickapoo’s Jahan Huynh in the third-place bout.
All qualifying wrestlers advance to the state meet this weekend.