Medaling Michael Martin

By Will Johnson, Sports Editor
Posted 2/23/22

COLUMBIA — Climbing the ladder.

That is the mentality that Owensville Dutchmen junior wrestler Michael Martin will carry going into his senior year on the mats.

That is because he …

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Medaling Michael Martin

Posted

COLUMBIA — Climbing the ladder.

That is the mentality that Owensville Dutchmen junior wrestler Michael Martin will carry going into his senior year on the mats.

That is because he finished third this year at 113 pounds in Class 2 during the 2022  Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) Wrestling Championships held last week in Columbia at Mizzou Arena.

Last year as a sophomore, Martin placed fifth at 106 pounds during the 2021 MSHSAA Wrestling Championships held in Independence due to COVID-19 restrictions in Boone County not allowing the state tournament to be held in Columbia.

Clinching his spot on the medal stand winning a 9-5 decision in the quarterfinals over Blair Oaks’ Easton DeMilia, Martin advanced to the semifinals at 113 pounds against Cameron junior Caleb Husch.

Trailing 4-1 after one period, Husch chose to start the second period in the neutral position.

Taken down moments into the period, Martin was nearly pinned before escaping towards the tail end of the period leaving him trailing 11-2.

Unable to score the rest of the match, Martin dropped an 12-2 major decision sending him to the consolation side of the bracket Saturday morning.

Needing just over three minutes of mat time, Martin improved on his fifth-place medal from a year ago.

Pinning Savannah’s Gage Schottel in 2:43 in the fourth round of wrestlebacks, Martin faced Demilia for the third time this season in the Class 2 third-place match at 113 pounds.

Martin won a 7-0 decision back in early January to go with his quarterfinal win Friday afternoon.

Quickly gaining control of their third-place match, Martin scored a takedown late in the period before winning the match by fall in :48.

“Michael just did his thing the past three days and his hard work throughout the season has paid off,” Dutchmen head wrestling coach Dustin Howard said.

Martin’s road through the Class 2 113-point bracket began Thursday morning with first-round action against St. Charles freshman Charlie Reid.

Racing out to a quick 8-0 lead after one period, Martin duplicated that effort in the second period before winning the match by technical fall.

Winning a match by technical fall means a wrestler leads the match by 15 points or more at any point during the bout.

Finishing his junior season at 30-3, Martin’s three losses came against wrestlers that finished ahead of him on the podium.

Two of his losses came to St. Clair junior Ryan Meek once in the championship match of the Four Rivers Conference (FRC) Tournament held in Owensville and the other during the championship match at 113 pounds in the MSHSAA Class 2, District 1 Wrestling Tournament at Sullivan High School.

Throughout the season, Martin scored several victories over state qualifiers in Classes 1, 2 and 4.

Martin’s first win over a state qualifier came during Colombo Classic in St. Louis with a win over Daishaun Wilbourn (Maplewood-Richmond Heights).

Wilbourn went on to place sixth in the state in Class 1 at 113 pounds.

At the Ste. Genevieve Duals in early January, Martin defeated a pair of state qualifiers.

He pinned Ste. Genevieve’s Bryant Schwent in addition to pinning Windsor Imperial’s Luke Patterson in :18.

Schwent was a Class 2 state qualifier while Patterson qualified for state in Class 3 for the Owls.

During the FRC Tournament, Martin pinned St. James’ Blake Marlatt in 4:52. He was also a Class 2 state qualifier for the Tigers.

At the Fort Zumwalt South (FZS) Tournament in mid-January, Martin posted a pair of victories over Class 4 state qualifiers.

In the 113-pound semifinals, Martin won an 11-2 major decision over FZS’ Ryan Poropat before pinning Troy-Buchanan’s Carter Barnes in 1:47.

Prior to losing to Meek in the district championship match at 113 pounds, Martin defeated Schwent in the district semifinals for his second win over the Dragon grappler.

Martin will enter his senior season with an 87-18 overall record.