OKWC trio advances to state

By Will Johnson, Sports Editor
Posted 3/9/22

Another trip to Cape Girardeau.

That is in the future of three Owensville Kids Wrestling Club (OKWC) grapplers this weekend after they finished in the top four of their respective weight classes …

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OKWC trio advances to state

Posted

Another trip to Cape Girardeau.

That is in the future of three Owensville Kids Wrestling Club (OKWC) grapplers this weekend after they finished in the top four of their respective weight classes during Saturday’s Missouri USA Region D Wrestling Tournament at Cape Central Junior High School in Cape Girardeau.

Fresh off a district title as the lone wrestler in his weight class, Brendan Kramme opened his Region D Tournament in the 14U 175-pound bracket with a first-round bye to the quarterfinals.

Kramme then proceeded to win his quarterfinal bout by fall in 2:00 over Andrew Moore (Jr. Knights Wrestling Club).

Now a win away from state and a shot at a regional championship, Kramme squared off against Cape Central’s Connor Poole.

Pinned in 3:45, Kramme was sent to the consolation side of the bracket.

Drawing a bye in the consolation semifinals, Kramme advanced to the third-place match assuring himself of no worse than a fourth-place finish and a guaranteed return trip to Cape Girardeau’s Show-Me Center for this weekend’s Missouri USA State Wrestling Championships.

In the third-place match, Kramme won a 1-0 decision over Griffin Porter (De Soto Dragons Wrestling Club) ending his tournament on a winning note.

Kramme won’t be the only double-digit aged wrestler from Owensville returning to Cape Girardeau this weekend.

Bo Buddemeyer placed fourth in the 12U 85-pound bracket traveling a path similar to Kramme.

Buddemeyer drew a first-round bye to the quarterfinals and a match up with Marshall Campbell (Thoroughbred Wrestling Academy).

Winning a 5-3 sudden-victory decision, Buddemeyer advanced to the semifinals one win away from a guaranteed spot at state and a shot at a regional title.

Losing a 6-1 decision to Noah Brown (Jr. Knights Wrestling Club), Buddemeyer had to battle back through the consolation side of the bracket.

Having to go beyond three periods of regulation wrestling, Buddemeyer pulled out a 3-2 tiebreaker one victory advancing him to the third-place match where he would qualify for state win or lose.

Matched up against Aidan McMurty (BullTrained Wrestling), Buddemeyer looked to avenge a pair of losses to him during the district tournament a week ago.

Pinned in :52, Buddemeyer settled for fourth place and a qualifying spot at state.

Rounding the trio of OKWC state qualifiers was Connor Henderson in the 10U 120-pound bracket.

With only four wrestlers competing, it turned into a four-man round robin event.

In spite of coming out on the losing end in all three matches, Henderson became Owensville’s third state qualifier.

While not qualifying for state themselves, several OKWC wrestlers saw their seasons end at the hands of eventual state qualifiers.

Two OKWC grapplers came within one place of state recording fifth-place finishes in their respective weight classes.

Augustus Branson opened his tournament in the 8U 100-pound bracket with a first-round bye before facing Owen Meloy (Fox Wrestling Club) in the quarterfinals.

Losing a 9-0 major decision, Branson was sent to the consolation side of the bracket while Meloy went on to qualify for state with a second-place finish in the bracket.

Drawing a bye to the third round of the consolation bracket. Branson won a 6-4 decision over Landen King (Eldon Takedown Team) moving him a win away from state and the third-place match.

Dropping a 9-4 decision to Judd Abbott (Eldon Takedown Team), Branson was sent to the fifth-place match. Abbott went on to place fourth.

Branson bounced back winning an 11-9 sudden victory decision over Forrest Wagaman (Moberly Kids Club Wrestling).

Mason Turner also faced an uphill climb during his tournament in the 10U 90-pound bracket.

Pinning Micah Kertz (Ste. Genevieve Youth Wrestling) in :59 during first-round action, Turner moved on to the quarterfinals and a showdown with Kysen Leeper (Macon Youth Wrestling).

Pinned in 1:24 by his Tiger opponent, Turner drew a bye to the third round of the consolation side of the bracket.

Winning that match by fall in 1:30 over Eli Crowley (Sikeston Wrestling Club), Turner also found himself a win away from the third-place match in the consolation semifinals against Eli Sutter (Palmyra Youth Wrestling Club).

Losing that match by fall in 1:38, Turner was relegated to the fifth-place match.

Losing to a Macon wrestler earlier in the tournament, Turner pinned Macon’s Jagger Llewellyn in 1:38 to place fifth in the 10U 90-pound bracket.

Placing sixth last week meant advancing, this week a sixth-place finish unfortunately meant the end of the season.

This was the case for four OKWC wrestlers.

Jasper Hane started his tournament in the 8U 60-pound bracket with a first-round win by fall in :11 over Lincoln Gehrardt (Jackson).

Pinned by Blake Young (Wentzville Wrestling Federation) during the quarterfinals in 2:52, Hane once again found himself on the consolation side of the bracket.

Batting back to the consolation semifinals, Hane faced off against another Wentzville wrestler in Gabriel Hayes. Hayes went on to place third while Young finished fourth in the tournament.

Losing by fall in 1:36, Hane eventually finished sixth after losing an 8-2 decision in the fifth-place match to Canon Russell (Wentzville).

Jaxon Lowe overcame a quarterfinal loss to Daniel Jenkins Jr (STL Warrior) to win an 8-5 decision over Peyton Sells (OKWC) before settling for sixth place in the 10U 100-pound bracket after a loss by fall in 1:22 to Kade Biggers (Thunderbird Wrestling Club).

Looking to join his brother Bo at state, Steven Buddemeyer competed in the 14U 110-pound bracket.

Losing a 4-2 decision to Graidy Rice (Jackson USA) in the quarterfinals, Steven won consecutive matches over Ayden Newbold (2:50) and Lucas Sapp (4-3).

Eventually getting a rematch with Rice, Buddemeyer settled for sixth place after losing an 8-3 decision in the fifth-place match.

Garrett Hunter also placed sixth after drawing byes to the consolation semifinals where he lost a 6-3 decision to Matthew Thomas (Hillsboro) that would have put him in the third-place match.

OKWC wrestlers also competing at regionals but not able to secure a win were Silas Grayson, Tucker Henderson, Logan Quick, Peyton Sells, Mallory Stockton, William Coppedge, Micah Duncan and Kasen Owens.