BY KYLE TROUTMAN ktroutman@cassville-democrat.com
Wildcats bring home 3 state medals
Publisher’s Note: More photos from the 2024 MSHSAA Wrestling championships may be found at: https://cassvilledemocrat.zenfoliosite.com/photo-galleries/cassville-wrestling.
High school wrestlers set the goal each year to improve upon their previous season’s finish, and Cassville’s boys accomplished that goal with sequential flair at the 2024 MSHSAA State Championships.
Sophomores Riley James, 150 pounds, Tristan Thompson, 157 pounds, and Colten Roark, 165 pounds, were joined by freshman Kaleb Artherton, 106 pounds at Mizzou Arena in Columbia, bringing home three medals among the group of four.
James and Roark took fourth place, leveling up one podium placement from their fifth-place awards in 2023. Thompson, who lost in his bubble match last year, took home a sixth-place medal, leveling up to podium status.
Artherton lost a decision in the bubble match to miss out on a medal this year. However, he is starting a level ahead of his older brother, Keaton Artherton, by qualifying as a freshman, one sooner than Cassville’s second- ever state medalist.
The Wildcats produced a momentous day one, with James and Roark both winning their first-round and quarterfinal matches, ensuring they would win a medal on day two.
James’ quarterfinal bout against Gage Gross (Ste. Genevieve) was the highlight of the day — and arguably the tournament — when a series of grim events turned into a skillful victory.
The match was fast-paced and intense, remaining tied or one point apart until near the end of round two. Gross tackled James to his back and their heads collided, causing James to momentarily black out and bite through part of his bottom lip. Officials started the 5-minute injury timer, and James passed the tournament medical staff’s concussion protocol.
After using 4:30 of his 5-minute injury timer, James was staring at a 13-6 deficit as the third period began. After scoring an early reversal and allowing an escape to bring it to 14-8, James used a lap drop — the same move that would win his older sister Faith James a state title the next day — for a takedown he morphed into a spladle to win by fall with 38 seconds remaining, down 14-10.
“I thought I had lost,” James said. “It was 13-6 and I had no clue what was going on. I finally woke up, and [Cassville Wrestling Coach Nathan] Fortner told me to never give up until the match is over.”
Fortner said the match and the victory was nothing like he had seen before.
“That’s the wildest match I have ever coached or even been around in my life,” Fortner said. “He was glazed over and it was definitely concerning for a little bit.
“He’s done that spladle a lot, and it’s a move he can set up because he’s a tall wrestler. You don’t see many spladle falls in tournaments, but he wrenched it and held it out. I’ll be telling stories of that match through my entire coaching career.”
James said the spladle is a go-to move, but hardly works as much as he hopes.
“I usually try every match to go for a spladle, but some kids feel it coming,” he said. “Once I got him locked, I put my hips up and circled, then I wrenched on his leg and he finally went over.”
James celebrated the victory by motioning to his family in the stands, who had come as close as they could during the injury timeout.
“I thought I owned the world,” James said of the feeling of getting the pin. “I thought I was the coolest dude out there. It was a lot of fun. I could hear my family screaming for me in the stands, and it made them happy after they were so worried.”
Roark’s day one included a pair of pins, the first over Isai Hernandez-Jarquin (Mexico) in 2:27, and the second over Kaden Lee (Benton) in the quarterfinals in 5:11.
Roark led Hernandez-Jarquin 7-1 at the time of his pin, and he dominated his quarterfinal, going up 7-0 and only allowed 3 points before getting the pin with 49 second remaining in the bout.
Artherton won by fall over Tyler Dumas (Hallsville) in his first match, but could not score on eventual fifth-place medalist Wyett Shipman (Excelsior Springs) in a 6-0 quarterfinal decision. Thompson faced Gage Jones (Cameron), eventual fourth-place medalist, in his opening bout, tying it at 5-5 but getting reversed in the final minute to lose by 2. He then battled Keaton Reeves (Herculaneum) to a 4-2 decision and day two match.
Day two was a mixed bag of results, beginning with a tough pair of semifinal losses. James lost a 3-2 decision to state runner-up Jackson Snider (Logan-Rogersville), a wrestler he was 2-1 against throughout this season. The match was tied 2-2 as the third-period clock wound down, and Snider scored an escape with only seconds remaining to seal the victory.
Roark also fell to the eventual state runner-up, Evan Winters (Ste. Genevieve), pinned at 5:05. Both medalists in 2023, as well, Winters led 5-0 after the first-period, and through a bloody nose that kept needing attention, Roark managed an escape point in the second but was pinned midway through the third.
Artherton picked up a 13-7 decision over Gavin Stone (Potosi) to reach the bubble match, and Thompson pinned Kaden Barnes (Fulton) in 42 seconds to reach the same.
Artherton then lost a 9-6 decision to Lucas McMenemy (Clinton), pulling within 2 points twice but unable to knot it up.
“Kaleb had a great year, and if you saw him at the beginning of the season to now, you can see his confidence building,” Fortner said. “He’s also very coachable and can make adjustments mid-match. He will be a very technical wrestler and a special kid for the next three years with the level he is as a freshman. The kid who won first at 106, Kaleb lost to him by just one point in the Harrisonville tournament, so he’s right there.”
Artherton said he thought he could have performed better.
“I feel I could have done better with effort and put more into the matches,” he said. “It was cool wrestling in such a big stadium, and it felt good to be with the team and all make it to the second day.”
Thompson moved into the medals with a pin of Mason Evans (Marshall) in 4:07, fabricating the fall out of a third-period reversal when up 9-2.
In the consolation semifinals, James bounced back with a 6-2 decision over Caden McLallen (Plattsburg), and Roark pinned Gage St. Clair (Moberly) in 4:06 while up 10-0. Thompson lost a 6-2 decision to Gage Jones (Cameron), snapping his three-match win streak.
All three Wildcats wound up on consecutive mats in the third- and fifth-place matches round, but victory was not in the cards.
James lost a decision to Troy Gustin (Pleasant Hill), 8-5, coming on strong at the end of the match but running out of time. Thompson lost a decision to Michael Scott (Odessa), 4-2, and Roark was pinned by Colton Brendel (Sullivan) in 2:18.
Despite ending with losses, the Wildcats are encouraged with the improvement, which is becoming the driving force for a team that may double its number of qualifiers in coming seasons.
“It feels good to be back at state and wrestling, but I have a lot to improve on before next year,” Thompson said. “There are some positions I need to learn to battle through. But, I was glad to be able to battle back and able to place.”
Fortner said Thompson is among two former wrestlers — Zach Coenen and Keaton Artherton — who have medaled after losing their opener.
“It takes a special person to recover from that first loss,” Fortner said. “He’s a hard-working kid. His goal was to win it all, and now that goal was gone. It says a lot about him that he was able to battle all the way back to placement.”
Of his performance, Roark said his future includes lots of time on the mat.
“It feels nice to be in a different place, and I could tell I got better,” Roark said. “But, there’s still work to be done.”
Fortner said Roark is an exciting wrestler to watch, and when he’s on, he’s tough to stop.
“There’s time he has technical errors or relaxes for a certain reason, and when he figures that out, he’ll be a force in the next two years,” Fortner said.
Roark said his highlight moment of the tournament was pinning his Moberly opponent in the consolation semifinal.
“He was punching me in the face, then he ran into that lap drop and I got the pin,” he said.
“It was getting chippy but within the rules,” Fortner said. “That kid pushed at the wrong time and Colt pinned him; he’s got some high-flying moves like that.”
James was content with moving a place up, and he’s keep on keeping it going.
“I feel better knowing I improved through the season since last year,” James said. “That’s a boost of confidence for me going into next season and working hard.”
Riley was seconds away from being in the final, and I know that was his goal, but I hope that motivates him these next two years,” Fortner said. “He’s a fun kid and well-known in the wrestling world, he and Colt both. They keep it light, sometimes too light at times, but they show a lot in the way they wrestled. I’m super proud of all four of my wrestlers, and for Riley, Tristan and Colt did not hit their goals because they all had their moments in the tunnel crying when they let it slip away. Hopefully, that motivates them.
“I know they are just sophomores, but all three will have to step up and be great team leaders by example every day.”
Part of the binding holding the Wildcats together is their history wrestling with one another and their family connections in the program. James’s and Roark’s older sisters, seniors Faith James and Hailey Roark, joined them at the tournament, with Faith winning the 135-pound title and Hailey finishing fourth at 140 pounds.
“It’s really fun with the experience of all of us coming together and doing good,” Colten said. “I think my sister helps me because she’s proud of whatever I do and always wants me to do my best and work hard.”
“I like all our families being together, and I wish we had more teammates here,” said James, sho also has a younger brother, Jesse, who just missed state qualification. “It’s fun spending time with my sister and friends, just having fun and wrestling.”
Another familial connection is a coach-son duo, Troy and Tristan Thompson.
“I love having him in my corner,” Tristan said. “He helps me a lot mentally and gives me something to wrestle harder for.”
Being a first-time medalist, Fortner insisted Troy bestow the weight upon Tristan at the medal ceremony.
“It’s a special moment for a dad to put a medal on his son,” Fortner said. “Tristan’s dad is a volunteer coach for us and coached them through youth.”
Looking to next season, Fortner said the Wildcats will return a ton of talent, and even more is on the horizon.
“The boys will be building,” he said. “We have a great eighthgrade lass coming up that will fit in the lineup well.”
Along with the four qualifiers, Cassville had four more wrestlers only one district win away from qualification.
“This progression says a lot about our coaching staff,” Fortner said. “They are great with al the kids and are knowledgeable about the sports, and they build the kids up. Take Coach [Matt] Allen; before the blood round match he was getting Kaleb warmed up and going live with him in his suit and tie. He was dripping sweat when we left the warm-up. He has great communication with Kaleb, and our new coach, Tinker Kinser, is really great with our heavyweights.”
Having great staff, Fortner said, allows him to focus where he needs.
“I don’t have to be everywhere at once and I know I can step back and the kids do well,” he said. “And, my dad, [Chris Fortner], gives me great insight and is a knowledgable scout. Casey [Parsons] I also amazing with the girls. I’m proud of the way the program is going. We’ve had individual success, but I think soon we will have more team success.”
Artherton captured the program’s mindset as the final matches ended in Columbia.
“I’m coming back ready to learn more stuff and to just get better,” Artherton said.
