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The Cassville girls wrestling team was easy to spot at the MSHSAA Wrestling Championships — just look for the girls in party hats and novelty sunglasses.
The Lady Wildcats entered state with high expectations, ranked No. 1 as a team with five members attending, and the group revived the 2022 “Party Time” attitude for another shot at making some noise at Mizzou.
Ultimately, the results were not as high as the team hoped, but Cassville made history nonetheless by bringing home the first ever team trophy, taking third in a field of 98 with 62 points. Kearney won the tournament, with 75.5 points, and Brookfield was second by just half a point.
“We are grateful for what we got, and the girls definitely earned it,” said Nathan Fortner, Cassville wrestling coach. “People don’t realize how tough this tournament is. We battled, and some matches just didn’t go our way. As equally good as day one was, day two was equally bad. That’s just how it goes. Sometimes you get it, and sometimes you don’t, but the attitude and the effort were there.”
Tears were shed by most all of the team’s members, some in joy and some in despair, and some of each at the same time.
“This group loses and wins with dignity, and I’m glad it hurt when they lost because that way you know how much it means to them,” Fortner said. “I hope it also motivates them when they win those matches.”
Senior Annie Moore, a state champion as a sophomore and runner-up last year competing at 115 pounds, opened the tournament as the No. 1 seed with a pair of pins, then drew a semifinal matchup with the No. 2 seed, Southern Boone’s Callie Bergthold. Having eliminated Bergthold by pin in the 2022 Championships, the pendulum swung the other way this year, and Moore dropped a 6-2 decision.
She rebounded in the consolation semifinal by eliminating a familiar foe in Monett’s Jenna Spencer, and she closed the tournament with a pin of Wright City’s Kali Jensen to lock up third place.
“I feel like I choked because I’ve beat the champion and runner- up before,” she said. “But, this was definitely my favorite year with the team, and it makes me sad it’s all going away. It’s fun to come up here and I love them a lot because they are all really talented.”
Fortner said over her career, Moore has been as consistent as they come.
“She has her own style and has kept it all four years,” he said. “I’ve always said you won’t see it outside of a match, but once that whistle blows, she’s one of the meanest, most competitive kids you’ll ever see. The competition level in girls wrestling has grown so much in the last two years, but Annie had worked super hard and I’m proud of her. All of her losses this season were to state champions. She’s one of the best wrestlers I have ever coached.”
Following the semifinal loss, the emotion overwhelmed Moore. After recovering in the consolation semifinal, she entered the third-place tilt with the “Party Time” mindset.
“Going into the third-place match, I asked papa Fortner to wear my party hat and coach Fortner to wear my glasses,” she said. “They said they weren’t going to do it, but then I turned around and they were wearing them, and I realized it was my last time to wrestle.”
Just after Moore’s semifinal loss, James produced a semifinal win, her third pin of the tournament and second in the first period. After the match, her tears of joy were dried as she consoled Moore next to the mat.
That emotional overflow and teammate consolation role was reversed later in the evening when James, wrestling at 130 pounds, was unexpectedly pinned 1:51 into her championship bout with Jefferson City’s Alexis Dunwiddie.
“Sometimes, you need to lose,” James said. “I should’ve won that match, and I will work three times as hard this summer and fall — that’s for sure. It’s the toughest loss I’ve taken in my life, but it will make me better. My goals are bigger than a Class 1 state championship.”
Fortner said after how hard James worked this season, not taking home the title was heartbreaking.
“She worked so hard all summer wrestling in national tournaments, and I think if she wrestles that girl 10 times, she’d win nine,” he said. “After those losses, it’s hard to know what to say. I told her even the best in the world get caught.”
James led the match early with a takedown 25 seconds in, but a Dinwiddie escape and takedown with 10 seconds left in the first period moved the score to 3-2. As the clock wound down, Dinwiddie managed to lock in a 3/4 stack, flipping James on her back for a pin.
“Faith has been dominant all year, and if she got a full 6 minutes on the mat, I think she would have won,” Fortner said. “She just got caught. A 3/4 stack is fairly easy to stop, but she didn’t see it coming. I’ll guarantee you one thing — she’ll never get pinned with that move again.”
When James was asked her view on the moment, the answers weren’t all there.
“I don’t know what happened,” she said. “I think it surprised everyone.”
Two more Cassville wrestlers were one win away from medals, and the fifth picked up one win at the tournament.
Senior Kailey Artherton, at 120 pounds, was unexpectedly pinned in her opening match, but she rebounded with two consolation round pins. In the bubble match, a 3-0 decision with the way of her opponent.
“I did my best and tried my best but I could have done better,” she said. “In my first match, I got screwed over, and a lot of people have told me that. But, in my last match, I think I was overworked a little bit. My brother came out from Utah and surprised me, so he was helping me warm up and I used a lot of energy wrestling him. After the first period, I was gassed and even threw up a little bit. So, I think I was overworked. I didn’t get pinned, but I could have done better.”
Fortner said Artherton’s dedication to the sport and technique is something the Lady Wildcats’ locker room will look to replace.
“We will miss her,” he said. “She’s been in the program since she was a freshman and is one of the more technical wrestlers we’ve had. She has a wide variety of moves and is fun to watch.”
Junior Taylor Glidewell, in the 285-pound bracket, also fell in her first match, bouncing back with two first-period consolation pins before being pinned in the bubble bout.
“I think I could have done better,” she said. “I choked in my last match, but I have improved over the last three years. I will train a lot more this summer and fall to get on the podium next year.”
Fortner said Glidewell has wrestled off and on over the years because her father coaches and brother wrestles, and this year, the love of the sport truly set in.
“She told her dad she wanted a week off then wants to start going again,” he said. “She made huge jumps this year, and I see her on the podium next year. She’s getting better quickly because she listens well and is good on her feet. If she can figure out bottom, she’ll be a tough wrestler for anybody.”
Junior Hailey Roark, at 140 pounds, qualified as a sophomore but missed state by a win last year. She pinned her firstround opponent but was pinned in the quarterfinal by the eventual state runner-up. In the consolation round, Roark took a 7-0 lead midway through the second period, but an asthma attack slowed her in the final 3-and-a-half minutes, and she was pinned with 1:33 to go, still up 7-6.
“I feel like I did OK,” she said. “I made it this year, which is better than last year. I feel I could have done better, but it just didn’t happen.”
Fortner said looking at the medalists at that weight, he knows Roark will be hungry next year.
“I know this hurt her because throughout the season she beat a lot of the girls that were on the podium,” he said. “She works hard and will come back next year, and I expect big things from her and all these girls again.”
As “Party Time” turned to closing time, each of the Lady Wildcats said there were more good memories made than any pain of losses could take away.
“It felt amazing,” James said. “My favorite part of the whole thing was seeing my brother do so well. When he was wrestling for fifth, me and Annie were screaming our heads off and got told to sit down about 100 times. When he won in overtime, I was so proud.”
“I was really excited for us,” Roark said. “We’ve wrestled together for a long time, so to be here and experience this together is awesome.”
“We’ve definitely improved a lot with five of us coming this year and being ranked No. 1,” Artherton said. “It’s also exciting to be getting a state wrestling team award. We’ve grown through the years, and me and Annie have gotten closer through wrestling. We’ve been together with everyone else for three years, and it will be hard to be without them.”
An added memory for the senior was her brother, former medalist Keaton Artherton, making the trip from Utah to watch her wrestle.
“My brother surprising me on my senior years was overwhelming,” she said. “I had just finished my last match on Wednesday and he jumped and surprised me. It was nice for him to be here.”
Glidewell said her favorite part of the trip, being the only first-timer, was the bonds she made with her teammates.
“We did a lot of team bonding, and I don’t think we’ve ever been as close as we are now,” she said.
Moore said even though her career placements at state have gone 1-2-3, the scope of her work is positive.
“I love this program and never thought I would be here or come this far,” she said. “Even though I finished progressively worse in medals, I don’t feel that way.”
Full results from the 2023 Class 1 Girls MSHSAA Wrestling Championships include: 115 Class 1: Annie Moore (446) placed 3rd and scored 22.0 team points.
• Champ. Round 1 – Annie Moore (Cassville) 44-6 won by fall over Alyssa Anderson (North Point) 31-16 (Fall 1:03)
• Quarterfinal – Annie Moore (Cassville) 44-6 won by fall over Delaney Rapp (Windsor (Imperial)) 30-27 (Fall 0:36)
• Semifinal – Callie Bergthold (Southern Boone) 42-2 won by decision over Annie Moore (Cassville) 44-6 (Dec 6-2)
• Cons. Semi – Annie Moore (Cassville) 44-6 won by fall over Jenna Spencer (Monett) 29-20 (Fall 2:03)
• 3rd Place Match – Annie Moore (Cassville) 44-6 won by fall over Kali Jensen (Wright City) 43-10 (Fall 2:39) 120 Class 1: Kailey Artherton (38-8) place is unknown and scored 6.0 team points.
• Champ. Round 1 – Addison Pope (Brookfield) 44-10 won by fall over Kailey Artherton (Cassville) 38-8 (Fall 2:19)
• Cons. Round 1 – Kailey Artherton (Cassville) 38-8 won by fall over Hollyn Zangaro (Ste. Genevieve) 21-15 (Fall 0:52)
• Cons. Round 2 – Kailey Artherton (Cassville) 38-8 won by fall over Brooke Bluel (Monett) 32-18 (Fall 1:41)
• Cons. Round 3 – Jordan Diercks (Lathrop) 41-10 won by decision over Kailey Artherton (Cassville) 38-8 (Dec 3-0) 130 Class 1: Faith James (434) placed 2nd and scored 24.0 team points.
• Champ. Round 1 – Faith James (Cassville) 43-4 won by fall over Natali West (Penney) 19-6 (Fall 0:45)
• Quarterfinal – Faith James (Cassville) 43-4 won by fall over Audrey Declue (St. Clair) 39-16 (Fall 2:53)
• Semifinal – Faith James (Cassville) 43-4 won by fall over Lauren Phillips (Oak Grove) 43-10 (Fall 0:43)
• 1st Place Match – Alexis Dunwiddie (Jefferson City) 53-3 won by fall over Faith James (Cassville) 43-4 (Fall 1:51) 140 Class 1: Hailey Roark (3812) place is unknown and scored 4.0 team points.
• Champ. Round 1 – Hailey Roark (Cassville) 38-12 won by fall over Katie Hendrix (Hillsboro) 28-8 (Fall 5:08)
• Quarterfinal – Tatum Levendahl (Benton) 43-7 won by fall over Hailey Roark (Cassville) 38-12 (Fall 1:14)
• Cons. Round 2 – Gwen Lewis (Smithville) 33-14 won by fall over Hailey Roark (Cassville) 38-12 (Fall 4:27) 190 Class 1: Taylor Glidewell (31-13) place is unknown and scored 6.0 team points.
• Champ. Round 1 – Emma Steimle (Notre Dame (Cape Girardeau)) 23-5 won by fall over Taylor Glidewell (Cassville) 31-13 (Fall 1:45)
• Cons. Round 1 – Taylor Glidewell (Cassville) 31-13 won by fall over Mesa Welch (Polo) 31-7 (Fall 0:44)
• Cons. Round 2 – Taylor Glidewell (Cassville) 31-13 won by fall over Carmen Conner (Lafayette County) 38-12 (Fall 1:41)
• Cons. Round 3 – Kyla Finney (Jefferson City) 44-16 won by fall over Taylor Glidewell (Cassville) 31-13 (Fall 2:37)
