Murphy Wins State Titles At MOUSA Event
McDonald County wrestler Samuel Murphy won state championships in the Missouri USA Wrestling Freestyle and Greco-Roman State Tournament held on Saturday and Sunday at the Missouri State Fairgrounds in Sedalia.
In the Juniors 220-pound freestyle on Saturday, Murphy won his first two matches, both by 12-0 technical fall scores before beating Gavin Gallman of MO West Championship Wrestling by fall in 5:37.
“In the freestyle, his finals match was a lot more exciting than what the result showed,” said McDonald County coach Josh Factor. “At one point in time, he was losing, and halfway through we had him switch things up on the front headlock on offense. He had some good takedowns for four-point scores and was head ahead by seven points when he earned the win by fall.”
Then on Sunday, Murphy won 3-0 as well with a victory over Everett Wood of Central Missouri Wrestling Club by technical fall in the championship.
As part of his wins, Murphy earned a spot on the Missouri Junior Duals Team and will wrestle in Tulsa, Okla., in June.
McDonald County’s wrestlers brought back eight medals in total from the weekend, including Murphy’s victories.
Jayce Hitt placed fourth in freestyle on Saturday and placed second in Greco-Roman on Sunday at 285.
“He’s a younger wrestler in the junior division, had a few seniors to compete against,” Factor said of Hitt. “I felt pretty good about the way he competed — solid performance overall, but definitely room to improve going into next year.”
Jose Mendoza also placed fourth in 120 freestyle on Saturday.
On Sunday in Greco-Roman, Mendoza finished third in 120, while Blaine Ortiz was third at 138, Levi Smith third at 160.
Murphy and Hitt are headed to Las Vegas this weekend to compete in the 17U World Team Trials.