WILLARD — Damien Moseley prevailed Tuesday, after nearly being dealt a loss like no other he’s been a part of.
Moseley was on the fringe of being disqualified as a no-show, but even as a late arrival completed a sweep of his opponents in double-dual acton for Ozark. The 126-pound junior picked up a pin in 3:10 against Willard’s Ethan Craft and collected an 8-5 victory versus Republic’s Keaton Overcast.
The latter match initially saw Moseley be a no-show for check-ins and Overcast and the referee proceeded to wait on the mat for a full minute, before Moseley arrived.
“ I was so confused,” Moseley said. “I was sitting with my parents. I thought the jayvee (matches) were going to go first. My parents were like, 'Are you sure that’s jayvee?' I said, 'Yeah, I think so.' Then they told me there was a kid out there waiting for me. I was like, ‘Oh shoot.’
“I’ve seen (disqualifications) like that a couple times at national tournaments, where there are so many matches going on that you can lose track, but never at a dual,” he added. “That's definitely not going to happen to me again.”
Moseley kept his composure and held the upper hand against Overcast, despite giving up strength. Competing at 126, the two-time State qualifier is two weight classes higher than where he expects to be.
“I'm wrestling up quite a bit and he’s definitely bigger than me,” Moseley said. “I let him control ties, which I shouldn't have. I should have kept clearing and looking for my shots.
“I feel like once I get down to 113 I'll be able to control kids with my strength,” he added. “Right now, I have to focus on my technique, which is probably better for me anyway.”
Moseley and his veteran Tigers teammates were part of a double dual like they hadn’t been a part of on the varsity level. Ozark was undefeated in COC duals the last two seasons, but fell to Willard 39-38 and lost to Republic 46-33.
“We’re a young team and a lot of teams have been waiting for this,” Ozark 144-pounder Caden Harrington said.
Harrington gained a split of his matches. He bounced back from an 8-1 loss to Willard’s Caleb Caldwell to pin Repubic’s Greg Hicks in 1:10.
Harrington received extra motivation upon seeing Republic’s Daniel Gonzales mock Ozark after edging Ozark’s Keaton Hurst 4-2 at 138.
“He put his hand up to his ear and waved at us,” Harrington said. “That gave me a lot of energy.”
In addition to Moseley, Ozark’s double winners included Logan Luder at 120 and Teagon Patterson at 132 and Dayton Moison at 157.
Patterson picked up pins in 1:35 and 1:54. His pin of Willard’s Jackson Redd was one of the highlights of the night for Ozark.
“I put him in a banana split,” Patterson said. “Whenever I get legs in, I'll grab the other leg and stretch it out. It’s like a home run. Me and coach were talking and we were doing our game on top. That opportunity came for me so I ran it.”
Ozark 190-pounder Johnny Williams split his two matches. He defeated Willard’s Lorenzo Hayworth by major decision 13-3.
Even with Willard hosting the duals in its cafeteria and making for a loud, congested environment, Williams was able to go about his normal business.
“It's no different than a gym,” Williams said. “We’ve just got to go out and bring it to them.”
Willard 39, Ozark 38
106: Frankie Pichler (OZARK) over (WILLARD) (For.) 113: Nicholas Lamontia (WILLARD) over (OZARK) (For.) 120: Logan Luder (OZARK) over Brady Precht (WILLARD) (Fall 1:08) 126: Damien Moseley (OZARK) over Ethan Craft (WILLARD) (Fall 3:10) 132: Teagon Patterson (OZARK) over Jackson Redd (WILLARD) (Fall 1:35) 138: Keaton Hurst (OZARK) over Gunnar Puryear (WILLARD) (MD 11-3) 144: Caleb Caldwell (WILLARD) over Caden Harrington (OZARK) (Dec 8-1) 150: Noah Rogers (WILLARD) over Gabe Arnall (OZARK) (Fall 1:45) 157: Dayton Moison (OZARK) over Jack Anderson (WILLARD) (Fall 2:59) 165: Gary Walker (WILLARD) over Grady Kerans (OZARK) (Fall 2:21) 175: Jase Motlagh (WILLARD) over Lucas Edwards (OZARK) (Fall 1:28) 190: Johnny Williams (OZARK) over Lorenzo Hayworth (WILLARD) (MD 13-3) 215: Porter Talbot (WILLARD) over Ruben Arvizu (OZARK) (Fall 6:00) 285: Brady Griffin (WILLARD) over J.T. Cordell (OZARK) (Fall 0:14)
Republic 46, Ozark 33
106: Corbin Massey (REPUBLIC) over Frankie Pichler (OZARK) (TF 17-2 5:29) 113: Phillip George (REPUBLIC) over (OZARK) (For.) 120: Logan Luder (OZARK) over Ryder Lindemann (REPUBLIC) (Fall 0:34) 126: Damien Moseley (OZARK) over Keaton Overcast (REPUBLIC) (Dec 8-5) 132: Teagon Patterson (OZARK) over Shea Rogers (REPUBLIC) (Fall 1:54) 138: Daniel Gonzales (REPUBLIC) over Keaton Hurst (OZARK) (Dec 4-2) 144: Caden Harrington (OZARK) over Greg Hicks (REPUBLIC) (Fall 1:30) 150: Kaiden Patterson (REPUBLIC) over Gabe Arnall (OZARK) (Inj. [time]) 157: Dayton Moison (OZARK) over Braydin Casey (REPUBLIC) (Fall 1:51) 165: Manning Wilkins (REPUBLIC) over Grady Kerans (OZARK) (Fall 1:25) 175: Chase Hicks (REPUBLIC) over Lucas Edwards (OZARK) (Fall 1:31) 190: Maddox Wilkins (REPUBLIC) over Johnny Williams (OZARK) (Fall 0:00) 215: Ruben Arvizu (OZARK) over Jaxston Feuerborn (REPUBLIC) (Fall 0:50) 285: Mason Hartsock (REPUBLIC) over J.T. Cordell (OZARK) (Fall 2:58) (REPUBLIC ! 1.0) (REPUBLIC Unsportsman -2.0)
