Ruben Arvizu responded to nearly being caught on his back Thursday by showing off the kind of conditioning rarely seen at 285 pounds.
Arvizu pinned Nixa’s Josiah Farris in 4:46, helping Ozark salvage the final two matches in its 42-30 loss at Nixa.
Near the end of the second period, Farris rolled over Arvizu and collected a near-fall. Arvizu didn’t take long to escape, but related it wasn’t easy.
“Once he gets up on top, it's tough to get out from under him,” Arvizu said. “It scared me for a bit. He's big. It took everything by me to get out of that.”
Arvizu’s confidence that his conditioning would win out was confirmed. He didn’t have any trouble finishing off Farris in the third period.
“I believe in our practice room. In any third period, we've got it,” Arvizu said. “I believe our conditioning is the best in the state.
“I wanted to get a ‘dub' for my team,” he added. “The score wasn't what we wanted it to be. But I wanted to give us a bigger score.”
Entering Saturday’s Branson Tournament, Arvizu has won 13 of his last 14 matches.
Looking ahead to the COC Tournament at the end of this month, Arvizu is motivated to try to earn a rematch against Willard Porter Talbot. Arvizu was pinned by Talbot at 215 in Ozark’s dual loss at Willard.
“I want a rematch,” Arvizu said. “That wasn't the outcome I wanted.”
Preceding Arvizu’s pin, Ozark’s Johnny Williams also won by fall against Nixa at 215. Williams pinned the Eagles’ Champ Porter in 2:12.
Earlier, the Tigers’ Logan Luder (126) and Caden Harrington (132) also picked up pins. Luder pinned Jax Adams in 1:41 and Harrington pinned Ezra Rutherford in 3:53.
Two-time State place winner Damien Moseley won by forfeit at 113.
Ozark was without Keaton Hurst, who has a 14-match winning streak at 126, 132 and 138.
