Jackson wrestling's Alec Bailey keeps hopes alive heading into final day of wrestling state championships

Southeast Missourian

Friday, February 16, 2018

Jackson's Braden Vaugier, right, tangles with Park Hill South's Andrew Mikuls during a Class 4 first-round match at 138 pounds at the State Wrestling Championships on Thursday at Mizzou Arena in Columbia, Missouri.

Paul Kopsky ~ STLhighschoolsports.com

After two days at the MSHSAA Wrestling State Championships, only one local wrestler remains standing.

Jackson 106-pounder Alec Bailey won a pair of bouts Friday at Mizzou Arena in Columbia, Missouri, to advance to the final day of the tournament and keep his hopes alive for an all-state finish.

"He had a really great day," Jackson coach Steve Wachter said. "After he lost his first round he had to win three matches in a row. ... I couldn't be more proud of him. He really got himself mentally ready to go and just did an outstanding job all day."

Bailey survived with a pair of victories in the consolation bracket, earning a tight 2-0 decision over Jefferson City's Garrett Butel in the second round of wrestlebacks. He then came out on the right end of a close battle again, picking up a 3-1 decision over Ozark's Clayton Moisen in a consolation quarterfinal.

The performance pushes the sophomore into a wrestleback semifinal Saturday against Lindbergh's J.P. Homfeld. The Flyer is 44-8 on the season and dropped into the consolation round with a championship semifinal loss Friday.

Jackson's Alec Bailey (top) takes control of Jefferson City's Garrett Butel during a Class 4 wrestleback at 106 pounds at the Missouri Wrestling Championships on Friday, February 16, 2018 at Mizzou Arena in Columbia, Mo. Paul Kopsky, STLhighschoolsports.com

Jackson teammate Braden Vaugier also earned a victory after entering Friday as the only area grappler still in the championship bracket, but he ultimately saw his tournament come to an end when he lost a 5-1 decision to Blue Springs senior Jett Merlo in the consolation quarterfinal.

Prior to that, Vaugier had dropped his championship quarterfinal bout with Waynesville's Sean Sax, who won by pinfall at 3:51. The Indians junior then bounced back in the wrestlebacks, taking a 6-3 decision over Roman Tinoco of Fort Osage.

Indians senior Owen Leible hit the mat for his second day of action after going 1-1 on Thursday, but dropped his bout in the second round of wrestlebacks at 285 pounds. Leible lost an overtime decision, 6-1, to Ryan Skillington of Francis Howell.

"I thought our effort was really great," Wachter said. "I knew our back was against the wall with our seeds we got out of our district and Class 4 is just another animal. It's really, really tough. But I thought our attitude was tremendous and our effort was great and I'm hoping we can really bring something back from the state championships for next season.

"It's a tough chore. It's a battle up here. ... It's so deep with talent. I'm hoping this experience up here really pays off for us."

Cape Girardeau Central's Auggie Phegley also saw his tournament end in the second round of wrestlebacks, as the 106-pounder was pinned in 1:58 by JT O'Rourke of Smithville.

Saturday's action begins at 10 a.m.

Local results

Class 3

106 pounds

Consolation Second Round -- JT O'Rourke (Smithville) wbf. Auggie Phegley (Cape Central) 1:58

Class 4

106 pounds

Consolation Second Round -- Alec Bailey (Jackson) dec. Garrett Butel (Jefferson City) 2-0

Consolation Quarterfinal -- Bailey dec. Clayton Moisen (Ozark) 3-1

138 pounds

Championship Quarterfinal -- Sean Sax (Waynesville) wbf. Braden Vaugier (Jackson) 3:51

Consolation Second Round -- Vaugier dec. Roman Tinoco (Fort Osage) 6-3

Consolation Quarterfinal -- Jett Merlo (Blue Springs) dec. Vaugier 5-1

Heavyweight

Consolation Second Round -- Ryan Skillington (Francis Howell) sudden victory Owen Leible (Jackson) 6-1

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After two days at the MSHSAA Wrestling State Championships, only one local wrestler remains standing.

I would hope to think Dexter is still in the SEMO area. Dexter and Kennett both have wrestlers in the medal round.

-- Posted by Bearcat7 on Sat, Feb 17, 2018, at 10:04 AM
It's important to look at the byline on stories.

Semoball is a combination of multiple newspapers throughout Southeast Missouri. The stories you find here are, typically, the ones each newspaper is running in their print product. So what is one newspaper's coverage area may not apply to every school or newspaper involved on the website.

In this instance, this story was run in the Southeast Missourian, which does not cover Dexter. It is left to the newspaper in Dexter's coverage area to post news about its wrestlers.

-- Posted by Josh Mlot on Sat, Feb 17, 2018, at 9:23 PM

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