S-C Wrestlers Close Out Season

Smith-Cotton Wrestling's state tournament run came to an end on Friday, Feb. 17, when Blake Pomajzl lost in the second round wrestle-backs in the 138-pound weight class.

Pomajzl held a 2-1 lead halfway through the second period when his opponent scored a reversal and three-point near-fall. Going into the third period Pomajzl was down 6-2; he was able to get a reversal a minute into the third period but was unable to get any more points and lost by a 6-4 decision.

On Thursday night, Michael Laster fell short in his bid to repeat as a state medalist, losing in the first two rounds in the 285-pound class. Laster finished sixth in the class last year.

S-C head coach Charlie McFail said: "This being the first year that Smith-Cotton was bumped up to the Class 4 division for wrestling left the coaches and wrestlers with some questions of how they fit in.

Blake Pomajzl and Micheal Laster answered that question by qualifying for the state tournament in the first year of the new classification. Pomajzl and Laster represented S-C and Sedalia very well and put Smith-Cotton on the Class 4 map.

"I am proud of those kids. They worked hard all year, through the ups and downs, to make it to the State Tournament. They deserve all the recognition that they can get, because what they accomplished is not an easy thing to do."