With the wrestling season coming to an end, all the state qualifiers went up to the Mizzou arena for our school’s first ever state tournament. The team brought eight boys and one girl and went home with a very impressive four placers, one of which took fifth, two of which were finalists and Cassidy Benwell who went home with a state title. 

Cassidy has worked hard all year to get to where she is, being the school’s first state champion. Cassidy made lots of new first and records, but she also created memories that the team as well as her will never forget. 

“My favorite part about state was being with my team and coaches and my favorite memory was when I pinned my opponent and stood up and realized what just happened,” Cassidy Benwell (‘24) said.

Our school didn’t only have success in Cassidy’s state title. They had success with many other places as well, with Kaden Purler (‘25) being a state finalist and getting second and Jackson Sapp (23) also being a state finalist and getting second. Chad Benwell, Cassidy Benwell’s brother, also placed and finished the season with an impressive fifth place at state.

Sapp and Purler finished their season with a very impressive second place and look to both get state titles next year. 

“Winning my first match and getting it out of the way really gave me a confidence booster and made the whole tournament a lot easier,” Purler said.

This impressive team has a great future ahead of them.

 “It was really cool to get second, but I am going to work very hard to get better over the off-season and get better and get that state title next year,” Sapp said.