Area wrestlers finish up season

We're back from Mizzou Arena for the final day of state wrestling.

Five area wrestlers wrapped up their season in the third and fifth place matches, finishing with two wins and three losses.

Lee's Summit senior Spencer Courier was able to overcome a couple injuries to his knee during the second period that stopped the action to pick up a 9-2 decision over Blue Sprigs South's Austin Eads.

Courier opened things up in the second period, extending his lead from 2-0 to 6-0 with an escape, a takedown and a misconduct point from Eads, which was a result of the injury to Courier's knee.

This was a great way for Courier to finish up his career. After taking fifth last season, Courier was probably the second best wrestler at 130 pounds, but his surprising loss in the district finals last weekend to Park Hill's Russell Coleman put him on the same side of the bracket as top-ranked Terrell Wilbourn.

Also winning today was Lee's Summit's Dylan Case. He was locked in a chess match with Blue Springs' Donnie Horner and scored a takedown late in the third period to go up 3-1. He held on for the 3-2 win.

"I was setting up shots earlier in the match and he was playing good defense," Case said afterward. "I knew if I tried to shoot I had to go 100 percent. I saw a windown and I went for it."

It was great to see Case go home with a state medal after a promising junior year that saw him go 0-2 at state last season.

Lee's Summit West's Jake Logsdon and Evan Boehm each took fourth.

Logsdon was locked in a tough match with Ft. Zumwalt West's Trevor Weist, who came in ranked No. 2. With the score tied at 1 in the third period, Weist got a takedown and let Logsdon back up to make it 3-2, but the West senior could never get the final takedown for the lead.

"When he was up 3-2 I could tell he just wanted to hand fight," Logsdon said, "so it was hard to get control."

Boehm had a rubber match with Ray-Pec's Andrew Mueller, and after the way the first two matches went, many were expecting another tight battle.

Well, it was that way for about a period and half until Mueller got a takedown and put Boehm on his back for the pin, putting a sudden end to the match.

Lee's Summit's Josh Howard was the other local wrestler remaining at 171. He lost a heartbreaker to Winnetonka's Dan Capp. Howard held a 4-3 lead until Capp took one last shot at the end and got a takedown as time expired for the 5-4 win. Howard still had a fantastic tournament, coming one match from the finals.

For everyone but Boehm, even if they didn't finish with wins, it had to be a great way to finish their careers, medaling at state.

"To know I placed was the coolest feeling," Logsdon said of how he felt after guaranteeing himself a medal.

Said Case, "It definitely feels good to medal and to win my last match is even better. It nice to end on a good note."

And after four years of training and keeping his body in tip-top shape, Logsdon knows what he's doing tonight.

"I'm going to have a huge steak dinner," he said with a smile.

They've all definitely earned it.

Thanks to everyone who followed along and make sure to check back later for a few more comments from the wrestlers. Also, check Wednesday's Journal for a full story and photos.