Pirates’ Culp finishes as state runner-up, four other Hannibal wrestlers earn state medals

COLUMBIA, Mo. — Cody Culp simply couldn’t score on Alexander Rallo.

No one could.

The Hannibal junior wrestler qualified for the 138-pound championship match of the Class 3 state tournament at Mizzou Arena by outlasting three consecutive opponents in matches decided by four points or less. In the title tilt, however, Whitfield’s Rallo never gave Culp a chance, scoring a 6-0 victory Saturday night and finishing four consecutive matches without allowing a point.

Rallo, a senior, pinned his first opponent and then outscored his next three foes 24-0 collectively.

Culp reached the title match by beating Bolivar’s Cooper Moore 7-5 in the opening match, Jefferson City’s Braden Werdehausen 7-3 in the quarterfinals and Branson’s Kyshin Isringhausen 7-6 in the semifinals. Culp trailed 6-3 in the third period of the semifinal bout before getting a reversal with 38 seconds left and a two-point nearfall with 16 seconds to go.

He finished his season with a 48-5 record.

The Pirates had four other wrestlers earn spots on the podium.

Austin Brown at 106 pounds, Reign Creech at 113 and Tristen Essig at 126 each placed third, while Chad Culp finished fifth at 132.

After suffering a 6-0 loss in the semifinals, Brown rebounded with a 15-0 technical fall over Glendale’s Bradley Hiteshew in the consolation semifinals. In the third-place match, Brown and Carl Junction’s Carl Fogelsong were tied at 5 heading to the third period when Fogelsong chose to start on the bottom.

Brown maintained control, scored a two-point nearfall and rode Fogelsong out for the victory. The freshman finished his season with a 41-8 record.

Creech won four consecutive matches in the back draw to earn third place. It started with a pin of Robinson Yoshino in 1:29 and then a 2-0 decision in the ultimate tiebreaker against Platte County’s Caden Hulett in which Creech scored a reversal in double overtime.

Next came a pin of Pacific’s Timothy Link in 2:21 in the consolation semifinals and a 4-2 decision over Carl Junction’s Lukas Walker in the third-place match. Creech, who lost 9-7 to Walker on Friday in the quarterfinals, finished his season with a 35-7 record.

Essig followed Creech’s example and ran through four matches in the consolation bracket to take third. He started by pinning Washington’s Devon Deckelman in 1:47 and earning a spot on the podium by beating Fort Zumwalt South’s Zack Tihen 2-1.

In the consolation semifinals, Essig scored an 11-2 major decision over Warrenton’s Noah Lohrmann and then pinned Jefferson City Helias’ Carter Prenger in 4:48 to finish the season with a 49-6 record.

Chad Culp rebounded from losing his opening match Friday by winning three consecutive matches — a pin of Webb City’s Colt Taylor in 34 seconds, an 11-1 major decision over Raytown South’s Norman Schneider and a pin of Marshfield’s Tanner Davidson in 4:20.

Culp lost a 2-0 decision to Whitfield’s Caleb Carter in the consolation semifinals before taking fifth with a 5-2 victory over Belton’s Lane Cross to finish his season with a 28-7 record.