Tim Karsten News Today

COLUMBIA — Halie Eaton said she came into the Class 1 girls wrestling state championships with the goal of just having fun. Finishing the two-day event standing on a podium with a state medal hanging from her neck qualifies as fun.

Blair Oaks junior Halie Eaton was one of the Lady Falcons’ first two state qualifiers in girls wrestling last season. She needs one more win to become the program’s first state medalist this season. Eaton posted a 2-1 record in the 155-pound bracket Wednesday on the first day of the Class 1 girls wrestling state championships at Mizzou Arena.

If Easton DeMilia was going to win his 100th career match on his home mat, it had to happen Tuesday night. And it wasn’t going to come in his usual weight class, either. DeMilia rallied from a three-point deficit in the second period and scored the deciding takedown with :10 remaining in overtime to win 8-6 against Camdenton’s Logan Tibben in his final match of a quad-dual at Blair Oaks High School.

The Blair Oaks boys wrestling team is getting closer to full strength, and it showed Tuesday night. Blair Oaks won a pair of duals at Blair Oaks High School, defeating Capital City 57-20 and Jefferson City 41-24.

Blair Oaks girls wrestling coach Tim Karsten was everywhere Wednesday night during the Blair Oaks Tournament. With 11 girls competing in 13 weight classes, he was always going from one match to the next. Blair Oaks tied for second place out of 13 teams with 87 points in the final standings. Fulton won the team title with 116 points, boasting five individual champions.

It was a good night on the mats for the Blair Oaks Falcons. After dropping four duals during the weekend in the Missouri Duals, the Falcons responded with three dual wins Tuesday night against Palmyra, Knob Noster and Fatima. The Blair Oaks Lady Falcons also went 3-0 in dual competition.