BONNE TERRE, Mo. -- In a pair of freshmen, Gatlin Taylor picked up Poplar Bluff's first win of the season and Grace Kearby got the first win for the new girls wrestling event.
Poplar Bluff went 2-1 in its season opener at the North County Quad, beating North County 48-27 and Chaminade 66-12 while losing to Hillsboro 36-33.
"I see a lot of good stuff. Their fight was good. What hurt us was a few technical things. I'd like to see a little more discipline on the mat at times," Poplar Bluff coach Kelton Thompson said.
At 106 pounds, Taylor needed just 34 seconds to get his first pin. He won all three of his matches in the quad and Thompson said he maybe wrestled 90 seconds total on the night.
"The kid from Hillsboro he beat was a pretty solid opponent. It was good to see him pretty much dominate that match from start to finish," Thompson said of Taylor's match.
Kearby (187) defeated Hillsboro's Mackenzie Golden for the first win for Poplar Bluff girls.
"We're excited for Grace this year," Thompson siad.
In the back and forth match against Hillsboro, Garrett McClure (138), Kade Richardson (145), Justin Mitchell (160) and John Smothers (170) picked up pins, along with Taylor. Luke Welborn (195) earned a 4-3 decision over John Bennett III.
There were two other decisions on in the match, which proved pivotal with Hillsboro winning both.
Dalton Litzsinger beat Jake Lawrinenko (126) 6-0 and James Short beat Quinten Bell (132) 8-5. Bell was winning his match with about 5 seconds left when Litzsinger scored a reversal.
"It was a back and forth battle with them and had several ones not fall our way in the end," Thompson said.
Against North County, Bell won a 3-2 decision and Wyatt Laalier (182) won 17-10 over Jase Odle.
The Mules also scored pins from Gavyn Hays (220), Kendrick Gordon (285), Kade Richardson (145), Taylor, Mitchell and Smothers.
Poplar Bluff was two matches away from sweeping Chaminade. The Mules at 170 and 132 pounds and 120 was a double forfeit, but the Mules scored pins in every other class.