The Class 4 seventh-ranked Nixa Eagles hit the mat at Ozark High School on Feb. 17-18 to compete in the Class 4 District 3 tournament, vying to extend its season an additional week and qualify for the state tournament. 

15 teams, including Nixa, fielded District 3, where the top-four wrestlers in each weight class would punch their tickets to Mizzou Arena.

Atop the team standings with 191 points was Ozark and places two to four were decided by just ten points. Nixa finished fourth overall with 136, trailing Lebanon (143) and Neosho (146). 

En route to its team finish, Nixa placed five wrestlers atop the podium, including three champions, two of which reached career milestones.

The district's No. 1 seed and Missouri's No. 1-ranked 132-pounder Zan Fugitt coasted his way to his fourth-consecutive district title, each in different weight classes. The nation's No. 3-ranked and 2x state champion Fugitt pinned all of his opponents for his fourth-straight berth to the state tournament. In the championship bout, Fugitt defeated No. 3 seed, Canon Roark, of Lebanon, with an early second-period pin after leading 5-0, notching his 46th win of the season. Fugitt's four wins in the district tournament also ties Nixa legend Joe Velliquette for most career wins in program history with 180. He will have a chance to break and surpass the record at the state tournament. Velliquette finished his Nixa career with a record of 180-16, while Fugitt currently sits 180-8, prior to state.

After a runner-up finish in the district tournament a year ago, 215-pounder Brennan Carey entered the 2023 tournament as the No. 1 seed and top-ranked grappler in his weight class with a record of 38-6 and captured his first district title convincingly. In his first three matches, Carey pinned all of his opponents in the first period. He won his championship bout by decision 7-0 over a familiar conference foe, the No. 2 seed from Joplin Draven VanGlider. This win also marked Carey's third of the season over VanGlider. In his quarterfinal victory vs. Ray-Pec's Aidan Carver, Carey's matching-winning pin at 1:24 marked career-win No. 100.

In his debut season and tournament, No. 2 seed 144-lb Curtis Glossip had a very memorable tournament. Glossip entered with a record of 27-11 and finished the tournament undefeated, atop the podium with a district title. Glossip won his first two matches by technical fall (17-0, 16-0) and followed with two decision wins in the semifinals and championship. In the semifinals, Glossip led the entire match and defeated No. 3 seed Lee's Summit West's Grady Mortensen 6-2. He upset the No. 1 seed Michael Foley from Lee's Summit, in the title bout 6-3. Glossip led 4-0 entering the third period after landing a takedown in the first and a reversal in the second. He extended the lead to 6-0 with under 10 seconds in the match, and just as time was about to expire, Foley landed an escape on Glossip for his three points.

The district's top-seeded and state's sixth-ranked 175-pounder Nate Brower (36-9) went 3-1 on the day and earned his second-straight state qualification, finishing as the runner-up after a fourth-place outing a year ago at districts. Brower ousted his opening-round opponent in the first period with a pin and then defeated his quarterfinal opponent by a major decision 10-2. He won his semifinal matchup by injury default, clinching his berth to state. In the title bout, Brower faced No. 3 seed Republic's Connor Sandridge. The two grappled two weeks prior in the COC championship match, and Brower bested Sandridge with a 10-5 decision win. This time Sandridge got an early 5-0 lead which resulted in too big of a margin for Brower to come back from, and fell by a decision of 5-2.

Vying for his second-consecutive state qualification, entering with a record of 34-12 after a runner-up finish a year ago, the district's top-seeded 138-lb Aidan Ward had a difficult journey to punch his ticket but did so. Ward won his first two matches by decision 9-2 and 7-3 but fell in his semifinal matchup by decision to eventual champion Neosho's Carter Howard in a back-and-forth contest 9-6, setting up his next match as a must-win scenario. Ward did as such, and made quick work of Lee's Summit North's Paden Cole by pinning him in the first period and securing his spot atop the podium and state qualification. In his third-place match, Ward faced a familiar conference-foe No. 3-seed from Ozark Levi Maskrod. This match marked the third match between the two of the season. Ward won both previous outings, one by decision and the other by fall. This go-around went in favor of Ward again, defeating Maskrod by decision 6-0 to claim the bronze.
 
Nixa also received strong showings from Avry Rutherford and Tobias Thompson, who both notched at least two wins and fell in the consolation semifinals, one win away from a state berth. The two helped score 10 points in the 136 effort. Rutherford won three matches and dropped a heartbreaker in his final match in an Eagle uniform in overtime 3-1.

After its outing at the district tournament, Nixa will be represented by five wrestlers at the 2023 Class 2 state tournament on Feb. 24-25 at Mizzou Arena: senior Zan Fugitt (132), junior Aidan Ward (138), freshman Curtis Glossip (144), senior Nate Brower (175), and junior Brennan Carey (215).

Fugitt will be making his fourth-straight appearance at state and is a 3x-state medalist (2x champion and 2019 runner-up) seeking to become Nixa's all-time career wins leader and third state championship.

Carey, Brower, and Ward will be making their second-straight appearance. Carey placed third at 195 last season. Brower and Ward seek their first state medal.

Glossip seeks to cap off his outstanding debut season for Nixa with a solid performance and, ultimately state medal.

View full Class 4 District 3 tournament results here.
View tournament photos here.