Poplar Bluff senior Paul Swesey wraps up Andre Taylor of Waynesville during the fourth-round wrestleback Saturday at Mizzou Arena in Columbia. Swesey won the match 6-2 and finished third in Class 3 at 189 pounds. (Kit Doyle/Southeast Missourian) [Click to enlarge]

By TOBY CARRIG ~ Southeast Missourian

COLUMBIA -- Perhaps the hardest part of the MSHSAA Wrestling Championships for most wrestlers is dealing with that first loss.

With the exception of the state finalists, it happens to everyone. It happened to Poplar Bluff senior Paul Swesey during Friday night's semifinals, when the 189-pounder was pinned by Carthage's Austen Heidlage in the first period.

"I guess I just choked up and forgot how to wrestle," Swesey said. "He took advantage of it.

"I was pretty hurt by it. I really didn't feel like wrestling, but I figured I would come out and get the next best thing I could get, third place."

Swesey's response to the defeat was flawless, as he posted two impressive performances Saturday at Mizzou Arena.

He built a 5-0 lead en route to a 6-2 decision against Waynesville's Andre Taylor and then won an 11-5 decision in the third-place match against Kearney sophomore Dillon Brink.

The wins made Swesey, a fourtime state qualifier and sixth-place finisher last year at 171 pounds, the first two-time state medalist in school history.

"He had no problems at all today," Mules coach Brian Wisdom said. "It was probably the best day he's had here. Yesterday, he wasn't at his best. Today, he was on task and doing his moves. He wrestled with a lot more confidence, too.

"I know he wanted to wrestle for first but he did an exceptional job getting back for third."

Swesey jumped all over Taylor in the early going. Then, after being taken down and almost put on his back, Swesey escaped from the Waynesville senior and avoided any further danger for the rest of the match.

In the third-place bout, Swesey and Brink followed a scoreless first period with a 2-2 deadlock in the second period. Thirty seconds into the third, Swesey made a nice throw to put Brink on his back and built a 9-2 advantage with 54 seconds to go, when the match was stopped to address some bleeding.

"We were both aggressive," Swesey said. "That's the scary part because you can get in trouble at any moment. I had to stay relaxed and keep my cool."

Swesey finished the year 30-5. He was going to watch Saturday's championship match with keen interest, having lost to Heidlage on Friday and having suffered a heartbreaking loss by pin in the final seconds last week in the Class 3 District 1 championship match against Windsor's Tim Waltenberger, the other finalist.

"I'm confident Tim will win " Swesey said

Heidlage won the championship 4-3 as Waltenberger gave up a reversal in the final 45 seconds.

Swesey's finish led Poplar Bluff to 21 points in the team standings, which placed them 23rd in Class 3.

Sophomore Zach Surque, a district champion at 112 pounds, lost in two straight, as did 125-pound junior Brandon Bounds.

Junior Kelton Thompson, wrestling at 215, won his first match before dropping the next two. He lost a 3-1 overtime decision to Webb City's Chase Philpot in the quarterfinals that kept him from taking a state medal. Philpot went on to finish fifth. Parkway North's Zach Hayes, who was Thompson's first-round victim in a 6-5 decision, placed fourth.

Heavyweight Dylan Janes, also a junior, won a match in the wrestlebacks.

"We had a lot of wins up here this weekend," Wisdom said. "We talk about getting that first win behind you up here. [Thompson and Janes] got wins, and they have that taste for next year."