"We looked at everything on paper, and we knew it was going to be a battle," Ozark coach Robert Muench said. "It was a matter of making it happen in the water. These boys were pumped coming in off the bus. We had a slow start to the meet, but they picked it up. They just kept that momentum going until the end. I'm very proud of these guys."

Carthage settled for second place with a team score of 284.

"I'm very proud of our team for how they performed,"Carthage coach Braden McBride said. "Our guys stepped up today and performed well."

In the final event of the night, Ozark's Caleb Chrestman swam the anchor leg of the 400 relay, following teammates Blake Schamma, Graham Eisenmann and Trenton Crisp.

With a late burst, Chrestman made up ground during the final lap in order to touch the wall first.

"I wasn't expecting Caleb to have to go half a length of the pool to do that," Muench said. "But he's a clutch swimmer. He used every ounce of his ability, speed and power to pull that out for the team."

Swimming the 400 free relay for Carthage were Brayden Cole, Alex Dahl, Lucas Carter and Ezekiel Ramirez.

"On paper, we thought it might come down to the last event," McBride said. "We raced them in the last event last week, and it was the same result, it was just closer this time. Despite the outcome, it was fun to be part of something like that."

Ozark's Chrestman took first in the 100 freestyle, while teammates Schamma (100 butterfly, 500 freestyle) and Kaden Bowling (diving) also won individual events.

Carthage's Cole won two events — the 200 individual medley in 2:11 and the 100 breaststroke in 1:00. His time in the breaststroke is a pool record.

The Tigers' 200 medley relay team finished second, with Dahl, Cole, Colby Cox and Ramirez competing.

The team of Eli Cox, Zarek Galbraith, Colby Cox and Cole Smith finished third in the 200 freestyle relay.

Ramirez was the runner- up in the 200 freestyle, while Lucas Carter placed third in the 100 backstroke. Dahl was fourth in both the 50 free and 100 free, with Smith taking fourth in the 500 free.

Webb City finished third in the team standings with 249 points.

"My boys swam their hearts out," Webb City coach Shawn Klosterman said. "We had big drops in time everywhere. Our

boys were focused and motivated. We have some key guys out, so I was impressed with our team. We had some big swims today."

The Cardinals placed second in the 200 freestyle relay, with Lathen Forester, Ethan Shipley, Snyper Herron and Emiliano Vasquez competing. Webb City was third in the 400 freestyle relay, with Forester, Mullins-Porter, Shipley and Vasquez swimming.

Shipley finished second in the 200 individual medley and third in the 100 breaststroke, while Forester took third in the 100 freestyle.

Fourth-place finishers for the Cardinals were Austin Mullins-Porter (200 IM) and Emiliano Vasquez (100 butterfly). The Cardinals were fourth in the 200 medley relay.

In the diving competition, Webb City's Antonio Pearce and Asa Morgan finished second and third, respectively, with state-qualifying scores.

Joplin finished fourth in the standings with 206, while Republic (128) and Nixa (60) rounded out the team standings.

Joplin won three events and took second in three others.

"I thought our boys swam really well," Joplin coach Ali Stauffer said. "We had some personal best times and we had a number of guys step up today. They've been working hard, and I know they're tired. We're excited about where we're at."

Joplin's 200 medley relay team of Zane Reavley, Alex Crawford, John Glenn and Ben Wardlow took first in 1:45. Reavley won the 200 freestyle in 2:00, while Crawford took first in the 50 free in 22.72. Crawford placed second in the 100 breaststroke, just tenths of a second behind Carthage's Cole.

Also for the Eagles, Wardlow took second in the 100 freestyle and third in the 50 free and Jacob Glenn was the runner-up in the 100 backstroke. John Glenn was third in the 100 butterfly, Reavley took third in the 500 freestyle The Eagles were fourth in the 200 freestyle relay, with Kohl Cooper, Jacob Glenn, Colin Vermillion and Jonah Hensley competing.

For the first time, a meet between COC rivals was officially a conference championship.

Conference bylaws require six teams for an official league championship. Republic's addition this year gave the COC six boys teams for the first time.

"We've waited for this for a long time and we're happy that Republic added a boys team," Klosterman said. "Making it official is a big motivator for all the kids. And having it come down to the last relay the way it did tonight, you can't ask for a better first official conference meet. It was exciting."

Joplin Globe 10/23/2019 (Used by permission)