Cooper Collins still refuses to lose on the wrestling mat, particularly in tournament competition.

On Jan. 28, the Excelsior Springs first-year high schooler won his second straight tournament title, going 5-0 at the Odessa Bulldog Invitational to finish as the 113-pound division champion. Collins’ title followed his championship at the 51st Platte County Invitational, hosted Jan. 20-21 by Platte County High School.

Collins, who won four matches by pin and another by decision, helped the Excelsior Springs boys finish second place in the 11-team tournament with 49 points – 32 points behind team champion Odessa and one point ahead of third-place Kirksville.

Collins was one of two Excelsior Springs champions. Sophomore Ryne Marcum went 5-0 to claim the 132 title. Marcum pinned his first four opponents and won the championship match with a 3-0 decision.

Excelsior Springs also got second-place finishes from Micah Danner and Wyett Shipman. Danner went 4-1. All of his wins were by fall. He dropped a 6-2 decision to Odessa’s Caiden Davison. Shipman went 2-1, falling in the finals to Oak Grove’s Landon Scarborough.

In other tournament results, sophomore Hunter

Scoma, junior Lane Crowley and sophomore Justin Wright each finished third. Scoma went 4-1 at 157, with three wins coming by fall. Crowley and Wright went 3-2 at 215 and 285, respectively.

Gage Carr, a first-year high schooler, went 2-3 and finished fourth. He won a match by fall and another by decision.

The team’s runner-up finish followed a 55-21 thumping of Marshall Jan. 26 at Marshall. Eight Excelsior Springs grapplers snagged on-the-mat wins. The team also won two matches by forfeit.

Shipman got the first Excelsior Springs victory with a 16-0 technical fall over Romey Maupin at 106. After first-year high schooler Gabe Everett’s win by forfeit at 113, Collins pinned Hayden Alberson in the second period at 120.

Dominick Betts – a first-year high schooler who bumped up in weight, as Collins had done – dropped a 9-2 decision to Dillon Mason at 126. Danner then pinned Gavyn Bakert in the first period at 132.

Next, Marcum downed Juninho Zelaya with a 16-0 technical fall at 138. First-year high schooler Desi Perez dropped the 144 match by fall to Mason Evans before Scoma picked up a 3-1 decision over Brenden Marquess at 157.

In other dual results, sophomore Anthony Circo pinned Hayden Igo at 165. First-year high schooler Owen Andreasen dropped the 175 match by fall to Nickolas Arnold. First-year high schooler Britton Baker picked up a first-period win by pin over Chris Davis at 190 – Baker’s first match since being sidelined by a concussion.

Crowley won the 215 match by fall. Wright finished the dual with a win by forfeit at 285.

At press time, Excelsior Springs was slated for a dual Wednesday night at Raytown South.