Nixa’s Zan Fugitt finishes off high school wrestling career with third Missouri title

Fugitt becomes third Nixa boys wrestler to win three state titles

Nixa senior Zan Fugitt won teh  / Ron Rigdon photo

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Nixa senior Zan Fugitt, ranked third at 132 pounds in the SBLive Sports national high school wrestling rankings, finished his high school career on Saturday night with his third state championship.

“It’s pretty cool just leaving a legacy behind at Nixa as a three-time champ,” said Fugitt, who captured the Class 4 title at 132 pounds. “It’s pretty cool. I’m up there with some of the best that Nixa’s ever produced, like Trevor Collins and Joe Velliquette, so that’s pretty cool to say that.”

Collins won three state titles for Nixa from 2005-2007. Velliquette followed with three championships from 2012-2014.

Fugitt is the third boys wrestler from Nixa to win three state titles but he’s only the fifth boys wrestler from Nixa to win a state championship.

Teammate Brennan Carey, a junior, became the sixth in school history when he won the Class 4 title at 215 pounds later on Saturday night.

Fugitt, who is headed to wrestle at the University of Oklahoma next year, finished his senior season at 50-1. He became one of three boys in Class 4 on Saturday to win three state titles.

“I’ve always wanted to be a four-time state champ, which I fell short of my freshman year when I finished second, but since then I was like, what’s the next best and that was three, so that’s what I went for,” Fugitt said.

Nixa senior Zan Fugitt
Nixa senior Zan Fugitt / Nate Latsch photo

MORE COVERAGE OF THE MISSOURI WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS:

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Whitfield's AJ Rallo caps off high school wrestling career with fourth state championship

Hillsboro wins first Missouri wrestling championship in school history

Liberty boys, Lebanon girls continue Missouri wrestling championship streaks

Missouri (MSHSAA) Class 4 boys wrestling state tournament: Meet the champions, placewinners, top teams

Missouri (MSHSAA) Class 3 boys wrestling state tournament: Meet the champions, placewinners, top teams

Photos: Missouri wrestling championships (Boys Class 3-4, Girls Class 1) finals

Missouri (MSHSAA) Class 2 girls wrestling state tournament: Meet the champions, placewinners, top teams

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Missouri (MSHSAA) Class 1 boys wrestling state tournament: Meet the champions, placewinners, top teams

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Photos: Missouri wrestling championships (Boys Class 1-2, Girls Class 1) finals

Pleasant Hill, Centralia win Missouri state boys wrestling titles; Kearney girls edge Brookfield for Class 1 crown

Missouri state wrestling championships preview (Boys Class 3-4, Girls Class 2)

Missouri state wrestling championships preview (Boys Class 1-2, Girls Class 1)


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Published
Nate Latsch, SBLive Sports
NATE LATSCH, SBLIVE SPORTS

Nate Latsch is a Regional Editor at SBLive Sports overseeing high school coverage for Missouri, Illinois and Indiana. A veteran sportswriter and multimedia content creator, Latsch has covered high school sports in the St. Louis area and Missouri for 20 years, with a focus on high school football, basketball, baseball and football and basketball recruiting.  He has worked for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, STLhighschoolsports.com, the Associated Press, FOX Sports Midwest, MLB.com and Scout.com.  In addition to covering high school sports, Latsch has covered youth, college and professional sports, including covering the St. Louis Cardinals, St. Louis Blues and St. Louis Rams, the University of Missouri and Saint Louis University.