Area coaches and wrestlers agree the Kyle Thrasher Tournament at Francis Howell in St. Charles is as competitive as any throughout the season, including the state championships.
The state meet awards trophies to the top four teams in each of the four enrollment classes. Seven of those 16 from 2024 competed in the 47-team field at the Thrasher meet Jan. 31-Feb. 1. Hillsboro was the highest finisher in the team standings from Jefferson County, scoring 139.5 points for sixth place. Northwest was ninth (126), followed by Fox (15th, 95) and St. Pius X (25th, 49.5). Lafayette took the championship with 186.5 points.
Three county wrestlers reached the finals of their weight classes, and one emerged a champion.
Sophomore Jeremiah Clines of Northwest pinned his first opponent at 165 pounds in 47 seconds before winning by a 20-3 technical fall. In the quarterfinals, Clines (32-3) beat Hillsboro senior CJ Bauer (28-9) in a 4-3 decision, scoring a takedown in the third period. After taking an 11-2 major decision against Eureka senior Blake Forke (26-8) in the semifinals, Clines won the title by pinning top-seeded Collin Conley (28-3), a senior from Francis Howell North. Clines was beating Conley 15-4 when he pinned him in the third period.
“I knew this was going to be a difficult tournament, like districts,” Clines said. “I went out there really wanting to win every match. (Conley) tried to force an overhook and I went through with a head-and-arm headlock.
“It’s no secret. You work hard in practice and go out there and beat people.”
Clines said his biggest improvement has been defending single-leg takedowns.
“At the start of the year, I had trouble defending it and was getting taken down too much.”
Clines could face many of the same wrestlers at the District 1 tournament the Lions will host Feb. 21-22.
“It’s safe to say that Jeremiah is peaking at the right time,” Northwest head coach Ron Wilhelm said. “This tournament proved that he’s firing on all cylinders.”
The Lions entered the meet with two undefeated wrestlers and left with one. Sophomore Cohenn Stark improved to 33-0, winning three matches at 175, but had to withdraw from the second day because of illness. Fort Osage junior Isaac Ward (34-5), third in the state at 190 last year, won the 175 title.
“We would have liked to think (Stark) could have won here,” Wilhelm said. “(The illness) is going around the (wrestling) room and the school, so it’s better (to have it ) now than at districts. We need him to get healthy.”
Northwest senior Lucas Meier was 33-0 going into his finals match at 113 against Fort Osage junior Kaison Schreier (32-1), last year’s state champion at 106. Schreier took Meier down four times in the first period and three in the third en route to a 21-5 tech fall at 3:19.
Meier was third in the state at 106 as a sophomore but missed last season with a shoulder injury. Wilhelm said his comeback season has been remarkable.
“(Schreier) is ranked in the nation. Luke is the last wrestler from Missouri to beat him (at state in 2023). I told Luke after he lost that he’s completed one of the greatest regular seasons in our program’s history – probably the greatest comeback story we’ve ever had. I said, ‘Luke, you can be upset about that match for 15 minutes and then we’re going to reflect on the year you’ve had and get ready for state.’”
After his team mounted a strong third-place finish at the Columbia Hickman tournament Jan. 25, Wilhelm said the Lions had a tougher time at Howell. Clines, Meier and Stark were their only medal winners.
“We didn’t have a good round on the backside,” Wilhelm said. “Everyone got eliminated, except for our two finalists. We were coming off a high at Columbia, where we wrestled really well. We had these two tournaments marked on our calendar because they’re going to get us ready for state.”
Hillsboro junior Carter Wallis has won state championships at 106 and 120 and if he wins a third at 126 this season, he’ll be the county’s first three-time state champion since Seckman’s Kai Orine (2016-2019). But first Wallis (26-6) has to get past a tough opponent in his own district.
Wallis had two pins and two tech falls before facing Farmington junior Aiden Hahn (34-3) in the Thrasher final at 126. In a tight match, Hahn scored the only takedown in the second period and hung on for a 3-1 decision.
“(Hahn) did a great job of catching hands,” Hillsboro head coach Matt Mitchell said. “We were close to a takedown two or three times in the first period and he caught hands there. I’m sure we’ll see Aiden again in a couple of weeks at districts and hopefully at state, too. We don’t shy away from that. Those guys have known each other since they were youth wrestlers.”
Third in the state at 113 last year, Hawk junior Evan Litzsinger (25-5) reached the semifinals against Schreier but had to medically forfeit the match and the subsequent fifth-place match.
“I don’t expect (the injury) to be serious,” Mitchell said.
Hillsboro junior James Penick (25-9) finished third at 120 with a 3-0 overtime victory over St. Michael the Archangel junior Parker Lutz, last year’s Class 2 state champion at 113. Penick was 2-0 vs. Lutz, beating him 15-12 in the quarterfinals.
“I’m really proud of how far (Penick) has come this year,” Mitchell said. “He’s a fun wrestler to watch.”
Junior Griffin Morris of Hillsboro wrestled for the first time in six weeks and took fourth place at 285.
“He was getting the rust off and that’s hard to do at this tournament, but he did a good job,” Mitchell said.
Hillsboro hosts the Don Fuhrmann Duals Saturday.
Fox had three medal winners at the Thrasher meet: Junior Charles Chapman, fourth at 165, and sophomores Kadin Nguyen (132) and Lelynd Stranger (150), each in eighth place. Chapman lost his final two matches, to Conley in the semifinals and a 5-0 decision in the third-place match.
“Today was a down day; (Chapman) had a great day Friday,” Fox head coach Denny Kleinschrodt said. “He wrestled the No. 1 seed and it didn’t go his way. We’re going to have to figure out what we have to do in the next couple of weeks to finish strong.
“Finishing in the top eight (individually) at this tournament is not bad at all. This is tougher than the state tournament because you have multiple classes here with multiple state champions. (Nguyen) wrestled well. Last year he was a JV wrestler, but he’s turned it on and is going to do big things.”
St. Pius senior Peyton Shaver (32-3), who recently won the 150th match of his career, finished third at 175 at Howell on a 12-3 major decision. He ran into Ward in the semifinals and got pinned in the third period. Ward was clinging to an 11-10 lead at the time.
“I was hand-fighting and moving my feet,” Shaver said about his third-place match. “I dominated the match each period and had a full gas tank.”
Senior Justin Lehn (32-6) finished seventh for the Lancers at 215.