Like Seckman, Windsor will get to gauge its midseason form this weekend, at the 24-team Fort Zumwalt East Tournament in St. Peters.
Windsor’s three returning Class 3 state qualifiers – sophomore Grant Pauli and seniors Jacob Warren and Ryan Yarnell – are all 7-0 this season and again look like they are hungry for another trip to the Mizzou Arena in February. The Owls beat Affton (66-9) and Sullivan (44-29) in a tri-meet last week.
“Overall, we’ve wrestled well,” Windsor head coach Kevin Stoffey said. “Some of the younger kids are getting better and making us stronger as a team. With our bigger guns, you expect them to do well and they did.
“We’re pretty strong in the middle weights. The nice thing about a dual is you do tend to get on a roll. You win a match you don’t expect to and it’s a fever and they take off from there.”
Against Affton, the Owls won every match between 138 and 220 by fall, led by Zach Wright at 138, followed by Pauli (145), Warren (152), Chris Butts (160), Connor Richey (170), Yarnell (182), Grant Hogan (195) and Dustin Svoboda (220).
After Warren pinned Nikolas Chavez of Willard in the 145-pound state final back in February, Stoffey warned his talented grappler not to get complacent and Warren assured Stoffey he wouldn’t.
“Chavez was 50-0 going into that match,” Stoffey said. “Jacob told me he doesn’t want to end up like that.”
Yarnell has even more motivation after finishing third at 182 last season. He lost to Webb City’s Hunter Vanlue, who completed an undefeated season with the state title. Yarnell, who won both matches by fall last week, has thought of nothing else and has added some moves to his arsenal.
“It’s hard to believe, but all three of those guys have gotten better,” Stoffey said of his all-state talent. “(Yarnell) doesn’t quit. He’s got a heck of a gas tank and the longer the match goes, the more he dominates.
“He’s a great counter man. If the other guy is aggressive, he’ll turn that against him. He’s gotten a little more aggressive. He’s got some new setups on some of his shots.”
Pauli lost in the “bubble match” for a state medal at 138 last season. Stoffey said Pauli’s technique is still solid and now he’s a more physical wrestler. He won his two matches last week in a major decision and pin.
Connor Richey (170) Grant Hogan (195) and Dustin Svoboda (220) are giving the Owls some much-needed wins in the heavier weights. Richey has been one step away from a state berth in each of the last two seasons. He lost 4-2 to Hannibal senior Austin Carroll at the Fort Zumwalt North Tournament on Dec. 2.
Despite the loss, Stoffey said Richey was close to beating Carroll, a state qualifier last year.
“It could have easily been a win and we almost got a takedown,” Stoffey said.
Hawks without top wrestler last week
Hillsboro was without its top wrestler last week, but the Hawks still crushed Saint Louis University High 71-12 and topped Washington 39-30 at a triangular meet in Farmington. The Hawks fell 56-21 to the host Knights
Senior Dylan Owens, who finished second at 120 pounds in Class 3 last season, did not wrestle with the Hawks in their matches last week. Hillsboro head coach Matt Mitchell said he couldn’t address why Clark was missing from the lineup but he expects him back on the team soon.
“We hadn’t dualed Washington in three years and we felt pretty good about that win,” Mitchell said. “We had a lot of guys wrestle full matches. We lacked some focus against Farmington. We were flat. When it was over, the kids were down.”
Brothers James (120 pounds) and Nick Short (126), both state qualifiers last season, have settled into their weight classes, Mitchell said. Nick won his two matches against Washington and Farmington by fall. James won a 6-5 decision against Washington and lost a 7-4 decision to Farmington. The Shorts both won by forfeit against the Junior Billikens. Last year, James qualified for state at 106 as did Nick at 113.
“They feel comfortable at those weights,” Mitchell said. “It was a big jump for them both. They look strong and big at those weights.”
Junior Joe Becker, who qualified for state at heavyweight last season, won both of his matches at Farmington and won by fall against SLUH. It was Becker’s first action of the season after earning first-team defensive lineman honors on the all-Mississippi Area Football Conference Red Division teams.
“He needs to work on conditioning, but he looked good and strong,” Mitchell said. “We’re excited he’s healthy and ready to go.”
Two more wrestlers who were late to begin because of football are seniors Zach Bodway (182) and Joe Garner (160). Bodway and Garner were also first team all-conference football players who bring toughness and leadership to the wrestling squad. Garner is 7-1 this season.
“Joe and Zach are seniors we can rely on,” said Mitchell, who is in his first year as the head coach, succeeding Lee Freeman. “It’s fun to watch those guys compete. They both fell short for state last year and they’re determined to get there. At a tough tournament like Neosho they had success and won their matches and looked good doing it.”
Tigers finish seventh in Wentzville
Festus finished seventh with 98 points on Saturday at the Wentzville Liberty Invitational. The host Eagles won the tournament with 208 points.
Sophomore Dillon French finished in second place at 106 pounds for the Tigers after he was pinned by Liberty’s Aaron Steinhoff in the final. It was the first time French cut down to 106 this season.
“He wrestled really tough. He had some pins,” Festus head coach Thomas McFarland said. “We wrestled a round robin and it worked out where (French) faced the toughest kid. (Steinhoff) was a tough kid. They had a hard-fought match and (Steinhoff) came out on top this time.”
Festus freshman Andrew Nahlik finished fifth at 113 with a pin in 13 seconds over Michael Dawdy of Liberty JV. The two wrestlers met twice during the tournament with Nahlik winning both matches by fall in a combined 19 seconds.
“Sometimes Andrew gets in his own way but he’s a tough competitor,” McFarland said. “He lost his first two matches and he bounced back and won his next three in a row.”
Other Tiger finishes were Cole Bennett’s fourth at 160 after losing 7-1 in the third-place match. Dylan Jones finished seventh at 132. Dawson Bruno finished sixth at 138. Junior Jacob Cortez finished fifth at 170. Zach Bradshaw was sixth at 182 and Reese Montgomery was fifth at heavyweight.
“(Cortez) is hungry for some wins and it’s good to have a kid like that in your room,” McFarland said. “Reese didn’t have as good of a day as I’d hoped. We lost to a kid we beat early in the year. He has the ability to be a premier heavyweight at Festus but he’s still raw.
“We’ve got a really young team with only two seniors in the varsity lineup. For a young team they’re mature and have a good mental attitude. It’s encouraging to see young guys be like that.”