After three seasons of climbing the tall Class 3 ladder, the Hillsboro boys wrestling team is one rung away from a state championship.
The Hawks finished 10th three years ago, third in 2021 and second in February at Mizzou Arena in Columbia. Whitfield, a private school in St. Louis County, has won the last two Class 3 state titles. The Missouri State High School Activities Association released class and district assignments last week and Hillsboro (District 1) and Whitfield (District 2) are again in Class 3.
With two state champions – seniors Gavin Alexander (106 pounds in 2020) and Evan Morris (152 in 2022) – and a host of medalists returning, Hillsboro is poised to win the school’s second team state championship across all sports. The Hawk boys cross country team corralled the first one at the Class 4 state meet in Columbia earlier this month.
Alexander and two-time state medalist Griffin Ray, a senior, were still playing for Hillsboro’s football team, which lost to St. Mary’s 55-34 in the Class 4 state quarterfinals on Saturday.
“We’re not so much focused on the idea this is our year or we have to win state, it’s more how do we get better each day,” Hillsboro head coach Matt Mitchell said. “These guys have established themselves at the highest level and they hold each other accountable.”
The Hawks sent 10 wrestlers to the state meet in Columbia last season and half of them won medals. Coinciding with its rise at the state level, Hillsboro has won the last three Jefferson County Activities Association championships.
The format has changed for this year’s state meet. Classes 1-2 for the boys and Class 1 for the girls will take place at Mizzou Arena on Feb. 22-23, while the Class 3-4 boys and Class 2 girls competitions are set for Feb. 24-25.
Hillsboro’s boys have plenty of talent in the middle of the 14 weight classes that have subtly changed this year (see The County Line column). But on the low and high ends, the Hawks will rely partly on freshmen who are “program wrestlers,” athletes entering high school with plenty of competitive experience. That pipeline feeds Hillsboro’s consistent improvement.
Freshmen Carter Wallis and Evan Litzsinger wrestle at 106 pounds. Litzsinger is the brother of 2022 Hillsboro graduate Dalton Litzsinger, a three-time state medalist. Sophomore Gabe Barnett posted 31 wins last year, including a 106-pound match at state, and is back at 113. Sophomore Jordan Penick won 32 matches and two 113-pound bouts at state and is in the mix at 120 or 126 with senior Blake Jackson and junior Aidan Black. Jackson was 31-11 and a state qualifier at 132 and Black qualified for state as a freshman.
Alexander and sophomore Jackson Tucker will wrestle somewhere between 126 and 138. Alexander, a three-time state medal winner, lost a 3-2 decision in the state final at 120 last season. Tucker won 44 matches as a freshman and lost a memorable 5-2 decision to Whitfield’s Alexander Rallo in the state title match at 126.
“Between 120 and 138 we have work to do to figure out where they’ll all line up,” Mitchell said.
“Gavin’s gotten better every year and we expect that again this year. He hasn’t been on the mat in a while. He brings so much experience to the practice room. Because we’re so deep at those weights, he can partner with all those guys and it makes everybody better.”
Senior Nate Barnett is a two-time state qualifier (138 last year) and moves up to the new 144-pound weight class. Mitchell said Barnett is motivated to win his first state medal.
The 152-pound class has been replaced with intervals at 150 and 157. Morris and junior Sam Richardson, a state qualifier at 145 last year, will wrestle at one of those two new classes. Seniors and two-time state medalists Eddie Hines and Griffin Ray fit into the new 165 and 175 weights.
Senior Wyatt Johnson, junior Hunter Rhodes and sophomore Aidan Petit will compete at 190 or 215. Johnson, a product of the Hawk little league program, gets his first shot at the varsity. Morris’s brother, freshman Griffin Morris, is at 285.
In an early-season test, the Hawks will host Seckman on Dec. 1. The Jaguars finished second in Class 4 last season and also return several state qualifiers, including senior state champion Cole Ruble (160).
Mitchell said he and Seckman head coach Ryan Moyer hatched the idea for the battle of the state runners-up last spring.
“Both teams will be ranked in the top two or three in the preseason,” Mitchell said. “We’ve had this in the works for a while. COVID delayed it. There will be some of the best wrestlers in the county and the state. We thought it would be a great idea to showcase those kids.”
This is the fifth season for girls wrestling and the first time they’ll compete in two classes. Jason West, communications manager for the Missouri State High School Activities Association, said last week there were around 1,000 girls in the state’s weight management system, with more to be added, so it’s still too early to tell how many girls will hit the mats.
Heaven Webb was the Hawks’ first girls state qualifier last season, but isn’t on the team this year. Juniors Alleigh Culley (170) and Ella Bingman (135) return as leaders among the 12 girls on the team. Culley finished first in their first meet of the season at St. Clair on Nov. 19.
Girl Tigers are ready to prowl
With the addition of a state medalist, the Festus girls wrestling team is aiming for its best season since the sport began in the state in 2018.
Sophomore Mya Hairston finished sixth at the state championships at 100 pounds last season wrestling for Windsor, a Tiger rival in the Jefferson County Activities Association. Hairston transferred to Festus and joins senior returning state qualifiers LeeAnn Dobbs and Lauren Mills. Hairston beat Dobbs by technical fall in the second round of wrestlebacks at state last season. Mills, a two-time state qualifier, finished third at 130, beating Buffalo’s Skyler Maverick in a sudden victory.
After rising from 56th in the state in 2021 to 13th last season, and adding another state-caliber wrestler, Festus could move up again this year in the Missouri State High School Activities Association’s new classification system for girls wrestling. The continued increase in participation in the sport prompted the addition of a second class. The Tigers and the other girls teams from the JCAA – De Soto, Herculaneum, Hillsboro, St. Pius X and Windsor – are all in Class 1 District 1. The three largest large high schools in the county – Fox, Northwest and Seckman – are in Class 2 District 1.
Jarad Sheppard, a former state medalist for Hillsboro, was an assistant coach for Ryan Moyer at Seckman for three years before becoming the Festus boys and girls head coach two years ago.
“With the addition of a second class of girls wrestling and having a larger girls team this year, my hope is for our girls to make an impression at districts and push more through to state than we ever have before,” Sheppard said.
“(Girls) numbers are growing exponentially every year. (Splitting girls into two classes) will even the playing field between boys and girls and allow girls a better opportunity to qualify for state. Our girls district last year had a weight class with 28 girls in it, (whereas) our largest bracket at our boys district had only 13. I think it’s only going to continue to increase, especially as more and more opportunities become available for girls to wrestle each other at the youth level.”
With the Tiger boys staying put in Class 3, state qualifiers from the two teams will wrestle on separate days because MSHSAA changed the state format to split two-day events. Classes 1-2 for the boys and Class 1 for the girls are scheduled for Mizzou Arena in Columbia on Feb. 22-23, while the Class 3-4 boys and Class 2 girls will be on Feb. 24-25.
Among the leaders for the Festus boys is sophomore Peyton Shaver, who finished 44-8 and came within one win of qualifying for the state medal round at 160 last year. Alex Nickelson (138), Bobby Buehre (144) and Lucas Mercurio (157) are the other top Tigers. MSHSAA adopted new weight classes this year (see The County Line column) and Buehre and Mercurio are in two of them.
“I have key wrestlers on the boys team who were right at the threshold of qualifying (for state) last year, who I feel have made the improvements to qualify for state this season,” Sheppard said. “As a program we have grown going into this season, but are still not quite to the level of having an overly competitive dual team, so I am continuing to place a large emphasis on how we perform on Fridays and Saturdays.”
Twins lead Dragons
De Soto seniors Asa and Isaac Foeller are not only twin brothers, they’re state medalists as well.
Last season, Asa finished 37-7 and placed fifth at 195 (Class 3), while Isaac went 30-3 after a fourth-place finish at 220. Both Foellers will wrestle in different weight classes this season, Asa in the new 190 and Isaac at 285. Isaac lost a 3-2 decision in the state semifinals to Van Horn’s David Lewis, who in turn fell 2-1 in the championship to Platte County’s Jake Fernandez.
Brenton Drummond (113), Thomas Bradley (126), Trenton Hunter (132) and Drake Peller (145) will give the Dragons a strong nucleus at the lower weights.
On the girls side, De Soto junior Ella Bradley was 44-3 and finished third in the state at 159. Hannah Eberhardt was sixth at state at 149 but graduated in the spring. Girls weight classes changed as well. Bradley will be at 155.
De Soto head coach John Brown said the high school program’s participation has stayed the same, but the junior high numbers have increased.
“We have a young team overall but have two returning state placers for the boys team and one state placer for the girls team,” said Brown, who has guided the Dragons for 11 years. “I believe if we stay healthy, the team can mature and be very successful.”
Blackcats return boys, girls state qualifiers
The Herculaneum boys remain in Class 2 District 1 and have two returning wrestlers who have qualified for state.
Shea Eberhardt (220 pounds) was third at districts and moves up to heavyweight. Josh Hurt qualified for state for two years and returns in the 120-126 range. Hurt should exceed 100 career wins this season. Three-year varsity veteran C.J. Asinger, a state qualifier in track and field, returns at 113-120. Lucas Bach (120-126), Keaton Reeves (145), Payton Light (165), Devon Hagan (175) and James Mouyassar (215) are works in progress among the team’s other top boys wrestlers.
The girls squad will look to Eddyson Reeves for leadership because she’s come close to qualifying for state the last two years, and she’s back at 125, along with returnee Julie Britton (130).
Chris Bahr, an assistant coach at Herky for three years, has taken the reins as head coach of both Blackcat teams. Bahr said girls participation is growing slowly but surely.
“The progression of girls wrestling is amazing,” Bahr said. “The level of participation continues to grow and the caliber of wrestlers is great. Many of these girls are competing at a very high level and that can only (help) the sport of wrestling.”
Lancers begin Year 2
St. Pius X is the new kid on the JCAA wrestling block after adding the sport to its winter athletic menu in 2021.
R.J. Eberhart brought years of coaching experience at O’Fallon, Ill., to jump-start the Lancer program and saw Jon Halfmann (126) and Andrew Boltd (132) qualify for the Class 1 state championships.
St. Pius starts the new campaign with more girls (nine) than boys (eight) on the mat. Hayden Hill (120), Jack McKinley (138), Justin Lehn (215) and Allen Reed (285) lead the boys while Marlee Carter (105), Ava Gilbreth (110), Rylee Bohnert (135), Sierra Hill (135), Ella Chote (170) and Sophie Meyer (190) are the top girls.
Eberhart said girls wrestling in the state will grow for the foreseeable future.
“We have seen tremendous growth both at the youth level and the high school level,” he said. “Girls belong in the sport and work and compete at just as high a level as the boys, from youth to college to world competition.
“We are still very young, with a majority of our team being underclassmen who have either never wrestled or are competing with one year of experience. We continue to develop the team, work hard and maintain high standards. With that in mind, we hope to compete hard and get some kids to the state tournament.”