Class 4 area wrestlers look to get out of districts and advance to state

To road to reach the  82nd Missouri State High School Athletic Association Wrestling Championships begins this weekend with district tournaments.

The state meet will be held Feb. 16-18 at Mizzou Arena in Columbia.

The top four finishers in each weight class advance to compete at state for those three big days in February.

Team competing in the Class 4 District 1 at Lindbergh are Eureka, Fox, Jackson, Kirkwood, Lafayette, Lindbergh, Marquette, Mehlville, Northwest, Oakville, Parkway South, Seckman, St. Louis University High and Vianney.

Parkway South coach Jim Lake said the boys who advance from this district definitely earn a spot in Columbia.

“I think our district is about as tough as they come.  If you take the team standings from the All-Suburban tournament, seven of the top 10 finishers are teams in our district,” Lake said.  “Then you throw in Jackson, as well as SLUH and Vianney, and the field just gets that much tougher.”

Lake said each weight class offers some strong contenders this year.

“That being said, every year a giant falls and newcomers rise,” Lake said. “It all comes down to what wrestlers show up physically and mentally ready to battle.”

Lake said his Patriots are no different.

“They all have very high expectations for themselves,” Lake said. “We’ve really been focusing on the mental aspects of the sport.  It all comes down to the end of the season competitions.  It’s what they’ve been working toward all season.  You have to believe you are the best.”

Parkway South senior Donnell Walker is a returning heavyweight district champ.

Overall, it’s been a good season for the Patriots, Lake said.

“I’ve been very pleased.  We wrestled well in duals, and our tournament performances got stronger as the season progressed,” Lake said. “Our younger wrestlers have grown immensely over the course of the season.  Our seniors have led the way, as you would expect a good senior class to do.  As a team they are very focused.

“This is really an exciting time of year, not only as a coach, but as a fan of the sport.  Every district tournament has stories come out that will be told for years to come.  It’s very exciting.”

Team competing in the Class 4 District 2 at Ritenour are Christian Brothers College High, DeSmet, Francis Howell, Francis Howell Central, Francis Howell North, Fort Zumwalt West, Hazelwood Central, Hazelwood West, McCluer North, Normandy, Parkway North, Pattonville,  Ritenour, and Riverview Gardens.

Parkway North Vikings coach Nigel Kinworthy said he believes this season is as good as any in the state.

“This district is one of the toughest districts in the state and a few individuals who deserve to go to the state tournament will not get to because the district is so tough,” Kinworthy said.

Vikings who Kinworthy expects to get out of districts and reach state are senior Darius Lewis at 220, senior Chris Carter at 195 and senior Derek Weathersby at 182.

One who won is senior David Evans at 138. He hurt his left shoulder last week and will not wrestle in the districts. This happened to him last year as well when he hurt his shoulder in the district finals.

“I feel as if those wrestlers can all make it to state if they wrestle to the best of their ability,” Kinworthy said. “I have told my men that districts is no different than any other time they have wrestled this year.  It is still the same sport but the stakes are higher.”

The season for Parkway North has not been exactly what Kinworthy envisioned.

“The season has been a bit of a disappointment,” Kinworthy said. “We have had some wrestlers become ineligible which has affected our team but we are gearing up for the big dance.  The only think that matters to Parkway North is the state tournament.  No one remembers who won tournaments throughout the year, they care who wins state.”

CBC coach Rocky Streb said he is anticipating a solid effort from his Cadets.

“I go in expecting all of them to perform their best; that means different levels of success for each individual,” Streb said. “When I label them with one expectation or another then that dynamic is skewed.  Answering anything less than I expect 14 state champions would in some way be detrimental to someone.  So, I expect 14 well prepared, peak performances.

“We want state champions and it’s been to long since this school had one.”

Streb said he has been talking to the boys about the district.

“We’ve long ago made the physical preparation, at this point it is the mental aspect we a focused on,” Streb said.     “We strive for an absolute best effort, described as peak performance.  Do that and everything else falls into place. We’ve really yet to pull it all together, not once had our full line-up together.”