High school wrestling preview

It is time to hit the mat for the area wrestlers.

Whitfield’s Charlie Sherertz is back for his 17th season at the helm of the Warriors. Whitfield is the defending Class 1 state champion and returns three individual state champions in Chris Wilkes, who has signed to go to North Carolina State; Will Hahn, who is expected to sign shortly with Duke, and his younger brother, Rodney Hahn.

Eureka has 10 matmen back from last year’s squad that went undefeated in dual action and won the rugged Suburban West Conference. Matt McClimens won state at 182 pounds as a junior and will move up to 195 for his senior season.

After 15 years at Lafayette, Scott Sissom moves over to take the reigns at Marquette.

Jonathan Sumner is the new head coach at Lafayette. He has 10 seniors back from last year’s squad.

Parkway West is building a program in 2012-13 and has new coach, Dan Didier, to do it. Didier spent the past nine years as the assistant coach at Parkway Central.

Here is a look at the teams in alphabetical order:

 

CBC CADETS

2012-13 record: Finished 15-12 in duals. Had seven state qualifiers, two place winners in graduated Alec Maglione finishing sixth at 138 and Bay Roehr finishing sixth at 106.

Coach: Rocky Streb. Entering fourth year at CBC with a record of 40-25.

Returning wrestlers: 27

Wrestlers to watch for this winter: sophomore Brendan Fisher at 106, junior Bay Roehr at 113-120, senior Alec Fisher at 113-120, senior Mike Goad at 120-126, senior Nick Streb at 126-138, junior Spencer Roehr at 132-145, sophomore Jordan Davis at 170-195, junior Luis Martinez at 195-220, junior Tim Gant at 220-285

Goals: At this point, if you don’t plan on winning state, you shouldn’t be fielding a team.

Metro Catholic Conference teams: Chaminade, CBC, De Smet Jesut, St. Louis University High, Vianney

Favorites to win conference: I like our chances; not actually interested in what the other teams are doing.

Class 4, District 1 teams: CBC, De Smet Jesuit, Fox, Jackson, Kirkwood, Lafayette, Lindbergh, Marquette, Mehlville, Oakville, Parkway South, Seckman, St. Louis University High, Vianney. I like our chances; the prognosticators like Seckman and Lafayette.

Quote: “Our numbers are the highest we’ve had in four years; about 80 boys have given it a try,” Streb said. “When the dust has settled, we should have 50 pretty tough guys to field at meets and tournament. These guys are working hard and will be well prepared for what comes.”

 

DE SMET JESUIT SPARTANS

2012-13 record: Finished 3-6 in duals

Coach: Paul Durham.

Returning wrestlers: seven

Wrestlers to watch for this winter: senior Nick Wunderli, who was a state qualifier;  senior Mitch Carpenter at 132; senior Joel Beal at 145; senior Matt Bergjans at 152; senior Bobby Christman at 160; senior Matt Volmert at 170

Newcomers expected to contribute: freshman Sean Christman at 132 and freshman Carson Green at 138

Metro Catholic Conference teams: Chaminade, CBC, De Smet Jesuit, St. Louis University High, Vianney

Favorites to win conference:  Hope to contend for the MCC title, but lack of numbers might be a problem. CBC, Vianney and SLUH are always solid so the conference should be tough.

Class 4, District 1 teams: CBC, De Smet Jesuit, Fox, Jackson, Kirkwood, Lafayette, Lindbergh, Marquette, Mehlville, Oakville, Parkway South, Seckman, St. Louis University High, Vianney

Quote: “I am looking forward to a great season,” Durham said. “The seniors have been working hard and expectations are high. We have a tournament early next month so hopefully we will be ready.”

 

EUREKA WILDCATS

2012-13 record: Finished 10-0 in regular duals season on all three levels. Placed first in the Suburban West Conference. Tied for second at the Class 4 District 1 tournament with Jackson and behind Seckman. Qualified six wrestlers for the state tournament and placed 12th in Class 4. Matt McClimens won state at 182.

Coach: Tim Yancey. Entering fifth year as head coach at Eureka.

Returning wrestlers: 10

Wrestlers to watch for this winter: senior Matt McClimens at 195; senior Luke Gentry at 182-170, who was a sixth-place finisher a state at 160 last year; senior Luke Seiler at 125, who is a three-time state qualifier; senior Brett Judkins at 220; junior Travion Martin at 113; junior Evan Estopare at 120; sophomore Clayton Wegener at 120; junior Brendan Krask at 132; junior Ben Schroeder at 152-145; sophomore Zach Seiler at 160

Newcomers expected to contribute: sophomore Makoto Sullivan at 106, senior Justin Slattery at 145, senior Kyle Ridings at 160

Goals: Team goals are to win the conference, win the district, and bring home a state trophy. Each wrestler should have his own individual goal, whether it is to medal at state, qualify for the state tournament or make the varsity lineup.

Suburban West Conference: Eureka, Lafayette, Marquette, Mehlville, Northwest, Oakville, Parkway South

Favorites to win conference: Has to be Northwest, Lafayette and Fox. They have some tough kids on those teams.

Class 4, District 3 teams: Eureka, Hickman, Jefferson City, Joplin, Kickapoo, Lee’s Summit West, Nixa, Northwest, Ozark, Raymore-Peculiar, Rock Bridge, Springfield Central, Waynesville

Quote: “I like what I have seen so far from this year’s team,” Yancey said. “Many of them are focused on what they have to do to achieve the team’s goals and their personal goals. Practices have been excellent. They drill intensively, and live wrestling time is very aggressive. It is a long season, and our pace is to peak at the right time of districts and state. We are now in the Class 4 District 3 tournament. This was an unknown change until a few weeks before the season started. Fortunately for us, we see many of the top teams in this district throughout the season. Most of the teams will be at the Helias Duals on Dec. 7 and the Winnetonka Invitational in January. We would have rather stayed in our previous District 1, but it is what it is.”

 

LAFAYETTE LANCERS

2011-12 record: Qualified six wrestlers for state with two medalists. Ryan Jones finished fourth and Nick Olejnik wound up third.

Coach: Jonathan Sumner. Entering first year as head coach at Lafayette.

Returning wrestlers: Ten varsity wrestlers from last year and three more that were in and out of the lineup.

Wrestlers to watch for this winter: senior Kirk Bradley, sophomore Alec Reid, senior Nick Olejnik, junior Adam Bogar, senior Kevin Root, junior Christian Alexander

Newcomers expected to contribute: freshman Tim Bogar, freshman Alex Wier, sophomore Jason Carson, freshman Brendon McKenna, junior Riley Baum, junior Lars Swedberg, sophomore Justin Perry

Goals: Be conference champs and district champs and qualify as many kids as we can to state and get as many state medals as we can.

Suburban West Conference teams: Eureka, Lafayette, Marquette, Mehlville, Northwest, Oakville, Parkway South

Favorites to win conference: Eureka, Northwest

Class 4, District 1: CBC, De Smet Jesuit, Fox, Jackson, Kirkwood, Lafayette, Lindbergh, Marquette, Mehlville, Oakville, Parkway South, Seckman, St. Louis University High, Vianney

Quote: “Last year, we had a really young team and it was a very exciting year watching them progress,” Sumner said. “We are still rather quite young again this year, but we are returning a lot of kids. It will be fun to see how the year progresses and the gains these kids will make. I am excited to see how it goes. We have a lot of kids on that border of becoming really competitive wrestlers if they are willing to work hard. We will just have to see how it all plays out.”

 

MARQUETTE MUSTANGS

Coach: Scott Sissom. Entering first year at Marquette after 15 years at Lafayette.

Returning wrestlers: One state qualifer.

Wrestlers to watch this winter: junior Brett Stoffel who wrestled at 106 last year and this year will be 120 or 113; senior Saad Sheik at 126; junior Noah Reid at 138; junior Michael Wirick at 152; junior Christian Wirick at 160; junior Trevor Thorton at 171; senior Matt Bruer at 195; junior Hunter Delgado at 220

Suburban West Conference teams: Eureka, Lafayette, Marquette, Mehlville, Northwest, Oakville, Parkway South

Class 4, District 1: CBC, De Smet Jesuit, Fox, Jackson, Kirkwood, Lafayette, Lindbergh, Marquette, Mehlville, Oakville, Parkway South, Seckman, St. Louis University High, Vianney

Quote: “The administration helped me bring in some excellent young coaches,” Sissom said about Jake Deifenback, a two-time national champ; Matt Cauley, a national champ; Brian Oeschner, an undefeated state champ; Bobby Conn, a two-time state champ. “I am excited to help these young guys rebuild the program.”

 

PARKWAY SOUTH PATRIOTS

2011-12 record: 7-2

Coach: Jim Lake. Entering third year at Parkway South.

Returning wrestlers: eight

Wrestlers to watch for this winter: We have a strong group of experienced wrestlers mixed with some talented newcomers. We are really challenging our guys to see who will rise to the occasion.

Goals: Finish in the top third of the conference. Anything is possible from there.

Suburban West Conference: Eureka, Fox, Lafayette, Lindbergh, Marquette, Mehlville, Northwest, Oakville, Parkway South

Favorites to win conference: Suburban West is always a tough conference to call. Lafayette, Northwest and Eureka will be very tough among others.

Class 4, District 1: CBC, De Smet Jesuit, Fox, Jackson, Kirkwood, Lafayette, Lindbergh, Marquette, Mehlville, Oakville, Parkway South, Seckman, St. Louis University High, Vianney

Quote: “Having a fairly large graduating class last year, this year is providing an opportunity for some of the younger wrestlers in the room to step up,” Lake said. “That being said, we have a large group of guys who wrestled varsity last year as freshmen and sophomores ready to take a leadership role. The district will look a little different look with Northwest and Eureka moving out, and De Smet and CBC moving in. That being said, Seckman and Jackson will be very tough this year.”

 

PARKWAY WEST LONGHORNS

Coach: Dan Didier. Enters first year as coach at Parkway West after serving as an assistant coach at Parkway Central for the last nine years.

Returning wrestlers: Six

Wrestlers to watch for this winter: senior Kyle Campbell at 138, junior Thomas Skelly at 152, sophomore Noah Bozue at 160, sophomore David Casanova at 126, sophomore Jacob Goldblum at 195, sophomore Keith Pernell at 145

Newcomers expected to contribute: freshman Chandler Patterson at 106

Goals: To finish the season with a winning record and advance four or more wrestlers to the state meet

Teams in the Suburban South: Kirkwood, Parkway Central, Parkway North, Parkway West, Seckman, Summit, University City, Webster Groves

Teams Class 3, District 2: Chaminade, Fort Zumwalt East, Fort Zumwalt North, Fort Zumwalt South, Gateway, Hannibal, Ladue, McCluer, Normandy, Parkway Central, Parkway West, Riverview Gardens, Warrenton, Westminster Christian Academy

Quote: “This year, we have a tremendous number of young wrestlers focused on improving themselves on and off the mats,” Didier said. “While focusing on the ‘Wrestling Circles of Success: Skills/Ability, Conditioning and Heart,’ we are starting to build a strong program. I look forward to an exciting season where we surprise ourselves and some others.”

 

WESTMINSTER CHRISTIAN ACADEMY WILDCATS

2011-12 record: Finished 14-1 in duals, Fourth in Class 2 District 2, seven state qualifiers with one medalist.

Coach: Tim Muehleisen. Entering 14th year at Westminster Christian Academy.

Returning wrestlers: Nine with five returning state qualifiers

Wrestlers to watch for this winter: senior Joseph Welker at 113, senior  Mike Nothum at 132, senior Dominic Barresi at 138, senior Will Egan at 145, senior  Keegan Brown at 152, senior Chris Cacciarelli at 182, senior Bennett Lewis at 195

Newcomers expected to contribute: freshman Aaron Gion at 106, junior Dominic Francescelli at 126

Goals: Hope to compete throughout the season. Tournament schedule covers different sorts of teams and different parts of the state, and I want the kids to compete at each level.

Class 3, District 2: Chaminade, Fort Zumwalt East, Fort Zumwalt North, Fort Zumwalt South, Gateway, Hannibal, Ladue, McCluer, Normandy, Parkway Central, Parkway West, Riverview Gardens, Warrenton, Westminster Christian Academy

Quote: “We are set up to have a really nice year,” Muehleisen said. “We have a group of seniors who have been in the lineup together for three years, and they took their lumps as sophomores but are really in a position to be successful this year.”

 

WHITFIELD WARRIORS

2011-12 record: Won Class 1 state championship by a whopping 46.5 points. Have won three state championships in last five years.

Coach: Charlie Sherertz. Entering 17th year at Whitfield.

Returning wrestlers: Lost five seniors.

Wrestlers to watch for this winter: senior Chris Wilkes, defending state champ at 126 but this year will be at 138; junior Rodney Hahn, two-time state champ at 135 and 145 and this year will be at 152; senior Will Hahn won state at 152 and this year will be at 160; junior Saad Raza at 120; junior Andy McLaughlin at 182

Goals: Win the state championship.

Conference: Independent

Class 1, District 1: Brentwood, Central, Centralia, Christian, Cleveland ROTC, Father Tolton, Hancock, Herculaneum, Lift for Life Academy, Lutheran St. Peters, Maplewood, Missouri School for the Blind, Principia, Transportation and Law High, Whitfield

Quote: “It’s going to be a long regular season,” Sherertz said. “When the dust settles in February, I think we’re going to be all right. We’re a little depleted as we lost five seniors to graduation. The ones we have here are pretty good.”