Lindbergh, Northwest Wrestlers Ready for State

Lindbergh and Northwest are each looking forward to seeing how its many state-qualifying wrestlers will perform on the big stage.

The Missouri state wrestling tournament is under way, as qualification matches were completed at district tournaments across the St. Louis region last weekend.

The Lions and Flyers each enjoyed a strong district tournament at Northwest High School. Lindbergh's Michael Slyman placed first at 152 pounds, and four additional Flyers advanced to state. Lindbergh finished sixth overall at districts.

Junior Slyman, who has a 32-1 mark at 152 pounds this season, represents Lindbergh's best chance at a state title. But four other Flyers will also make the trip to the state finals.

Junior Matthew Ratterree (112), sophomore Sam Stinebrook (119), junior Tom Korenak (125) and junior Christopher Kew (189) are headed to Columbia for the championship tourney.

Ratterree has a 26-15 mark this season while Stinebrook is 31-12, Korenak 26-16 and Kew 30-10. The 81st MSHSAA State Wrestling Championships will be Feb. 17-19 at Mizzou Arena in Columbia, Mo.

For Northwest, 103-pound junior Justin Nahlik (30-16, fourth place), senior Robert Martin (130 pounds, 40-8, third place), senior Brenden Southards (145 pounds, 30-15, third place), junior Cameron Noland (152 pounds, 26-22, fourth place), 160-pound junior Zachary King (35-7, first place) and second-place senior Nick Tufts (45-4, heavyweight) will be aiming for state medals.

The Class 4 District 1 tourney included these squads: Eureka, Fox, Jackson, Kirkwood, Lafayette, Lindbergh, Marquette, Mehlville, Northwest, Oakville, Parkway South, Seckman, SLUH, and Vianney. It was held Feb. 11 and Feb. 12, and produced some gritty performances as wrestlers competed to find out if a season of training, preparation, and meets had readied them for state qualification.

Seckman came out on top at Northwest in team points with 184.5, winning the district on the heels of four individual championship performances. Freshman Brock Wingbermuehle (103), junior Matt Kraus (112), senior Denny Kleinschrodt (125) and junior Blake Pepper (140) led the Jaguars with first-place finishes.

Lafayette finished third at the tournament, and seven Lancers qualified for the state finals. Nick Olejnick (135) captured the only individual championship for Lafayette in a district competition coach Scott Sissom referred to as a rollercoaster ride.

“We’ve had some ups and downs; we would have liked to get more kids into the medal round, but we are strong in the same weight classes where other programs are strong. So we got most of the guys to state we were counting on, and now we have our work cut out for us,” said Sissom.

The Lafayette coach singled out Ryan Siebert (130) and Kyle Black (140) as qualifiers that the team considers dangerous as they head to Columbia.

Sophomore Matt McClimens (189) posted a first-place finish for Eureka as the Wildcats advanced three wrestlers to the state championships. Coach Tim Yancey explained that the whole season comes down to districts, and then, hopefully, state. Though he did not see as many wrestlers qualify as he hoped for, those moving ahead are on track for success.

“We knew Matt would be strong, and we expect him to be a top-six medalist at Columbia. But, realistically, the other kids are going to have to surprise some people next weekend,” said Yancey.

Marquette saw six of its wrestlers qualify for state, and though the Mustangs did not put up an individual champion, they took fifth overall and coach George Hovis commented on his team’s progress being a result of a good process.

“There’s always good and bad, and I take it all with a grain of salt. But our guys worked very hard, and we have some wrestlers like Zach Conn (152), who drew probably the best guy in the bracket and battled his way back.

“Also I look at what happened with Matt (Mosior, 160). He got a rematch against a kid he lost to in a dual earlier in the season; it’s a great script, it’s what we train for all year, great opportunity,” said Hovis.

Parkway South will take three wrestlers to state, including first-place champion Donnell Walker (heavyeight, 285). Joining Walker will be Andrew Hayes (171) and Tyler Sonnabend (140).

Mehlville will see Jimmy Brockman (135) go to Columbia for the finals. Brockman won a minor decision to take third place at the district tournament. Brockman’s opponent, Matthew Jackson, of Oakville, will also make a trip to the finals, along with fellow teammate, Jonathon Bromeier (125), who took fourth at districts.

While area representation is substantial heading into the weekend tournament, much work remains for individual wrestlers hoping to climb onto the champions stand at Mizzou Arena.

Still, though not all coaches say it, probably most have similar feelings of pride this time of year to those of Marquette’s Hovis: “Every kid on my team, I’d like to have as either a son-in-law, or a brother … they’re all great,” Hovis said.