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Hazelwood East Sends 5 Wrestlers To Class 3 State Tourney, Feb. 19-21
By Jim Wieners
With no chance any area high school Wrestling team has of winning state the teams will now concentrate on having wrestlers take home state medals if not winning titles Feb. 19-21 at Mizzou Arena, University of Missouri, Columbia.
Hazelwood East leads area schools in numbers of wrestlers going to state as the Spartans will send five for the Class Three championships, which begin Thursday (Feb. 19) at 5 p.m after a 3 p.m. weigh in. There are seven North County high schools, four from the Florissant Valley area that will compete Feb. 19-21 and there are only 20 wrestlers combined from these teams. Hazelwood Central, who had a state champion last year (Khial Jamison), is an exception as the Hawks will not be going to state.
Hazelwood East is coming off a seventh-place finish Feb. 14 in Class Three, District Two, and has the only District Champion in sophomore Antonio Jenkins, who won the 138-pound title. Jenkins pinned Cole Daniels, Fort Zumwalt North (4:38), and Hunter Ring, Parkway North (26 seconds) while winning decisions over Malik Forrest, Fort Zumwalt South (4-2) and James Biship, Warrenton (9-6). East will also send sophomore Freddrick Johnson (106), seniors Marshawn Gordon (152) and Kavon Smith (170) and junior Saaudig Burns (285).
McCLUER will be sending four seniors to Columbia after finishing sixth in District Two at Westminster Christian, three of them losing in District Two finals. Taking second place are Lynell Owens (170-won by Colby Collings, Hannibal), Joshua Hewitt (182-won by Sam Terrana, Westminster Christian) and Demetrius Thomas (220-won by Kyle Muehring, Hannibal). Also going to state is third-place finisher Chris Minton (132), a returning state
CLASS FOUR — McCLUER NORTH will be sending four wrestlers to state after finishing sixth in District Two at Francis Howell. Three of them are returning state qualifiers including senior Terrell Pampkin (second in District Two at 126 to Colby Smith), Wentzville-Holt, junior Efe Osagae (second at 138 to Nick McGhee, Francis Howell), and Cayelon Barton (195). Also going to state is senior Quelton Tolliver (285) while last year’s 220 state runner up Travon Butler was not on the team.
HAZELWOOD WEST will be sending only two to state after finishing 10th in District Two. Going to state includes junior Deronne Carson (second at 120 to Clayton Berry, Wentzville-Holt) and senior Nick Lange (170) a returning state qualifier
CLASSES ONE AND TWO will begin the tournament Thursday at 10 a..m. after an 8 a.m. wiegh in.
CLASS ONE — LUTHERAN NORTH, a first-year wrestling team is sending their first two wrestlers to state, including their first district title match wrester, after finshing ninth in District One at Whitfield. Junior Robert Brown (second at 185 to Keenan Carnes, Cleveland NJROTC) and sophomore James Gayeyou (170) are Luthean North’s first state qualifers.
