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Numbers Down for N. County Wrestling Teams Going to State
BY JIM WIENERS
It has been 14 years since a Florissant Valley area high school or a Suburban North Conference high school has won a Missouri State High School Activities Association Wrestling Championship —Hazelwood East in 1995, the third straight Class 4A title.
It has been seven years since a Florissant Valley or a Suburban North team took home a state trophy — Hazelwood Central taking second in Class 4A in 2002.
This Thursday-Saturday our area high schools will be going to Columbia, Mo., and Mizzou Arena on the University of Missouri campus for the 79th MSHSAA Wrestling Championships with low numbers for each team. Trinity Catholic will be sending four wrestlers for the Class One championship that begin Thursday at 10 a.m. Ritenour leads Suburban North teams in qualifying for the Class Four championship, that begins later that day at 5 p.m. with seven, Pattonville sends four, three Florissant Valley Suburban North teams — Hazelwood Central, Hazelwood West and McCluer — will each send three.
Three more Class Four teams — Hazelwood East, McCluer North and Riverview Gardens — will each send two. McCluer South-Berkeley, a Class Two team that will begin state Thursday at 10 a.m., will also send two. The weekend closes out Saturday with the championship round that begins at 4:30.
“It goes through cycles,” said Hazelwood West head coach Terry Manker. However all eight Suburban North teams will have at least eight teams although the numbers are not there as mention by McCluer head coach John Combest.
Last Saturday at Hazelwood Central in Class Four, District Two Four area teams each won a district title. They are in the four heaviest weight classes including Hazelwood West senior Devon Brun (31-1) at 171 pounds, McCluer North senior Gary Battle (19-12) at 189, Hazelwood Central junior Julian Smith (44-2) at 215 and McCluer senior Wesley Bell (19-2) at 275. Last year Brun took sixth at 160 while Bell took sixth at 285.
Bell was the first state medallist last year for McCluer after not qualifying any wrestler to state for six previous years. The three qualifiers are the most for McCluer in nine years, according to Combest.
Other returning state wrestlers in Class Four from inside or nearby Florissant Valley area high schools include Hazelwood East senior Charles Johnson-125, Hazelwood West sophomore Kirk Moore-140 (152 last year) and Riverview Gardens senior Marcell Moody-171.
