McCluer North Wrestling Sends

6 Girls And 6 Boys To State

By Jim Wieners

   Jake Lapinski was a 1995, 112-pound state Wrestling champion for Class 4A State Champion Hazelwood East while his father, Paul, was a four-time State Championship coach (1976-1979) at Class AA Riverview Gardens, which does not have the sport as of now.

Now Jake Lapinski is a head coach at McCluer North and for several years sends to most wrestlers from the Ferguson-Florissant to the State championship. That includes Girls, who started wrestling varsity a year ago. Hazelwood School District high schools do not send as many and have not sent a girl to state.

Thursday-Saturday, Feb. 20-22, Lapinski gets two chances at the State championships at Mizzou Arena, on the University of Missouri campus In Columbia. McCluer North sends six Girls, which betters three from last year in their fourth-place team finish. In addition, six Boys head to state to compete in Class Three, which is better than sending five from last year in Class Four and getting only one state medal.

Girls will begins Thursday with a 12 noon weigh in and start competition at 2 p.m. Junior Natalie Schaljo, who took second in state at 131, will compete in 125 after a fourth-place finish. Junior Elisabeth Cosentino, who took fourth in District Two last year at 152 but did not qualify for state, takes fourth in District Two this year and advances. Seniors Cassandra Childrey (166) and Triniya Walker (235) go to Mizzou as District Two champions, while sophomore Chyanne Davis (110) and junior Kayla Davis (130) qualify after taking fourth in District Two

Boys Class Three, as well as Class Four, begins Thursday with a 3 p.m. weigh in and starts wrestling at 5 p.m. Junior Ibrahim Ameer, who took sixth place in Class Four State at 170, takes a 31-0 record in Class Three at 195 and repeats as a district champion. Also returning to state is junior Joshua Rayford, who qualifies at 285 in Class Three with a third-place finish in Class Three, after qualifying last year in Class Four at 220. Also qualifying for Class Three State from District Two are senior Issac Roberson, district champion at 132, Junior JaJuan Jones, Runner Up at 113, and a pair of fourth-place finishers, freshman Aiden Sullivan (126) and senior Dornal Gary (145).

McCLUER HIGH is sending two boys and a girl to state. In Boys, senior Kennard Haynes, the only qualifier last year, returns to state at 195 after taking third in District Two while junior DeAngello Matthews qualifies at 285 after finishing fourth in district two. Girls qualifier Alexus Yancey, a junior and District Two runner up at 152, qualified for state last year at 167.

HAZELWOOD EAST BOYS will be sending two Class Three, District Two champion to state. Junior Ettien Rodgers (120) qualified for state at 106 last year, while Sophomore Demarco Moore qualifies at 285.

FOUR BOYS — Hazelwood Central and Hazelwood West each sends three to state after each took fourth in District Two. Hazelwood Central sends senior Niall Mapp (152), junior Lawrence Bogan (195) and sophomore Bankole Ogunmolawa (170) Hazelwood West sends seniors Arneze Rush (126) and Darien Moore (182) and sophomore Dontez Maxwell (113).

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