Blog

By Jim Wieners

McCluer North took a full team of 14 wrestlers to Ritenour High School’s Costilow Field House for the Class Four, District Two Championships, Feb. 10-11, and 11 of them are going on to Mizzou Arena, University of  Missouri, Columbia, Feb. 16-18 for the Class Four State Championships.

Thanks to sending 11 wrestlers to state the McCluer North Stars won their first district title since 1999, the first for a Suburban North Conference team since Ritenour won in 2005 when the meet was at Hazelwood East. The Stars scored 199 points, 35.5 points ahead of runner up Fort Zumwalt West and 79.5 ahead of third-place Francis Howell Central. The closest pursuer to McCluer North from the Suburban North was Ritenour, who had 82 points, 117 behind the Stars, and the Huskies will send five to state.

The key for the Stars win, according to head coach Jake Lapinski, was the semifinal round when eight wrestlers won their way to the district championship round and assured themselves a trip to state. Three more wrestlers rebounded by winning their way to the third-place matches and punched their ticket to Columbia. “We did not have a bad (semifinal) round,” Lapinski said. “It was a very good round.”

Curtis Peebles returns to state after winning district at 132 pounds while Josh Taylor (152) and Gordon Phillips (182) were district champions. Anthony Nichols (120), Darrell Pampkin (125) sixth in state last year, Delvin Huston (145), a returning qualifier, Josh Wheeler (170) and Randall Young (285) were district runner ups.  Anthony Nichols was third at 120 while Gary Washington (160) and Kyrton Kilgore (195) each took fourth.

“We have no superstars,” Lapinski said. “It was a team effort.” Now the Stars aim for their first state title since 1990, their fourth overall

CBC was fifth with 117 points, 82 behind McCluer North and the Cadets will send eight wrestlers to state. That includes Ray Roehr, a returning state qualifier who won at 105, Patric Masterson (170), a returning qualifier and Alec Maglione, a district champion at 138. Ritenour returns three to state including Eric Bowman (152), fourth last year, and Lamar Welch, district champion at 160.

Pattonville sends three to state including returning qualifier Matt Murphy (182),

HAZELWOOD WEST send two including district champion Daniel Vaughn (285), a retuning qualifier, HAZELWOOD CENTRAL sends only Brittan McLaughlin (220) and DeSMET sends only Nick Wunderli (285).

CLASS THREE — HAZELWOOD EAST sends six to state after taking fourth-place in District Two at tourney champion Hannibal, CHAMINADE sends four and McCLUER sends three.

Akintunde Odunleye returns to state for East after wining district at 182 and Cody Bain (145) also returns for the Spartans. Hazelwood East other wrestlers going to state are: Carlis Richardson, junior, 126-lb;  Kenneth Moore, senior, 160-lb; Jeffery Brock, junior, 170-lb;  and Lance Bush, junior, 220-lb. Leading the way for Chaminade is retuning qualifier Max Wilhelm (152), who was fourth last year. Two McCluer wrestlers — Marvin Nelson (113) and district champion Johnathon Cain (220) — also return.

CLASS TWO — McCLUER SOUTH-BERKELEY will send three to state including two returning qualifiers John Williams, a district champion at 120, and Wardell Morgan (126).