CENTRAL, JACKSON SEND GROUP OF SIX WRESTLERS TO STATE

Six area wrestlers, four from Jackson High School and two from Cape Girardeau Central, will be going after Class 4A titles when the Missouri High School Wrestling Championships open tonight at the Hearnes Center in Columbia.

Jackson coach Steve Wachter will have three wrestlers returning to Columbia from last season's 3A state meet. Seniors Travis Reiminger (215 pounds) and Joe Wiseman (130) return to Columbia for a third time in pursuit of a state title. As juniors, both took home fourth-place honors at last year's meet. Sophomore Lance Schlick (103) also returns after a sixth-place state finish last year and junior Kent Langston will look to make some noise in his first state meet in the 179-pound class.

In his first season at Central, coach Drew Lilledahl will have two wrestlers with state experience. Seniors Ben Keefe (135) and Dustin Gross (152), who traveled to Columbia last year, qualified Saturday with third-place finishes at sectional meet in St. Louis.

The meet continues through Saturday night, when the championship matches will be held.

Locally, Jackson's Reiminger and Wiseman appear to be the hottest wrestlers entering the state meet. Both won sectional titles this past weekend and earlier this season they became only the second and third wrestlers at Jackson to become three-time conference and three-time district champions.

"Both have had a lot of accomplishments over the varsity level," Wachter said. "I hope they are able to add to that right here at the very end."

Reiminger appears to be the favorite in the 215-pound class. With an undefeated 34-0 record with 32 pins, he's been an overpowering force this season. According to Wachter, Reiminger's closest match was a 9-2 win in the semifinals of the sectional against an Oakville wrestler.

"I don't know if he's considered the favorite but I'd have to say he's a pretty high contender," Wachter said of Reiminger's chances at state.

Wiseman, with a 34-2 record, may not be undefeated, but he's still had an outstanding career at Jackson. Last year at 125-pounds he took fourth at state and as a sophomore placed sixth at 119 pounds.

"Joe's had some experience and success at the state level and I'm hoping its prepared him for his senior year," said Wachter, mentioning Wiseman as one of the Indians most balanced wrestlers. "He's good in all three positions and hopefully that balance will help him a lot."

Schlick (26-5) returns to the same weight class (103) he earned a sixth-place state finish as a freshman. Schlick lost his sectional final to Oakville's Danny Lilledahl, the younger brother of Central's wrestling coach.

"I think (Danny) Lilledahl is the No. 1 103-pounder in the state and Lance wrestled him a really close decision," Wachter said. Schlick lost the match 4-3.

Langston (24-11) finished second at the sectional meet.

"Kent has just wrestled tremendous over the last month," Wachter said. "Ever since he won the conference championship he's done nothing but keep getting better. We've been really proud of him."

For Central, Lilledahl thinks Keefe and Gross have an excellent opportunity to do some damage in their respective weight classes.

"Actually, I think we're in a good position to make a run at a medal in both weight classes," Lilledahl said. "The field in both weights are kind of wide open. Anyone could go out and win two in a row and put themselves in the semis."

Keefe (30-6) is making his third trip to state. Last year, he qualified at 125 pounds. Gross (24-11) also returns to Columbia with hopes of a medal finish.

"Ben's been to the tournament twice before without a medal so he's pretty hungry," said Lilledahl. "Both are seniors and both are hungry and ready to go."

According to their coach, both Keefe and Gross possess unorthodox wrestling styles that have made them difficult to beat at times this year.