Eleven area wrestlers advance to state championships

The Missouri High School Activities Association held its district wrestling championships Friday and Saturday, with 11 local wrestlers earning trips to the MSHSAA State Championships in Columbia, Missouri, on Thursday through Friday.

Jackson led the pack out of Class 4 District 1, with eight qualifiers earning a spot on the mats in the season's final event. Two of those will enter the championship tournament as district champion -- Gus Guilliams at 120 pounds and Carson McCord at 170 pounds.

"When we started the meet, [assistant coach Jerry] Golden and I both had said our district's so tough that I thought maybe we could get four or five through," Jackson coach Steve Wachter said, "but if we wrestled tremendously we could get eight through. And we got eight through. We wrestled outstanding today. We picked a good time to do it."

The Indians took second as a team, tied with Christian Brothers College.

"We're a little bit healthier than we have been," Wachter said. "We still had some out, but the 12 we brought up here, they really wrestled well today. ... We're a small big school and all 4A wrestling is really, really good. For us to take eight today, I couldn't be any prouder."

Guilliams decisioned Cameron Wegener of Lafayette (Wildwood) in a tight, high-scoring bout, 15-13.

McCord took care of business against Eureka's Kyle Dickhaus with an 8-5 decision.

"You win the district ... it gives you some better odds," Wachter said. "It doesn't assure anything, but it does give you a little better odds."

Also qualifying for state for the Indians is Jake Byrd (126 pounds), Payne Guilliams (138), Micah Collier (145), Gabe Dudley (160), Zach Norrick (195) and Bryce Dickerson (220).

Byrd finished second after coming out on the wrong end of a narrow 3-1 decision to Seckman's Zack Durbin. Norrick was also a runner-up, dropping a 4-1 decision to Dakota Theven, of Northwest (Cedar Hill).

Payne Guilliams was third at 138 thanks to a major decision over David Marlow of Parkway South, and Dudley took the same finish at 160 after a 6-3 points win over Seckman's Jacob Hunter.

An extra period was needed to determine Dickerson's final placement, as he fell to Parkway South's Carvell Williams 3-1 in overtime to finish fourth in his weight class.

Collier also landed in fourth after an injury forced him to pull out of his bout with Dakota Thevel, of Northwest, at the 2:09 mark.

Wachter said he hopes the senior will be ready to go a week from now.

"He hit his eye pretty good on his knee, and its swollen pretty good so he had to default out," Wachter said. "Hopefully we can come back from that, get the swelling down and be ready to go for the state meet."

Jackson does have some experience at the highest level. Byrd is a three-time state qualifier, while McCord went each of the past two years, including a sixth-place finish at state as a sophomore. Collier and Gus Guilliams are both set to make a return trip after qualifying in 2015. All are seniors except for Guilliams, who is a junior.

"We've got some kids with some wrestling experience returning, and that helps you," Wachter said. "The more you're up there, the more your at ease in front of that big crowd being in that big stadium. It's still tough no matter how many times you go, but it gives you some confidence, I think."

Cape Central's Brendan Wilkins will be moving on to the state tournament in Class 3 after grappling his way into the District 1 113-pound championship match, where he was pinned in 24 seconds by Farmington's Bradley Harman.

In Class 2 District 1, a pair of Notre Dame wrestlers will represent the Bulldogs in Columbia, as Evan Dowdy and Bruce Ha are moving on.

Ha finished in third-place at 145 pounds after a convincing major decision of Sullivan's Kale Dudley, 11-3. Dowdy, just a freshman, fell in the 113-pound third-place bout to Bradley Tourville, of Sullivan, 8-2.

The Class 2 District 1 meet was held at Ste. Genevieve High School, Class 3 District 1 was at Farmington High School and Class 4 District 1 took place at St. Louis University High School.

In the state bracket, the top seeds from each bracket will meet up with a four seed out of another district in the first round; the second and third seeds will face off.

Class 2 District 1

113 -- Third-place match: Bradley Tourville (Sullivan) dec. Evan Dowdy (ND) 8-2.

145 -- Third-place match: Bruce Ha (ND) maj. dec. Kale Dudley (Sullivan) 11-3.

Class 3 District 1

113 -- Championship: Bradley Harman (Farmington) pin Brendan Wilkens (CC) :24.

Class 4 District 1

120 -- Championship: Gus Guilliams (J) dec. Cameron Wegener (Lafayette Wildwood) 15-13.

126 -- Championship: Zack Durbin (Seckman) dec. Jake Byrd (J) 3-1.

138 -- Third-place match: Payne Guilliams (J) maj. dec. David Marlow (Parkway South) 12-3.

145 -- Third-place match: Dakota Thevel (Northwest Cedar Hill) inj. Micah Collier (J) 2:09.

160 -- Third-place match: Gabe Dudley (J) dec. Jacob Hunter (Seckman) 6-3.

170 -- Championship: Carson McCord (J) dec. Kyle Dickhaus (Eureka) 8-5.

195 -- Championship: Noah Robinson (Lafayette Wildwood) dec. Zach Norrick (J) 4-1.

220 -- Third-place match: Carvell Williams (Parkway South) dec. Bryce Dickerson (J) 3-1, OT.