Local district tournament wrestling roundup

Four sites, four district tournaments, and a whole lot of wrestlers literally fighting for their place at state on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 16-17. Here's the lowdown on how all eight area programs fared in their quest to Columbia, Mo. Next year, it will be nine, with the addition of Kelly.

__Class 1 District 1: New Madrid__

New Madrid County Central sent five wrestlers to the Class 1 state tournament, including two District 1 champions.

Caleb Moore (31-2) won the 113-pound district title on a second-round pin against Cameron Nelson of Priory. All three of his victories in the tournament came by fall. Gavyn Colbert (17-5) won the 150-pound bracket by pinning each opponent within the first minute.

Tharon Harper (21-11) took second place in the 120-pound bracket, Connor Henderson (28-8) placed third in 175, and Jason Jones (15-8) placed fourth in 190 to round out the state-bound Eagles.

NMCC's Tharon Harper looks to his coaches for advice while wrestling Clayton Stewart of Valle Catholic (Ste. Genevieve) during their district quarterfinal match of the 120-pound bracket on Saturday afternoon at the Boyer Gymnasium of St. Pius X High School in Festus, Mo.Photo courtesy of Michael Boyd Jr. - Freelance photographer

__Class 1 District 1: Notre Dame__

Notre Dame saw two wrestlers return to the Class 1 state tournament while one freshman advanced for the first time.

Charlie West (36-2) won the 215-pound district title for the second straight year. West started his run with a nine-second pin over Alex Kastanias of Maplewood-Richmond Hts. He capped his run with a second-round pin over Derron Perkins of St. Mary's South Side Catholic (44-2).

Parker Lemmons (26-19) placed second in the 144-pound bracket to return to the state tournament. Freshman lightweight Oscar Kester (22-15) placed fourth in the 106-pound bracket to make his first state appearance.

__Class 2 District 1: Dexter__

Ryan Young (22-14) finished higher than anyone else on the Bearcats with a second-place finish in the 144-pound bracket. Young punched his first ticket to the state tournament with a hard-fought third-round pin over Bryant Schwent of Ste. Genevieve in the semifinals. A 12-1 major decision by Dominic Ransom of Sullivan (29-7) kept Young from the gold.

Paxton White (22-6) placed third in the 106-pound bracket and Kasen Forkum (16-9) finished fourth in the 157-pound bracket to round out the state-bound Bearcats.

__Class 2 District 1: Kennett__

Kennett's season ends without a single wrestler advancing to the state tournament. Heavyweight Kevin Thompson finished with the best record on the team at (29-7).

__Class 3 District 1: Cape Central__

Cape Central saw only one wrestler advance to the Class 3 state tournament. Davarious Nunley (25-10) returned to the Class 3 state tournament and finished fourth in the 175-pound bracket. He punched his ticket back to the state with a 9-7 decision over Sikeston's Elijah Torres in the consolation semifinals.

Sikeston's Jax Lancaster wrestles Chris Bauer of Hills in the Class 3 District 1 Tournament on Saturday, Feb. 17, in Farmington, Mo. Photo courtesy of Michael Boyd Jr. - Freelance photographer

__Class 3 District 1: Sikeston__

Sikeston saw three wrestlers advance to the Class 3 state tournament on Saturday in Farmington, Mo. Conner Michael (13-10) finished fourth in the 132-pound bracket. George Rodgers (25-9) and Jax Lancaster (32-11) each placed third in the 150 and 157 brackets. Lancaster won the bronze on a sudden victory over Lane Weiss of Farmington (30-17). His twin brother, Sam Lancaster, fell short of joining him at the state tournament in the consolation semifinals.

__Class 4 District 1: Jackson__

Jackson placed third behind Seckman and Lafayette and sent seven wrestlers to the Class 4 state tournament. Tyler Hudson (27-18), Brysen Wessell (38-6), Kade King (36-12), and Grady Rice (32-9) finished second in the respective weight classes. Kadon Shaw (25-13) and Landon Vassalli (38-6) earned third place in the 120 and 126-pound brackets and Kamden Gerhardt (37-10) finished fourth in the 106-pound bracket to round out the qualifying Indians.

__Class 4 District 1: Poplar Bluff__

The Poplar Bluff duo of Jack Ernest (33-12) and Logan Hite (43-2) placed third in their respective weight classes. Hite won 40 matches for the first time in his career and will have a chance to end his legendary Mules wrestling career on the medal stand.

__Local wrestlers in Girls State Tournament__

Five local female wrestlers advanced to the state tournament on Saturday, Feb. 10.

Poplar Bluff's Zoë Freeman (31-2) won the Class 2 District 1 championship in the 190-pound weight class by pinning Shyla Reid of Webster Groves (31-3). Jackson's Kaleigh Milam (32-10) placed third in the 110-pound bracket with a pin over Mera Flores of Lafayette (26-15) in the first round.

Sikeston's Ellie Douglass (28-9) placed second in the 100-pound bracket in the Class 1 District 1 Tournament, while her teammate Kimarhri Wilkins (37-7) finished fourth in the 140-pound bracket. Notre Dame's Lily Ahlvin (15-7) finished fourth in the 135-pound bracket to make her first state appearance.