LOCAL GRAPPLERS QUALIFY FOR STATE

ST. LOUIS -- Six Jackson wrestlers and one Cape Girardeau Central grappler advanced through Saturday's sectional meet and qualified for the state tournament that will begin Thursday in Columbia.

Competing in a rugged sectional at Oakville High School, Jackson's Brett Stroud (103 pounds) and Dustin Baker (171) placed second; Eric Rhodes (119), Lance Schlick (125) and Kent Langston (189) were third; and Kyle Watson (130) finished fourth.

Central's Matt Strickland (189) placed fourth.

The top four finishers in each weight class earned state tourney berths.

"I'm very pleased to get six through (to state)," said Jackson coach Steve Wachter. "Our effort was tremendous. Even the two that lost (Kyle Huck at 135 and Mark Wade at 145) wrestled real well."

Central coach Drew Lilledahl also came away pleased.

"For Matt to make it through is great. The sectional, and the district last week, were both just so tough," Lilledahl said. "Our District 1 took 40 out of the 56 state berths."

The Tigers' other two sectional qualifiers (Ben Allen at 119 and Travis Kaufman at 130) failed to advance.

Sectional host Oakville, ranked first in the state and 20th nationally, qualified all 14 of its wrestlers for the state meet. The Tigers placed 12 grapplers in the sectional finals and six won titles.