Rayburn, Peiffer lead Indians to second

CHESTERFIELD -- Jackson sophomore Levi Rayburn is not happy with his No. 8 ranking at 103 pounds in Class 4 in the latest state wrestling rankings.

But he also realizes that number means little at this time of the year.

"I think I belong in the top five," Rayburn said. "But I know the only number which matters is the one at the end of the season."

Rayburn, who could meet up with two of the state's top-five wrestlers next weekend at the St. Charles West Invitational, could make a move up the polls this week after an impressive championship at the Marquette Invitational on Saturday.

Rayburn's title helped the Indians to a second-place finish in the 12-team tournament.

Rayburn won all four of his matches Saturday, including two by fall and one by technical fall. His closest match came in his last one, a 6-4 victory over Jessie Morris of Lee's Summit.

"My goal today was to wrestle well, and I felt I accomplished that," Rayburn said.

Rayburn, who was a state qualifier last year after going 37-14, lost a match in the first tournament of the season at Parkway South. He has not lost since, extending his winning streak to 25 matches with the four wins Saturday.

"I had a six-point lead and just got caught," Rayburn said of the loss. "Actually, I think that might have been good for me. It took a lot of pressure off of me and I learned from that loss."

Rayburn said his goal the rest of the way is to become a district champion and finish all-state. He was two-and-out at last year's state meet.

Rayburn was one of two Indians champions in the tournament. Blake Peiffer, who currently is ranked No. 1 at 215 pounds, captured that title Saturday.

He finished ahead of the state's second-ranked wrestler, Dylan Case of Lee's Summit.

Jackson's Blake Hooe finished second at 145 pounds. The Indians had a pair of third-place finishers -- Jordan Reisenbichler at 112 and Michael Riney at 189.

"I thought the day was up and down for us," Jackson coach Steve Wachter said. "It was like a big roller coaster. But overall I think the guys wrestled hard. The effort was tremendous."

The Indians, who won a 10-team tournament at Marquette last season, finished with 212.5 points. Waynesville was the team champion with 219.5 points. Lee's Summit was third with 202 points.

Central finished seventh with 153.5 points. The Tigers were just 4.5 points behind Parkway North, which finished sixth.

"We were almost in the top half, and that would have been a great accomplishment in a tournament with this competition," Central coach James Brake said. "I thought the kids wrestled great. It was nice to see six guys in the championship round."

The highlight for the Tigers was a championship at heavyweight by Trey Grovenor. The Tigers also had a pair of third-place finishers -- Kevin Flesher at 171 and Raymond Woldtvedt at 152.