The 2023 Missouri State High School Activities Association State Wrestling championships begin Wednesday at Mizzou Arena with many of the top teams and individuals vying for state titles.
The boys’ Class 1 wrestlers will take the mat starting Wednesday morning at 8 a.m. with their first-round matches while the quarterfinals will take place at 9:45 a.m. The Class 1 girls’ will hit the mats starting with their first-round matches at 1:15 a.m. with their quarterfinals beginning at 2:45 p.m. The Class 2 boys’ will finish the day Wednesday with their first-round matches starting at 6 p.m. and their quarterfinals starting at 7:30 p.m. The championship matches for all three groups will begin Thursday evening at 5:45 p.m.
The boys’ Class 3 wrestlers will begin their meet Friday morning with first-round bouts starting at 8:15 a.m. and their quarterfinals beginning at 9:45 a.m. The Class 2 girls’ will start their action Friday with first-round matches at 1:15 p.m. and their quarterfinals at 2:45 p.m. The Class 4 boys’ will finish the day with their first-round matches starting at 6 p.m. and their quarterfinals will begin at 7:30 p.m. The title bouts for all three classes will take place Saturday starting at 5:45 p.m.
Brentwood will lead the local contingent of wrestlers in the Class 1 meet as the Eagles will have five wrestlers competing for titles including Jesse Lane who heads to the championship meet with a record of 36-9 in the 126 lb. class. Jason Jones has also had an outstanding season and will compete in the 120 lb. division with a 30-9 record to lead Brentwood. Bishop DuBourg also has a pair of wrestlers in Class 1 meet as Harrison Newcombe will compete in the 120 lb. class and Owen Willers will wrestle in the 215 lb. division.
The Class 2 meet will feature many local teams as Herculaneum and St. Charles West will have wrestlers competing for state titles. The Blackcats send four wrestlers to Columbia with Shea Eberhardt leading the way as he will compete in the 285 lb. division after finishing the season with a 45-5 record. The Warriors have three wrestlers in the meet as John Behrens paces St. Charles West as he will compete in the 150 lb. class with a 32-17 record. Josiah Lovelace is the first Affton wrestler to make it to the championship meet in a long time as he will compete in the 175 lb. division with a 28-8 record.
Hillsboro and Whitfield lead the Class 3 squads as the Warriors will look to repeat as Class 3 champions and will attempt to win their 12th state title. The Hawks will have depth on their side as they qualified all 11 wrestlers to the championship meet after districts last weekend. Griffin Ray will lead the charge for Hillsboro as he will compete in the 165 lb. class with a record of 40-3 and he will be joined by Jackson Tucker who will wrestle in the 132 lb. class with an outstanding record of 39-1. Whitfield has 10 wrestlers vying for titles in the meet as they will be led by Porter Matecki who will wrestle in the 126 lb. class with a record of 37-2. Jackson Bassett will also look to help the Warriors as he will lead things off in the 106 lb. division with a record of 37-5.
The Class 4 championship meet will be up for grabs as Seckman will look to improve on their runner-up finish from a year ago while Howell Central looks to compete for a spot on the podium this weekend. The Jaguars have nine wrestlers heading to Columbia and will be led by Xander Harris in the 113 lb. class with a record of 21-8 while John Bamvakais will compete in the 157 lb. class with a record of 41-7. All-State football player Cole Ruble will also be counted on in the Seckman lineup as he will wrestle in the 190 lb. division with a record of 34-7. The Spartans will also send nine wrestlers to the state meet as Aiden Hernandez will lead the way for Howell Central in the 165 lb. class with a record of 25-1. Thomas Stuhlman will also be a key to Howell Central’s success as he will wrestle in the 157 lb. class with a mark of 13-2.
On the girls’ side on the mats, St. Clair will send eight wrestlers to the state meet with hopes of winning the title. Janessa Avila will pace the Bulldogs in the meet as she will compete in the 105 lb. division with a record of 34-7 while Audrey Declue will look to add points in the 130 lb. class with a record of 38-14.
It is a loaded field in Class 2 as Howell Central putting 10 wrestlers through while Holt is sending eight wrestlers to the meet while Washington will have seven ladies participating this weekend. The Blue Jays won their district and will count on Kendra Bliss to continue her outstanding season in the 125 lb. class as she enters the weekend with a 45-3 record. Julia Donnelly will also be someone to watch for Washington as she will be in the 110 lb. class with a record of 30-3. Howell Central also won their district and will have Kailey Benson leading the charge in the 115 lb. class with a record of 39-4. Dana Thee Sanchez will add depth to the Howell Central lineup as she will be in the lb. cla1ss with a mark of 28-8. Holt was the runner-up in the district and has Marissa Sanabria pacing them as she will look to remain undefeated in the 130 lb. class as she takes a 43-0 record into the meet. Lily Steigerwald will lead things off for Holt as she is in the 120 lb. class and has a mark of 27-4 on the year.
Jim Powers has been covering prep sports in the St. Louis area for 15+ years and a part of the Missouri State High School Activities Association Championship Broadcasts for the past 11 years. Powers is also a part of the Fox 2 Verlo Mattress Prep Zone Friday nights at 10:10 during the football and basketball seasons. If you have a prep sports story, please contact Jim at japowers2421@yahoo.com. Follow Jim at @hssportscaravan
