On Friday January 22 and Saturday January 23, the Boys and Girls Varsity Wrestling teams from Ste. Genevieve competed in the SEMO Regional Conference Class 1 and 2 Tournaments. Both teams had an excellent showing as the boys team successfully won the tournament, and the girls team came in third.
Head Coach Jared Bonnell is pleased with what he and his assistants are seeing this season. He said, “Overall the coaching staff was happy with our performance. Our wrestlers have been working hard and creating opportunities to get better everyday they are in the room. Our team atmosphere has been enjoyable this year and I attribute that to our senior leadership.”
In the boys results from Friday, the Dragons scored 325 team points to win first place out of seven schools. Not only that but six wrestlers came home with individual Gold Medals.
Wrestling at the 106 lb. weight class, Gage Gross took first place by winning four matches, all by pin, including both a 16 and 11-second pin.
At 113, Bryant Schwent placed second. Schwent was 4-1 on the day, with all four wins coming by pin.
Nicholas Wirick, at 120, took third. Wirick was 3-2 on the day, with all three wins coming by pin.
At 126, Dalton McNeal brought home the Gold with five wins, all by pin. McNeal stays focused before a match, thinking about what brought him this far. He said, “I was thinking about the time and work I put in, both in and out of the room.”
Gavin Gross competed at 132, and also took home a Gold Medal, winning two matches, both by pin.
At 138, Nathan Selby won first place by pinning four opponents. Selby said, “Once I step on the mat I just focus on my offense and scoring points primarily. With most tournaments lately our team needs as many points as possible so I’m always looking for a pin.” He went on, “A major challenge for me this season has been my motion on bottom and not using my strength to my advantage. When I was wrestling at 145 I could feel my body getting fatigued more often than not. Those are the main things I have been working on improving.”
Justin Schwent came in fifth at 145 with a 1-4 record.
At 152, Zachary Flieg placed fourth with an 0-3 record.
Kaleb Myracle won first place at 160 by defeating five opponents, four by pin. Myracle kept his cool though, saying he knows that districts pose a different challenge, and that he won’t let these wins go to his head.
At 170, Ethan Ogden placed second with a 4-1 record, with all his wins coming from pins.
Gabe Willets placed fourth at 182 with an 0-3 record.
At 220, Dale Propst took first place winning four matches, two by pin.
Ryan Schmelzle, at 285, took second with a 4-1 record, with two pins.
Then, on Saturday January 21, the Ste. Gen Girls Varsity Wrestling team entered six wrestlers into the event. The team placed third overall and individually, three Lady Dragons came home with Gold Medals.
For the Girls results, at the 107 lb. weight class, Paityn Basler lost both matches.
Brynna Wehner, at 112, had four matches, going 1-3 on the day. Her victory came by pin at 1:50.
At 117, Autumn Basler won both of her matches, one by pin and the other by decision, to win her division and claim first place.
Dakotah Medows, at 122, had three matches, winning one.
At 127, Isabel Basler swept the competition, winning four matches, three by pin and one by major decision 14-5. She took first place in her weight class.
Lastly, at 195, Maggie Myracle won both her matches, one by pin and one by decision 3-2, to successfully win the weight class and bring home the Gold Medal.
