After a groundbreaking performance at the Class 1, District 1 tournament in which the Comets won their first wrestling title and every grappler made it to state, Fatima finished last week’s state tourney fourth as a team.

“I felt pretty confident that we were ready as a group,” said Coach Kurt Strope, his team scoring 83.5 points to finish behind Marceline (96), Brookfield (112.5), and Centralia (198). “The boys individually knew what they needed to do, but, as an entire group, they also knew what they needed to do. Each of them knew that they needed to try to make it as far as they could in their brackets. They needed to pick up wins.

“We earned that team plaque not solely because of any one individual,” Strope added. “It’s because the entire group was able to pick up wins as we went through the tournament. Other teams will tell you they were mad at us because we nickel-and-dimed them that first day. We picked up wins other guys weren’t able to get because we had the numbers, and the people that we had there were taking care of business and finding ways to win. Several of them found ways to win by pin, which is more points than just getting a regular win.”

In many cases, teams had only a handful of wrestlers at state, giving Fatima an advantage with 11. “A lot of kids were out in two and not picking up very many points,” said Strope. “The only points they were getting were the kids on the podium, whereas we accumulated enough points with our other wrestlers who didn’t make it to the podium to equal more than somebody that took second place. It’s like having another finalist with the accumulated points from those other guys.”

120: Nolan Laux (42-4) earned second place on the day. “I feel like I wrestled really well into the finals, but when I got to the finals on the big stage, I was really nervous, so I didn’t perform how I’d like to,” he said, noting he had to wait eight hours between his semifinal win over Cooper Houser (Trenton) by decision (11-5) and his championship loss to Brandon Brewer (Versailles) by MD (12-2). “I had a long time to just sit there and think, then you go down the tunnel and you’re just warming up and waiting for everyone to get done.”

Laux opened the tournament with wins over Kolten Kelso (Sherwood) by pin (3:35) and Emmett Lorenson (Palmyra) by fall (1:34).

113: Tucker Tune (39-5) said he felt pretty good after the district tournament. “I saw my bracket the next morning, and I saw my way all the way to finals,” said Tune, who finished third.

Tune expected to win his final match since he had pinned his opponent about two months previous. “I took him down in the first 30 seconds, straight to his back,” said Tune. “I had him pinned, but the ref obviously never called it, and I was up like 10-2. After a reversal takedown, Tune’s lead was cut to 10-5, but  Jayce Estes (Warsaw) ended it with a pin with less than 10 seconds left.

Tune defeated Gaven Schreiner (Marceline) by decision (10-8) and Vincent Smithson (Stanberry) by fall (2:37) before losing to Waylon Adkisson (Centralia) by fall (5:19). He beat Gaven Schreiner (Marceline) by decision (9-3) to reach the third-place match.

285: Trevor Herzing (39-4) was pleased to enter the state tournament in good shape and finished third. “Every year, I’ve been injured,” he said. “This year, I went in healthy, so it was rewarding to compete.”

Seeded third, Herzing said he thought he had a good shot at first place. “I had an upset in my second match,” he said. “I wrestled poorly, and that led to a loss.”

Herzing defeated Ruger Johnson (South Harrison) by pin (1:25) to earn third.

Coach Strope said Herzing’s performance made the difference between earning a plaque and going home empty-handed. “We were down by quite a few points going into that last round on Thursday, and Trevor had one of the key matchups going for his placement,” Strope explained. “There was really only one team at that point that could get ahead of us and take fourth away from us: South Harrison. For us to move ahead in the team standings, Trevor had to go out and pin that kid. Now you’re asking a lot of Trevor. He lost to a Centralia kid earlier in the tournament, and that kid got pinned by the South Harrison kid. Now you’re asking him not just to go out and win. You’re asking him to go out and pin a kid that beat a kid that you lost to, right? To put it in baseball terms, it would be like the ninth inning with two outs and two strikes, hitting a home run, and winning the game. That’s kind of where we were at. Trevor did that for us at state. If he doesn’t do that, we don’t place in the top four.”

Herzing defeated Zayne Wenger (Maysville) by fall (1:13) but was upset by Marshall Kable (Centralia) in the second round (SV-1, 5-2). Herzing won his first wrestle-back over Matthew Landell (University Academy Charter) by fall (1:55), then defeated Jax Cromwell (Lone Jack) by fall (0:15) and Gunnar Wenneker (North Callaway) by decision (4-1) to reach the third-place match.

215: Conner Willis (38-9) was stoked to enter last week’s state tournament with all of his varsity teammates. “It was great to have everybody make it,” he said. “I was a little bit nervous in the first match, but after that, I calmed down. It was a pretty good season; I got a lot of wins.”

In the opening round of the tourney, Willis lost to Wyatt Burks (Versailles) by MD (12-1), but recovered to defeat Nate Potter (Strafford) by fall (3:33). After a win over Aaron McClellan (Lone Jack) by fall (1:53), Willis

ended the tournament with a loss to Andrew Scott (Lathrop) by MD (13-5).

165: Ryder Herzing (35-11) went 2-2 at the state tournament. “I felt like it was expected to come back state because we were not in the best district,” he said. “I felt pretty confident, made it to the second day, and lost my bubble match. I wish that match would have gone a little more my way.”

Herzing won his first match over Gabriel Harris (Summit Christian Academy) by TF (21-4, 6:00), then lost in the quarters to Paxton Pyle (Tipton) by TF (17-2, 2:52). Herzing battled back to defeat John LaPlant (St. Mary’s South Side), who left due to injury, and then lost to Grant Rodriguez (Cole Camp) by decision (4-2).

106: Caden Rosentreter (32-12) found the state tournament to be very exciting but said catching up on school work afterward became stressful. “I’m in a bunch of college courses, so falling behind means I’m down by a lot,” he added. “I felt like I was prepared. Getting a good night’s sleep the night before was most helpful because I was more awake in the morning, and being awake meant I could actually think during the match. Winning district was the most exciting thing I’ve experienced, especially with everyone getting to state.”

Rosentreter lost his first match to Garrett Gordon (Summit Christian Academy) by pin (2:38), then rebounded to defeat CJ Schmitten (Plattsburg) by fall (0:37) before beating Brayden Ortiz (Lone Jack) by MD (12-2) and then losing to Cash Hancock (St. Pius X - Festus) by MD (14-6).

132: Logan Laux (33-13) expected to go to state. “We were in the easiest district, and I was ranked second,” he said, adding he thoroughly enjoyed the state tournament. “It’s pretty cool being down on the floor with all the people watching in the great big arena, but it’s also exciting to make it my first year.”

Laux lost his opener to Cuin Vincent (West Platte) by decision (8-6) but won the consolation first round over Luke Lawson (Palmyra) by MD (14-2). He later lost to Ryder Techau (Brookfield) by fall (0:22) to end the tourney.

144: Zachary Kloeppel (20-13) was pretty nervous at first, but after the first match, he settled into it. “I went against some pretty good guys,” he said. “It was a great experience, and I look forward to making it back next year.”

After losing the first round to Cooper Doss (Tipton) by fall (0:47), Kloeppel defeated Teagan Sharp (Cole Camp) by pin (2:06), and then lost to Heinrich Wooten (Macon) by TF (19-3, 3:58).

175: Jesse Schroeder (32-15), who went 1-2 at state, said that when he and his teammates figured out they won districts as a team, they were so excited to be there together and not leaving varsity wrestlers behind. “It was a fun ride home that night,” said Schroeder. “Everybody was laughing and was having a good time. It was a great day. I wasn’t nervous at state until I went out there with the Walk of Champions. I looked into the big stadium, and I felt small. Until that point, I didn’t have any real nerves, but I felt a little nervous afterward.”

Schroeder lost his first bout to Wyatt Adkisson (Centralia) by pin (2:23) but won the next match against Brayden Draughon (Penney) by fall (3:44) before losing to Clayton Archambault (Cole Camp) by a 7-4 decision.

138: Tucker Schroeder (19-14) said that placing at districts and competing with the entire team at state was a great feeling. “Coming in to state as a freshman, it was nice, but when I got to the first match, it was rough,” said Schroeder. “I faced a three-time state champion, and so after I lost that one, I was just going to move on and wrestle as hard as I could in that next match. I had fun, and it was all exciting.”

Schroeder fell to Peyton Parn (Brookfield) by pin (:022), and to Cole Escobar (Hollister) by fall (3:31).

126: Thomas Kremer (18-15) said it was fun to finally compete after an injury earlier in the season. “I came back right before districts, so the timing was perfect,” he added. “I just went out there and wrestled, and then state came along. I was a little nervous, but it turned into excitement, and I had fun out there.”

Kremer lost to Gavin Utz (East Buchanan) by pin (0:57) and Matthias McGregor (Summit Christian Academy) by fall (0:57).

With a stellar season behind them, Coach Strope recalls being asked at the district meet what makes his wrestlers so formidable. “I told them about our kids’ wrestling club and how they feed into the junior high, which feeds into the high school,” said Strope. “We had three freshmen

ended the tournament with a loss to Andrew Scott (Lathrop) by MD (13-5).

165: Ryder Herzing (35-11) went 2-2 at the state tournament. “I felt like it was expected to come back state because we were not in the best district,” he said. “I felt pretty confident, made it to the second day, and lost my bubble match. I wish that match would have gone a little more my way.”

Herzing won his first match over Gabriel Harris (Summit Christian Academy) by TF (21-4, 6:00), then lost in the quarters to Paxton Pyle (Tipton) by TF (17-2, 2:52). Herzing battled back to defeat John LaPlant (St. Mary’s South Side), who left due to injury, and then lost to Grant Rodriguez (Cole Camp) by decision (4-2).

106: Caden Rosentreter (32-12) found the state tournament to be very exciting but said catching up on school work afterward became stressful. “I’m in a bunch of college courses, so falling behind means I’m down by a lot,” he added. “I felt like I was prepared. Getting a good night’s sleep the night before was most helpful because I was more awake in the morning, and being awake meant I could actually think during the match. Winning district was the most exciting thing I’ve experienced, especially with everyone getting to state.”

Rosentreter lost his first match to Garrett Gordon (Summit Christian Academy) by pin (2:38), then rebounded to defeat CJ Schmitten (Plattsburg) by fall (0:37) before beating Brayden Ortiz (Lone Jack) by MD (12-2) and then losing to Cash Hancock (St. Pius X - Festus) by MD (14-6).

132: Logan Laux (33-13) expected to go to state. “We were in the easiest district, and I was ranked second,” he said, adding he thoroughly enjoyed the state tournament. “It’s pretty cool being down on the floor with all the people watching in the great big arena, but it’s also exciting to make it my first year.”

Laux lost his opener to Cuin Vincent (West Platte) by decision (8-6) but won the consolation first round over Luke Lawson (Palmyra) by MD (14-2). He later lost to Ryder Techau (Brookfield) by fall (0:22) to end the tourney.

144: Zachary Kloeppel (20-13) was pretty nervous at first, but after the first match, he settled into it. “I went against some pretty good guys,” he said. “It was a great experience, and I look forward to making it back next year.”

After losing the first round to Cooper Doss (Tipton) by fall (0:47), Kloeppel defeated Teagan Sharp (Cole Camp) by pin (2:06), and then lost to Heinrich Wooten (Macon) by TF (19-3, 3:58).

175: Jesse Schroeder (32-15), who went 1-2 at state, said that when he and his teammates figured out they won districts as a team, they were so excited to be there together and not leaving varsity wrestlers behind. “It was a fun ride home that night,” said Schroeder. “Everybody was laughing and was having a good time. It was a great day. I wasn’t nervous at state until I went out there with the Walk of Champions. I looked into the big stadium, and I felt small. Until that point, I didn’t have any real nerves, but I felt a little nervous afterward.”

Schroeder lost his first bout to Wyatt Adkisson (Centralia) by pin (2:23) but won the next match against Brayden Draughon (Penney) by fall (3:44) before losing to Clayton Archambault (Cole Camp) by a 7-4 decision.

138: Tucker Schroeder (19-14) said that placing at districts and competing with the entire team at state was a great feeling. “Coming in to state as a freshman, it was nice, but when I got to the first match, it was rough,” said Schroeder. “I faced a three-time state champion, and so after I lost that one, I was just going to move on and wrestle as hard as I could in that next match. I had fun, and it was all exciting.”

Schroeder fell to Peyton Parn (Brookfield) by pin (:022), and to Cole Escobar (Hollister) by fall (3:31).

126: Thomas Kremer (18-15) said it was fun to finally compete after an injury earlier in the season. “I came back right before districts, so the timing was perfect,” he added. “I just went out there and wrestled, and then state came along. I was a little nervous, but it turned into excitement, and I had fun out there.”

Kremer lost to Gavin Utz (East Buchanan) by pin (0:57) and Matthias McGregor (Summit Christian Academy) by fall (0:57).

With a stellar season behind them, Coach Strope recalls being asked at the district meet what makes his wrestlers so formidable. “I told them about our kids’ wrestling club and how they feed into the junior high, which feeds into the high school,” said Strope. “We had three freshmen