In a day of firsts, the Fatima boys’ wrestling program was solid at last Saturday’s Class 1, District 1 tournament at Kelly High School in Benton. The Comets claimed their first-ever district championship as all 11 individuals advanced to the state tournament this week in Columbia.

“I couldn’t be prouder of what the boys and girls have accomplished thus far this season,” said Coach Kurt Strope. “We had a lot of firsts, but the top was getting all 11 starters to the state tournament. The boys did a very good job of taking it one match at a time and staying focused. That allowed us to become district champions for the first time in Fatima program history. I am hoping we can carry that momentum and do the same thing at the state tournament.”

Fatima scored 226 points to defeat St. Pius X - Festus (183), Valle Catholic (158), St. Mary’s South Side (128), Brentwood (74), Central - New Madrid County (70.5), Hancock (68.5), Maplewood-Richmond Heights (61), Lift for Life Academy Charter (54), Veritas Christian Academy (49.5), Principia (45), Kelly (37), Priory (36.5), KIPP St. Louis Sr. (32), Bishop DuBourg (14), and Steelville (4).

Seven Comets vied for titles in their respective weight class, with four winning championships and three earning second.

Tucker Tune (113) opened with a bye and then cruised through the bracket. He claimed his 100th career victory in the first-round win over Ian Herdlick (Brentwood) by fall (0:31). From there, he defeated Joshua Griffith (Veritas Christian Academy) by pin (1:34) and won his title with a 10-4 decision over Hunter Hodum (St. Pius X - Festus).

At 165, Ryder Herzing beat John Laplant (St. Mary’s South Side) by a 7-0 decision to earn top spot on the podium. He defeated Ethan Markham (Central - New Madrid County) by fall (4:38) in the semis, Wyatt Baker (Hancock) by fall (2:47) in the quarters, and opened the day with a pin at 1:20 over Jaden Lee (Lift for Life Academy Charter).

Nolan Laux won a low-scoring first-place match 5-0 against Audy Clark of St. Mary’s South Side at 120 pounds. He opened with a win against Rogan Westerman (St. Pius X - Festus) by fall (1:24), then defeated Sebastian De Pietro (Maplewood-Richmond Heights) by pin (2:28) and Lee Furnace III (Principia) by fall (1:27).

Trevor Herzing (285) capped his championship run with a win over Jabbar Granberry (KIPP St. Louis Sr.) by fall (4:29). He began the tournament with a win over Mario Scott (Lift for Life Academy Charter) by fall (0:43), followed by wins against Ben Eschner (Veritas Christian Academy) by fall (1:52) and Caden Metlock (Bishop DuBourg) by pin (0:24).

Three Comets earned second place.

At 215, Conner Willis lost a 4-0 decision to Justin Lehn (St. Pius X - Festus) in the title match. He began the tourney with a win by pin (1:48) over Chase Reed (Valle Catholic), followed by wins against Gavin Gittemeier (Priory) by fall (1:51) and Lavell McCloud (St. Mary’s South Side) by fall (1:33).

Jesse Schroeder (175) fell to Peyton Shaver (St. Pius X -Festus) by TF (20-3 3:13) to finish second. He defeated Xzavier Silver (Hancock, MD - 8-0), then beat Ethan Dahl (Veritas Christian Academy) by fall (1:30) and Noah Ridgel (Lift for Life Academy Charter) by fall (1:11).

Caden Rosentreter received a bye in the first two rounds of the 106 division. He defeated Jude Chantharasy (Brentwood) by fall (3:52) in the semis, then lost to Cash Hancock (St. Pius X - Festus) by fall (4:42) for second place.

Here are the remaining results.

126: Thomas Kremer defeated Jackson Faifer (St. Pius X - Festus) by fall (1:42) and Rocco Stanley (Principia, MD, 12-2). In the semis, Kremer lost to Jesse Lane III (Brentwood) by fall (1:49), then rebounded to defeat Terrence Swan (KIPP St. Louis Sr.) by fall (4:45) in the consolation semifinals and avenged his loss to Stanley by fall (2:30) to claim third.

132: Logan Laux opened with two straight bye rounds, then lost in the semis to Lucas Drury (Valle Catholic) by fall (1:56). After knocking off Joey Sebastian (St. Pius X - Festus) by TF (17-0, 2:08), Laux claimed third with a win against Volodymyr Hrimov (Principia) by TF (16-0, 4:20).

144: Zachary Kloeppel received a bye in the opener, and then defeated Ryan Steimel (Veritas Christian Academy) by fall (3:51). After a semifinal loss to Leo Niyonizigiye (St. Mary’s South Side) by fall (1:59), Kloeppel surged with wins over David Martinez (Hancock) by fall (3:35) and Gabe Dunaway (Priory) by fall (1:43) for third.

138: Tucker Schroeder finished fourth. He entered with a first-round bye and then lost to Landon Thomas (St. Pius X - Festus) by decision (16-13). Schroeder fought through the consolation bracket, claiming wins against Isaiah Correa (Principia) by fall (1:23) and Chase Froelich (Veritas Christian Academy) by fall (4:19) before losing to Landon Thomas (St. Pius X - Festus) by fall (1:58).

State wrestling will be held Wednesday and Thursday at Mizzou Arena in Columbia. Heidi Struemph will join the boys’ team after qualifying on Feb. 15 for the girls’ state tournament.