Fatima’s boys’ and girls’ wrestling teams competed in the Union tournament last weekend, the girls on Friday, and the boys on Saturday.

Heidi Struemph finished second in a field of 16 wrestlers. “She battled her way to the finals, beating everyone in the first or second period,” said Coach Kurt Strope. “She ran into a very tough match in the finals and took a shot at the wrong angle. It got us in trouble, and that is where that match ended for her. We have something to work on and improve, and knowing Heidi, that’s what we will do.”

Struemph (130) lost to Jorgie Johnston of Winnetonka in the finals by fall, but her run to the championship match included wins over over Brooklin Dykzeul (Lone Jack, fall 0:34) in the first round, Amber Miller (Northwest-Cedar Hill, fall 1:38) in the quarterfinals, and Abbi Holder (Seckman, TF, 20-5 3:40) in the semis.

“The rest of the group competed well, I thought,” said Strope. “We just have some learning to do before they can get on the medal stand themselves. The girls they competed against just know a little more than them right now.”

Renee Wilbers (120) finished 2-2 on the day, Aubrey Wieberg (100) and Elizabeth Meyer (125) each went 1-2, and Draven Cole (145), Bailey Buschjost (155), Ivy Ruecker (170), and Emillie Bonnot (190) each finished 0-2.

In the boys’ competition on Saturday, Fatima had three second-place finishers. “The best wrestling this past weekend was done by Tucker Schroeder,” said Strope. “He beat some guys that would have beaten him last year, but he was winning, doing the moves we preach during practice, and getting results. As a coach, that is awesome to see. I think he is going to continue to keep improving throughout the season; he is figuring things out.”

Schroeder (138) opened with a win over Kyle Lewis (Mexico, MD 10-0), then beat Garret Gallup (Ste. Genevieve, fall 5:46) in the quarterfinals and Jackson Turner (Fox, Dec, 12-7) in the semifinals before falling in the championship match to Max Kruppe (Ste. Genevieve, fall 0:36).

Caden Rosentreter (106) also finished second. He started with a win over Mason Sturdavent-Young (Marshfield, fall 0:34), then in the quarterfinals, he beat Rhett Murphy (Ste. Genevieve, fall 1:21) and Jace Ravellette (Fox, fall 1:44) in the semifinals before losing to Trevor Cole (Mexico, fall 1:31) in the title match.

In his race to a second-place finish, Logan Laux (150) had a first-round bye, followed by wins over Philip Gann (Logan-Rogersville, fall 3:31) in the quarterfinals, and Isaiah Benz (Winnetonka, Dec 6-3) in the semifinals - Logan Laux (Fatima). Laux lost to Barrett White (Lone Jack, fall 0:59) in the finals.

William Berhorst (113) had a bye to start the day, followed by a win over Trace Treiber (Fox, fall 0:18) in the quarterfinals, and a bye in Cons. Round 2. From there, Berhorst beat Preston Baker (Winnetonka, fall 4:00) in Cons. Round 3, and Chase Maple (Union, fall 2:38) in the consolation semis. Berhorst battled but fell to Joshua Wood (Northwest -Cedar Hill, MD, 14-4) in the third-place match.

Ryder Herzing (175) earned fifth place after a full day. He opened with a win over Hunter Love (Mexico, TF 17-2 5:44), and defeated Shelby McCleary (Lone Jack, Dec 12-5) in the quarters. After losses to Raiden Haggard (Webb City, Dec 5-3) and Caleb Bull (Marshfield, Dec 7-6), Herzing pinned Shelby McCleary (Lone Jack, fall 5:01) for fifth.

Conner Willis (215) defeated Banon Minner (Northwest-Cedar Hill, fall 2:50) to finish seventh. He lost the opening round to Grant Parker (Jackson, Dec 8-1), and then had a bye. In the second round of consolation, Willis beat Wyatt Yarbrough (Marshfield, fall 1:20) and lost to Traven St.Clair (Union, MD 19-8) in Cons. Round 3 to reach the seventh-place match.

Jesse Schroeder (175) and Harlan Deardeuff (190) each finished 1-2, and Thomas Kremer (132) ended the day at 0-2.

On Thursday at Boonville, the girls beat the host Pirates (38-18) and Fulton (36-12) while losing to Carrolton (36-30). The boys defeated Carrolton (42-39), lost to Boonville (35-34), and fell to Fulton (40-32).

“I thought we wrestled all three teams extremely well,” said Strope. “We were taking more shots and attacking more with both the boys and the girls, and that led to us having some good results.”

Fatima opened the week on Tuesday in a tri, with wins against Hallsville (46-27) and Rock Bridge (42-36), and a loss to Capital City (42-32). On the girls’ side, Fatima lost to Capital City (48-24), defeated Hallsville (42-24), and Rock Bridge (42-12).

“It was a good competitive night,” said Strope. “We found some competition in a few spots we are not used to seeing and took some losses. For those individuals, it was a good chance to learn what we need to work on and improve.”