Fatima senior Cody Strope became the Comets’ first four-time district wrestling champion at Saturday’s Class 1, District 2 tournament at Butler.

“That’s impressive, considering some of the individuals that have come ahead of him,” said Coach Kurt Strope.

In the 126 weight class, Strope (41-1) defeated Caden Agcopra of Sherwood and Dustin Keller of Stover by fall to reach the semifinals. He got past Chase Hampton of Windsor by fall and defeated Patrick Morrow of California 15-0 to claim the title.

At 106, Tucker Tune (37-9) also earned a district championship after defeating Alias Murray of Stover by fall. He opened the tournament with a bye and cruised through the championship bracket with wins by fall over Jaxon Combs (Adrian) in the quarters and Nico Punshon (Windsor) in the semis.

Nolan Laux (41-7) placed third in the 120-pound division with a win by fall over Carter Dumas (Adrian). He likewise opened with a bye and defeated Isaac McCarty (California) by fall in the quarterfinals. Laux lost in the semifinals to Drake Schmidt (Versailles) by decision (8-2) but rebounded in the consolation semifinals with a win over Sean Reinertsen (Warsaw) by fall.

“Tucker and Nolan put good tournaments together to make it back to state for the second time as sophomores,” said Coach Strope.

At 144, Ryder Herzing (31-24) placed third in exciting fashion. “I was most impressed last weekend with Ryder, who finished third,” said Strope. “He was a four seed who had lost and won against the fifth seed during the season, so for him to take third showed him taking major steps forward in a good direction.”

Herzing defeated Dustin Grubb (Butler) by fall in the first round and beat Landon Griffin (Tipton) by decision (4-3).

Herzing lost to Logan Stewart (Sherwood) in the semifinals by fall. From there, he won by decision (5-1) over Justin Brown (El Dorado Springs) in the consolation semis and defeated Teagan Sharp (Cole Camp) by major decision (13-4).

Tyler Kloeppel (24-12) placed fourth to earn a state berth. “As a senior, it’s very impressive to see Tyler make it back to state after missing out last year,” said Strope.

T. Kloeppel defeated Randy Baker (El Dorado Springs) by fall in the quarterfinals after a first-round bye. He lost in the semis to Damian Alkire (Butler) by major decision (12-0), then beat Makiah Murguia (Cole Camp) by major decision (10-2) to reach the third-place match. Kloeppel ended the tournament with a loss by decision (6-1) to Cooper Doss (Tipton).

Zach Kloeppel (19-19) had a first-round bye in the 126 bracket. That was followed by a loss to Dalton Doss (Tipton) by fall in the quarters. Kloeppel moved to the consolation bracket with a bye but then faced two more battles. He defeated Mason Gollihar (Warsaw) by decision (7-0) but lost in the semis to Blake Eads (Sherwood) by fall.

Jesse Schroeder (20-24) lost in the third round of the consolation bracket to end the tournament. He opened with a bye and fell in the quarters to Drake Murrell (Warsaw) by fall. Schroeder then defeated Donavan Kirkham (El Dorado Springs) by decision (3-1) before losing to Ayden Munford (South Callaway) by decision (6-0).

Conner Willis (34-17) had a first-round bye and lost to William Dobbins (Versailles) by fall in the quarters. Willis responded with a win by fall over Zayne Nuzum (Butler) but lost in the third consolation round to Conner Carver (Holden) by fall.

Chase Willis (22-22) followed an opening-round bye with losses to Ethan Munford (South Callaway) and Samuel Jones (Versailles) by fall.

“I thought the boys competed their butts off, and everyone wrestled at their seed or above, which led to us taking second place. Overall, as a team, I couldn’t have asked for more.”

Fatima will compete at the Class 1 state wrestling tournament at Mizzou Arena, beginning with the Grand March at 8 a.m. today (Wednesday), followed by first-round matches at 8:15, quarterfinals and first-round wrestle-backs at 9:45, and second-round wrestle-backs at 11:30. Semifinals and third-round wrestle-backs will begin at 8 a.m. on Thursday, followed by fourth-round wrestle-backs at 9 a.m. Third and fifth-place matches will begin at 2:30 p.m. All championship bouts begin at 5:45 p.m. after the Finalist March at 5:15.

In the girls’ Class 1 state wrestling tournament at Mizzou Arena, Skyla Schroeder will begin at 1 p.m. today (Wednesday) with the Grand March, followed by first-round matches at 1:15, quarterfinals and first-round wrestle-backs at 2:45, and second-round wrestle-backs at 4:15. Third and fifth-place matches will begin at 3 p.m. on Thursday. All championship bouts begin at 5:45 p.m. after the Finalist March at 5:15.