Semoball

Three Kennett wrestlers qualify for Class 2 state tournament

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Pictured left to right are Kennett wrestling coach Mike Henley; Kennett wrestlers Chase Malone, Hayden Higgins, and Gavin Patterson; and Kennett assistant wrestling coach Ronnie Lewallen. Malone, Higgins, and Patterson qualified for the state wrestling tournament Saturday.

ST. CLAIR, Mo. - Three Kennett wrestlers are state bound after garnering Top 4 finishes in their respective weight at the Class 2, District 1 Tournament Saturday at St. Clair High School.

Kennett sophomore Hayden Higgins pinned Dexter’s Parker VanSlyke in a quarterfinal and pinned Ste. Genevieve’s Dale Propst in a semifinal before falling to Sullivan’s Evan Shetley by fall in the championship. Higgins (24-14) placed second in the 182-pound weight class.

“Hayden qualified for state last year in Class 1,” Kennett wrestling coach Mike Henley said. “On Saturday he won two matches before falling to a Sullivan wrestler who only had one loss the entire season. He wrestled a hard match with him but the Sullivan wrestler was just a lot more experienced on the mat. But he should be mentally ready and know what to expect at state this time around.”

Kennett freshman Gavin Patterson dropped his quarterfinal to St. James’ Teagan Kelly by a 14-7 decision before pinning Sullivan’s Dillon Freeman in a consolation semifinal and pinning Dexter’s Diego McCormick in the third-place match. Patterson (17-16) placed third in the 106-pound weight class.

“He’s wrestled tough for us all year,” Henley said. “He wrestled the best match he could against the kid from Sullivan. He was very technical. Then he beat a Dexter wrestler in the third-place match that had beat him three times this year.”

Kennett junior Chase Malone dropped his quarterfinal to Ste. Genevieve’s Nathan Selby by fall. Malone pinned Soldan International Studies’ Arnold Charleston by fall and St. Clair’s Seth Banks by fall in consolation matches before being pinned by Selby again in the third-place match. Malone (23-18) placed fourth in the 132-pound weight class.

“He’s struggled with his weight some this year,” Henley said. “He had been wrestling at 126 but ended up having to wrestle at the 132-pound weight class in the district. He got the six seed but we knew he had a chance to get in the Top 4. He knocked off a kid from St. Clair that was the No. 4 seed to qualify for state.”

Kennett’s only senior Lorenzo Thomas (21-21), who wrestled in the 170-pound weight class, finished one victory shy of qualifying for state.

“I really thought he deserved to qualify for state,” Henley said. “He’s one of the most dedicated wrestlers I’ve coached. He works hard every day. He’s also a good leader and motivates the other wrestlers. He’s very polite and respectful and I always get good compliments on him. The last two years he finished one win shy of state. I hate that for him but he wrestled hard and left it all on the table and I think he was satisfied with how he performed.”

Kennett finished ninth overall with a team score of 49. Sullivan won the district with a team score of 206. Dexter placed second with a 173 and Park Hills Central was third with a 160.

“We knew we had a young team going in,” Henley said. “Overall as a team we performed about how I expected we would perform. Most of our wrestlers that were projected to win found ways to win.”

Malone, Patterson, and Higgins will compete at the Class 2 state wrestling tournament Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at Mizzou Arena in Columbia, Missouri.

“We will leave on Wednesday and get started on Thursday,” Henley said.

See Kennett wrestling results from the district below:


TEAM SCORES: 1. Sullivan 206, 2. Dexter 173, 3. Park Hills Central 160, 4. Ste. Genevieve 155, 5. St. Clair 109, 6. St. James 93, 7. Potosi 62.5, 8. University City 58, 9. Kennett 49, 10. Notre Dame (Cape Girardeau) 29, 11. Normandy Collaborative 25, 12. Miller Career Academy 14, 13. Affton 7, 14. John Burroughs 0, 14. Roosevelt 0, 14. Soldan International Studies 0

KENNETT WRESTLERS

Gavin Patterson (106) - Placed 3rd

Champ. Round 1 - Gavin Patterson (Kennett) received a bye

Quarterfinals - Teagan Kelly (St. James) over Gavin Patterson (Kennett) (Dec 14-7)

Cons. Round 2 - Gavin Patterson (Kennett) received a bye

Cons. Round 3 - Gavin Patterson (Kennett) received a bye

Cons. Semis - Gavin Patterson (Kennett) over Dillon Freeman (Sullivan) (Fall 2:02)

3rd Place Match - Gavin Patterson (Kennett) over Diego McCormick (Dexter) (Fall 0:57)

Ethan Davis (126) - DNP

Champ. Round 1 - Elijah Wilcox (St. James) over Ethan Davis (Kennett) (Fall 1:34)

Cons. Round 1 - Ethan Davis (Kennett) received a bye

Cons. Round 2 - Logan Pfyl (Affton) over Ethan Davis (Kennett) (Fall 1:27)

Chase Malone (132) - Placed 4th

Champ. Round 1 - Chase Malone (Kennett) received a bye

Quarterfinals - Nathan Selby (Ste. Genevieve) over Chase Malone (Kennett) (Fall 5:39)

Cons. Round 2 - Chase Malone (Kennett) received a bye

Cons. Round 3 - Chase Malone (Kennett) over Arnold Charleson (Soldan Int. Studies) (Fall 4:20)

Cons. Semis - Chase Malone (Kennett) over Seth Banks (St. Clair) (Fall 2:22)

3rd Place Match - Nathan Selby (Ste. Genevieve) over Chase Malone (Kennett) (Fall 1:48)

Tyler Preston (138) - DNP

Champ. Round 1 - Andrew Heller (Affton) over Tyler Preston (Kennett) (Fall 0:39)

Cons. Round 1 - Tyler Preston (Kennett) received a bye

Cons. Round 2 - Drew Soule (Dexter) over Tyler Preston (Kennett) (Fall 0:44)

Otrevian Walls (160) - DNP

Champ. Round 1 - Otrevian Walls (Kennett) received a bye

Quarterfinals - Alex Townsend (Dexter) over Otrevian Walls (Kennett) (Fall 1:29)

Cons. Round 2 - Otrevian Walls (Kennett) received a bye

Cons. Round 3 - Levi Courtney (Potosi) over Otrevian Walls (Kennett) (Fall 1:42)

Lorenzo Thomas (170) - DNP

Champ. Round 1 - Lorenzo Thomas (Kennett) received a bye

Quarterfinals - Chandler Tinsley (St. James) over Lorenzo Thomas (Kennett) (Dec 6-2)

Cons. Round 2 - Lorenzo Thomas (Kennett) received a bye

Cons. Round 3 - Lorenzo Thomas (Kennett) over John Rich (John Burroughs) (Fall 1:31)

Cons. Semis - Cody Skaggs (Central (Park Hills)) over Lorenzo Thomas (Kennett) (Fall 3:30)

Hayden Higgins (182) - Placed 2nd

Champ. Round 1 - Hayden Higgins (Kennett) received a bye

Quarterfinals - Hayden Higgins (Kennett) over Parker VanSlyke (Dexter) (Fall 1:09)

Semifinals - Hayden Higgins (Kennett) over Dale Propst (Ste. Genevieve) (Fall 1:39)

1st Place Match - Evan Shetley (Sullivan) over Hayden Higgins (Kennett) (Fall 3:39)

Preston Ragland (195) - DNP

Champ. Round 1 - Preston Ragland (Kennett) received a bye

Quarterfinals - Dariuan Pointer (University City) over Preston Ragland (Kennett) (Fall 0:20)

Cons. Round 2 - Preston Ragland (Kennett) received a bye

Cons. Round 3 - William Vaughn (Ste. Genevieve) over Preston Ragland (Kennett) (Fall 0:58)

Cirilo Tejeda (285) - DNP

Champ. Round 1 - Cirilo Tejeda (Kennett) received a bye

Quarterfinals - Tristan Brown (Sullivan) over Cirilo Tejeda (Kennett) (Fall 0:18)

Cons. Round 2 - Cirilo Tejeda (Kennett) received a bye

Cons. Round 3 - Jed Hitch (St. James) over Cirilo Tejeda (Kennett) (Fall 0:00)

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