The varsity wrestling team took third at the district tournament on Feb. 10 and 11. The group’s top three finish was anchored by dominating performances by five state qualifiers. These qualifiers include senior Cole Anderson and junior John Wood, who each took first place in their weight class. Coach Steve Cross was proud of the team’s performance, but was disappointed that it did not reach its goal of seven state qualifiers.

“Overall, we performed pretty well,” Coach Cross said. “We had a couple of kids that had some rough matches, and we were hoping to get seven through but obviously that didn’t work out.”

Nevertheless, Coach Cross noted the team’s improvement since the beginning of the season, which was a rough one for the team.

“The boys have worked extremely hard,” Coach Cross said. “They have made a lot of improvements since day one and it showed during the district tournament.”

The other three state qualifiers are freshman Jacob Gajewski, who placed second in the district tournament, third place finisher junior Chris Stagl, and junior Michael Taylor, a fourth place finisher. These three wrestlers, along with the duo of Anderson and Wood, will take part in the Class 4 state championships this Thursday, Friday and Saturday at the Mizzou Arena in Columbia.