Pacific crowned two individual champions, qualified six to state wrestling and earned a fourth-place team finish in the Class 3 District 1 Wrestling Tournament last Friday and Saturday at the Farmington Civic Center.
Washington won the district title with a team score of 205.5 points.
Farmington finished second with 177.5 followed by Webster Groves (127.5), Pacific (117.5), De Soto (112.5), Union (107.5), Rockwood Summit (83.5), Sikeston (83.5), Hillsboro (74), Windsor (56), Poplar Bluff (54), Festus (45), Cape Central (39), St. Mary’s (34) and North County (18).
The top four finishers in each weight class qualified for the state tournament Thursday through Saturday at Mizzou Arena in Columbia.
“Overall, it was a good tournament for us. I knew Washington and Farmington would be the top two teams. I was hoping for third place, but Webster Groves had a great tournament,” said Pacific Head Coach Rob Schimsa. “I thought we had a chance to get seven to state, but six still is very good.”
Pacific’s district champions were freshman Josh Franek and junior Austin Repp.
Also qualifying for state were Jeff Miller, Dalton Voyles, Joe Rind and Joon Kim.
Franek (106) had a 3-0 record, improving to 45-6 on the season. He won a 2-0 decision over Farmington’s Jake Andrews in the finals.
“Josh is a good wrestler. He has only five losses as a freshman. He had beaten everyone in his weight class, so it would have been a disappointment if he didn’t win it,” Schimsa said. “He controlled his finals match, but just had some trouble scoring points.”
Franek takes on Staley’s Seth Otis (35-19) in the first round of state.
“Josh will face a tough kid in the quarterfinals if he gets there,” Schimsa said. “You can’t look past anyone. I think he has a good chance to place.”
Repp (170) was 4-0 in the tournament, improving to 52-2 overall. He won a 7-4 decision over Washington’s Kyle Summers in the finals.
“Austin pinned his way to the finals and then faced a good Summers kid. He controlled the match,” Schimsa said. “Austin placed third at 145 last year, so getting to the finals this year and hopefully winning is his goal.”
Repp, ranked No. 1 at 170, meets Chaminade’s Alec Chrismer (23-10) in the opening round.
“Austin is sitting in a good spot. He could face a tough kid from Warrensburg in the quarterfinals,” Schimsa said. “He could also face the No. 2 ranked kid in the semifinals.”
Reaching the finals and placing second for Pacific were Miller and Voyles.
Miller (132) had a 2-1 record, improving to 45-7. He lost in the finals to De Soto’s Aaron Minx by a 5-4 decision.
“Jeff had a disappointing loss in the finals. We felt like he should have won. It was 4-4 going into the third period. We almost got a take down at the end,” Schimsa said.
Miller faces Belton’s Clay Stine (47-5) in the state opener.
“Jeff has a tough match in the first round against a kid who we beat in a close match this year,” Schimsa said. “If he gets by that, he could have a great weekend.”
Voyles (152) had a 3-1 record, improving to 35-15. He lost to Washington’s Spencer Baird by an 8-1 decision in the finals.
“Dalton is a sophomore who keeps getting better and better,” Schimsa said. “He had good wins in the quarterfinals and semifinals.”
Voyles meets Staley’s Jayden Bears (39-16) in the first round.
“Dalton has a decent draw. He faces a decent kid from Staley in the first round,” Schimsa said. “Every match is going to be tough this time of the year.”
Also qualifying for state for the Indians were fourth-place finishers Rind and Kim.
Rind (120) had a 2-2 record, moving to 39-15 on the season. He lost a 12-8 decision to Windsor’s Dirk Tucker in the third-place match.
Rind takes on Neosho’s River Buttram (37-6) at state.
“Joe was the No. 4 seed and should have beaten the No. 1 seed in the semifinals. He had the kid beat, but lost,” Schimsa said. “He was a state qualifier last year who hopefully will do well at state.”
Kim (145) had a 2-2 record, moving to 22-26 on the season. He lost a 9-6 decision to Windsor’s Lucas Ambrecht in the third-place match.
Kim meets Neosho’s Kyle Hostetter (37-14) in the first round at state.
“Joon had a great tournament,” Schimsa said. “A lot of people probably didn’t think he had a chance to get to state. He beat the No. 3 and the No. 4 seed.”
Pacific’s wrestlers who saw their seasons end were:
• Zain Mathena (113) was 0-2 to end 28-13;
• Matthew Schimsa (126) was 0-2 to end 12-19;
• Devin Somers (138) was 2-2 to end 4-9;
• Curtis Paglusch (160) was 0-2 to end 17-24;
• Andrew Cooper (182) was 1-2 to end 19-28; and
• Jarrett Harrison (195) was 1-2 to end 4-18;
Pacific was open at 220 and 285.
