LADUE • The Whitfield wrestling team loaded up its arsenal and put itself in good position to make a run at a state title.
Whitfield qualified 12, including seven champions, from Saturday's Class 1 District 1 tournament. The top four finishers earn a trip to the state wrestling championships held at the Mizzou Arena in Columbia beginning on Thursday.
It was the 11th district title in 12 seasons for the Warriors.
Whitfield finished with 259.5 points, followed by St. James (195.5), Herculaneum (176) and Brentwood (101).
"It's another really good team," Whitfield coach Charlie Sherertz said. "We haven't been quite as balanced, but I think our top kids are better, and hopefully that gives us a shot at the state meet. I really thought we had a shot at getting 11 through. Not bad. We had a hiccup here or there, but it was pretty good."
Whitfield's district champions were Chris Wilkes (126), Austin Smith (132), Rodney Hahn (145), William Hahn (152), Andrew McLaughlin (170), Ethan Sherertz (182) and Stephen Scobee (220).
Wilkes (45-1), Rodney (42-3), William Hahn (46-5), Smith (42-6) and Sherertz (38-3) have been steady winners all season.
McLaughlin had to get past Brentwood's solid Tyler Jones. Jones got an early takedown, but McLaughlin tied it up with a takedown of his own and parlayed that into a head-and-arm lock, resulting in a pin in 2:36.
"I kept at it and didn't give up," McLaughlin (29-19) said.
"Andy did a nice job," Sherertz said of the sophomore. "He's been hot and cold. And he finished strong."
Scobee won a tight 8-3 decision over St. James' Kevin Jernigan
"You certainly have to have players in the game to score," Sherertz said of next weekend's state championship. "You don't know how the brackets are going to shake out, but with seven first places, that potentially puts you in good position."
Along with its seven champions, Whitfield had a runner up (Pat McLaughlin, 160), a four thirds (Michael Shearburn, 195, Saad Raza, 106 and Lawrence Becker, 138), and a fourth (Ben Asyre, 113).
"That's a pretty good final round, going 10-2," Sherertz said. "We have to be relatively satisfied with that."
Bryce Smith of Central New Madrid won at 106, and Jonas Tiggs of Maplewood-Richmond Heights won the 113 championship. Other district champs were Fatima's Ryan Strope (120); St. James' Zachary Pitts (138); and Herculaneum's Billy Duncan (160), Kyle Kunz (195), and Brian Duncan (285), who improved to 41-1 with his victory.
Pitts gutted his way through a match with Maplewood's Montel Maggitt. Fatigue set in during the second round, and Pitts eventually got an early takedown in the third before getting the pin with just 16 seconds left. It was Maggitt's first loss of the season.
Billy Duncan put together a nice performance, nearly pinning Whitfield's McLaughlin to end the first period. Duncan built an 8-0 lead going into the third before winning by major decision, 10-1.
Tiggs' win came in a close 8-5 decision over Zeya Kyaw of Principia.
