ST. CHARLES • The finals of the Francis Howell North Wrestling Tournament provided a little of everything Saturday afternoon.
Quality matchups, dominant performances and upsets were the rule of the day as McCluer North won the Black Division and Jefferson City captured the Gold Division title.
“There were a lot of good teams and a lot of very good wrestlers here today,'' said McCluer North coach Jake Lapinski, whose team was coming off a victory last weekend at MICDS. “We did OK, but we were up and down all day. We had a big win Wednesday, winning matches to beat a real solid Jackson team, and just seemed a little bit off today.
“Part of that, I know, is the competition we faced, but I also sensed a little bit of a letdown. But I guess it's better to have it now than in districts.''
The Stars went one for four in the final round Saturday, getting a technical fall from Delvin Hutson in the title match at 145 pounds.
“We lost to the same guy (Fort Zumwalt North's Justin Manzella) earlier in the season, so for Delvin to come back like that is pretty impressive,'' Lapinski said. “His wrestling in the finals was probably the best he's wrestled all season.''
Jefferson City's Cole Baumgartner, a three-time state medalist, beat McCluer North's Darrell Pampkin 8-1 at 126, while Fox's Dominic Vitale posted a 12-0 major decision over the Stars' Josh Wheeler at 170. At 182, Cody Maly of Rock Bridge won 9-0 over McCluer North's Gordon Phillips.
Three-time state medalist Zach Nelson of Fort Zumwalt North took the title at 113, winning 8-0 over Howell North's Sam Ritchie. Zumwalt North's Nate Helmig was the champion at 285.
In an excellent match at 132, Rock Bridge's Sam Crane came away with a 5-4 overtime win over two-time state medalist Chris Wilkes of Whitfield.
In another high-quality matchup at 152, Troy senior Skylar Weber won an action-packed 17-12 decision over Whitfield sophomore Rodney Hahn, a 2011 state champion.
The event's other returning state champion, Lindbergh's Michael Slyman, took the title at 160, thanks to a 5-1 win over Troy's Travis Meyers.
Whitfield's Austin Smith, a two-time state medalist, won the title at 138, coming up with a takedown with about 45 seconds left to knock off Rock Bridge's Trent Johnson 3-2.
At 195, Chris Reppel of Fox won by fall, pinning Lindbergh's Jason Murbarak in the second round.
The other finals pin came at 220, where two-time state finalist Jared Johnson needed only a minute to pin Whitfield's Stephen Scobee.
The day's other champions were Jefferson City teammates Corbin Howard (106) and Hunter Neighbors (120). Howard posted an 8-1 win over Lindbergh's Andy Dierkes, while Neighbors beat Howell North's Tyler Smith 6-0.
