COLUMBIA • Whitfield put the pieces in place to win its third state title in five years after another strong showing during Friday's semifinals of the Missouri State Wrestling championships at Mizzou Arena.
The Warriors advanced five to Saturday's championships, which begin at 4:30 p.m. Whitfield had 142 team points, well ahead of Lathrop (87.5) and Blair Oaks (87).
"This is a great bunch of guys," Whitfield senior Austin Smith said. "I'm so excited. I couldn't be more proud of a group of guys."
Smith (132) is joined in the finals by Chris Wilkes (126), Rodney Hahn (145), William Hahn (152) and Ethan Sherertz (182).
Smith earned a 5-2 decision over Centralia's Mitch Schmidt. The match was tied 2-2 going into the third period when Smith opted to start in the down position. He easily earned an escape and then snagged a takedown to win the match.
"I just kept pushing," Smith said. "I want to set a pace that others can't keep."
Sherertz won a close 6-5 decision over Lawson's Austen Eskew. He will face Maysville's Jake Riggs, who upset Blair Oaks defending champ Caleb Roberts, for the championship.
Also in Class 1, Herculaneum sophomore Billy Duncan ran into a tough opponent in the 160-pound semifinals. Lathrop's Josh Hartzell won a 13-4 decision over Duncan to advance to the championships.
At 192, Herculaneum's Kyle Kunz fell behind 4-0 early to Mark Bradley of Marceline. Kunz closed the gap to 4-2 in the second period before eventually losing 6-4.
Herculaneum heavyweight Brian Duncan trailed 1-0 going into the third period against Richmond's Alex Luman. He tied it up just 14 seconds into the third and, soon after, the match was stopped due to an eye injury to Luman. The match moved on to overtime when Luman got a takedown to win 3-1.
Westminster's Bennett Lewis lost in his semifinal match at 220. Lewis fell to St. Clair's Mike Wright.
In Class 2, an undefeated season hangs in the balance for McCluer South-Berkeley sophomore John Williams on Saturday.
Williams (18-0) had an 8-7 win over Oak Grove's Jacob Best on Friday.
"I took some bad shots early on, and he couldn't react," Williams said. "I kept re-shooting and snapping his head down. In the third period, I gassed bad and had to stall until I could try another takedown."
Williams went 2-2 last season at state.
"I didn't medal, so now I'm focused on winning," Williams said.
Williams will have to defeat Savannah's Cody Hummer, a state champion in 2011.
"It's going to be a great experience," Williams said. "I'm looking forward to it."
Also in Class 2, John Burroughs' Cory Lester returns to the finals for the third consecutive year.
Lester beat Nevada's Tanner Charles 13-9 to win a 126-pound semifinal.
"He's a tough kid," Lester said. "We wrestles like I do, except with a different body type. But I had a good game plan."
Lester built an early 7-1 lead, but Charles slowly closed the gap.
"Anytime you can get a cushion, it's huge," Lester said.
During the match, Lester stretched his right knee and the match was stopped briefly.
Lester (56-2) will face Fulton's Cody Pae in the championship. Lester was a state champion as a sophomore and lost in the finals as a junior.
"I'm going to come with everything I've got," Lester said.
