Two years ago, James Biship was intimidated.

The sophomore made his first state tournament appearance and walked onto the Mizzou Arena floor with little expectations.

“I just wanted to qualify as a sophomore,” the 145-pound senior said. “But I got a taste of what the environment was like, so I’m prepared now.”

Biship is making his third state tournament appearance this weekend, and joins fellow senior Jacob Manion (195 pounds) as the only Warrenton wrestlers heading to Columbia with state tournament experience.

Neither wrestler medaled in last year’s tournament.

“I know this time that I’m on the same level as these kids, and I realize that now more than I did last year,” Manion said. “Getting a medal is what’s expected of me, so that’s what I have to go do.”

Manion won his district tournament last weekend and Head Coach Kevin Fowler believes he is in a good spot to medal this weekend.

Fowler hopes he opens up his attack a little more this weekend.

“If you’re always going to wrestle a 3-2 or 2-1 match, that’s OK if you’re always the one on top,” Fowler said. “But this weekend, you can’t afford to not put the match away if you can score.”

Manion (37-10 overall) won his final two matches of the district tournament by a combined score of 6-3, and opens up the state tournament against Marshaun Swift of Grandview, who sits at 31-10 on the season.

Manion said he hasn’t seen Swift wrestle and isn’t sure what to expect.

Biship (44-7) faces a tough bracket at 145 pounds.

If he gets past Farmington’s Camron Haines in the first round, he will likely face Ethan Karsten of Platte County in the second round.

“It’s going to be a grind right off the bat,” he said. “The entire bracket is a grind.”

Karsten comes into the state tournament with a 47-1 record and No. 1 ranking in the state at 145 pounds.

“James will probably have to make it from the back of the bracket, and he’s capable of that,” Fowler said. “But he is going to have to wrestle a little better this weekend, I think.” 

Junior Jacob Null (23-9) is coming off a district championship at 220 pounds and begins his quest for a state title against Zeelan Lankford of Warrensburg.

“He just needs to wrestle to his seed and he can win a medal,” Fowler said. “On paper, Null and Manion have the best chance to medal, as well as Biship.”

Fowler has had a hard time figuring out junior Drake Meine (37-11), who finished third in the district tournament at 170 pounds.

He said he has been consistently inconsistent the last two years, and it’s probably too late to make drastic changes to his approach this late in the season.

“He’s probably the most dangerous of anybody there, but he’s also someone that can fall on his face the quickest,” Fowler said. “Now we just have to coach it up as his strength and go from there.”

Meine squares off with Ethan Keller (46-7) of Festus in the first round.

The closest thing to a surprise in the Warrenton lineup is freshman Jerrett Villinger, who finished third in the 152-pound class in the district tournament, and enters the state tournament with a 37-12 record.

Villinger faces a fellow underclassman, sophomore Braden Danner (37-4) of Harrisonville, in the opening round.

Despite a tough first-round draw, Fowler believes Villinger has a chance to wrestle his way back into medal contention on Friday and Saturday.

“He’s put in a lot of work for years wrestling on the little kids circuit,” Fowler said. “So this was expected of him.”

Matches begin Thursday at 5 p.m. and Friday at noon.

Fowler hopes his group will be back on the mats Saturday morning and fighting for a spot on the podium.

“We need to be wrestling for medals,” he said. “They are all capable of medaling, and I expect them to come out and wrestle well.”