Senior Chris Schall remembers losing his "bubble" match that would have secured him a trip to the state tournament last February. During the Class 3 District 2 meet on Saturday, he refused to be denied again, becoming one of three Warrenton wrestlers to qualify for the MSHSAA Championships. Schall will join juniors Ryan Sherry and J.J. Filipek in Columbia on Thursday for first-round action at Mizzou Arena. "I'm pumped to get this opportunity," said Schall. Schall's first trip to state comes on the heels of a fourth-place finish in the 106-pound class on Saturday. He lost his final match in a tight 3-2 decision to Reid Hanmore of St. Charles. After beginning the tournament with a first-round bye, Schall defeated his quarterfinal opponent before falling in the semifinals. "Chris wrestled tough all weekend," said coach Kevin Fowler. "We knew his first match would be key in getting him to the state tournament." Schall pinned his first opponent in 3:39, putting himself in qualifying position. "I felt confident going in and did what I needed to do to get through," said Schall. "Winning that first match meant everything." Sherry didn't quite meet his personal expectations, but he is thrilled to be in position to defend his fourth-place medal from a year ago. He says his confidence was shaken after a semifinal defeat on Saturday, and it led to a subsequent loss in the 113-pound third-place match. "After losing the semifinal, I kind of let it get into my head," said Sherry. He received a first-round bye during districts, before beating his quarterfinal opponent. Sherry then lost a stalling battle against Jared Edwards of St. Charles West, before bouncing back in wrestlebacks. "Edwards has always pinned me, and he didn't want to wrestle me on my feet," asserted Sherry. Sherry says he took some risks during his third-place match against an opponent he had beaten on many occasions. This time they didn't pay off, as McCluer's Marvin Nelson claimed a 13-6 decision. "He kind of wrestled loose with a lot of risky moves," said Fowler. "He's just gotten to tighten up, and he'll be fine going into the state tournament." As the top seed at 182 pounds, Filipek was awarded a first-round bye before pinning his quarterfinal opponent in just 51 seconds. But an unfortunate occurence during his semifinal match derailed Filipek's hopes of a district title. A blow to the face jarred his senses, leaving him in pain and somewhat incoherent during the final period of the match. He led 7-5 at the time of the injury and managed to battle through the final two minutes for a 10-5 victory. "J.J. looked pretty good during his first match and that semifinal," said Fowler. "That's pretty exceptional for him to go out and take care of business despite being in a lot of pain." Filipek decided to forfeit his final match, going to the hospital for further evaluation. "I felt like I let myself down when I got hurt," said Filipek. "I know it was just a freak accident, but I really would wanted to keep competing." He is hopeful to be cleared for state competition, where he will attempt to medal after falling one win short last winter. Fowler says with such an inexperienced cast this year he chose to take just six wrestlers to the district tournament. Sophomore Dan Queatham was eliminated after losing his first two matches at 120 pounds. Sophomores Chance Reising and Austin Clancy faced a similar fate at 145 and 152 pounds, respectively.