With a younger and less experienced roster than he is used to, Warrenton wrestling Head Coach Kevin Fowler is heading into this weekend’s Class 3, District 2 Tournament in Hannibal with a different mindset than normal.

“I think there is less pressure in a situation like this,” Fowler said. “In the past when we’ve had really successful kids like Drake (Meine) and Jacob (Null) and the Filipek crew, you want them to do well because you know they are capable and you want all their hard work to pay off. In that respect, we don’t have a lot of pressure.”

Junior Jerrett Villinger (160 pounds) is a heavy favorite to finish in the top four of his class and qualify for his third consecutive state tournament in Columbia.

The rest of the roster is harder to peg, but that hasn’t changed Fowler’s expectations for the program.

“We’re still always looking to get kids through to the state tournament and go for medals, and that’s the change of mindset that we’re trying to promote,” he said. “It’s not about getting to the state tournament. I might get vilified for this, but it’s not that difficult to get to a state tournament. You have to be in the top four out of 16. The goal isn’t to get to the state tournament. The goal is to win championships and wrestle for medals. That’s what we want our program doing.”

In the short term, Villinger is Warrenton’s best bet to challenge for a state title next weekend.

But there will still be a few challenges in the district tournament.

“You don’t want to get complacent. He’s a very good wrestler and should be contending for a state title, but he’s in a very tough district,” Fowler said. “He’s got two ranked kids in his district, so there are three ranked guys. He’ll probably have to wrestle one in the semifinals and probably one in the finals, so all three of those guys will have to be ready to go. There are upsets every year. There have been years when we’re the team pulling the upsets, so we know it can happen. You just have to be ready to go, and he should be fine. We’re not worried about it, but he’ll have to wrestle to his capabilities.”

Fowler said other potential state qualifiers could be Bryce Edison (106), Ben Chernaskey (170), Brady Weir (195) and Zac Blackwood (220).

“Some of these weight classes are tough,” Fowler said. “On paper, we’ll be on the bubble at 195 and 220. We’re right there at 106 and 170, because there are five quality wrestlers for four spots in those classes. But our guys are very capable of making it through.”

He added: “We just have to be ready to wrestle because this is what we’ve been gearing up for. We’ll have to have some big wins if some of these kids want to wrestle the following weekend. We don’t have a lot to lose. Fore most of them, this is their first varsity experience, so they’re trying to make a name for themselves.”