By Kory Carpenter

Record Sports Editor

The Warrenton wrestling team finished up a tough Farmington Tournament Saturday with a sixth-place finish, and players and coaches returned home with mixed feelings.

The Warriors lost to the host school early in the day, 56-21.

“Outside of one dual, I thought we wrestled OK,” Warrenton Head Coach Kevin Fowler said. “Farmington is a quality team, so I’m not disappointed in that matchup.”

Fowler didn’t, however, enjoy his team’s performance against Sikeston later in the tournament.

“We wrestled about as poor as we have all year against Sikeston, so that was a disappointment,” Fowler said of his team’s 48-24 loss. “But after that, we reeled off a couple of wins before falling to St. Genevieve in the fifth-place match.”

Warrenton defeated Hillsboro, 45-36, and Pacific, 48-34.

Dan Filipek led the team with a 4-0 record in the 160-pound weight class.

Filipek’s four matches lasted an average of 1 minute, 18 seconds, and all four wins came via a pin.

“And that is just because he wanted to get some work in,” Fowler said.

Filipek pinned Farmington’s Alexander Greco in 49 seconds, and dispatched Joseph Gregory of Hillsboro in 48 seconds.

According to Fowler, Filipek could have beaten Pacific’s Matthew Schimsa and Sikeston’s Trent Elliot in similar times.

But Filipek wanted practice, so he worked on some things en route to pinning both wrestlers in an average of 1:47.

Fowler prefers his wrestlers to get a pin as soon as possible, calling the pin the “great equalizer” in the sport.

But for a wrestler of Filipek’s quality, who is using the regular season to prepare for a state championship run in February, it’s not always that simple.

“When you go out and wrestle for 30 or 45 seconds, and then see a quality opponent, your conditioning isn’t there,” Fowler said.

So Fowler and Filipek discuss strategy before a match. In Farmington, Filipek worked on a few new techniques he might need in the state tournament.

And when he was satisfied with his practice, he ended the match.

“He’s got a good head on his shoulders,” Fowler said of Filipek’s judgement of when to end a match and when to keep working. “Sometimes he will get some wrestling in and look over, and we will tell him to get the pin.”

Along with Filipek, James Biship finished undefeated in the 145-pound class.

He defeated returning state medalist Camron Haines of Farmington by decision, 4-2, and pinned  three other opponents during the tournament.

Jacob Null finished the day 2-2, although his coach was pleased with his effort against tough competition.

Like Biship, Null also defeated a returning state medalist. He won a 6-4 decision over Farmington’s Jared Nickeslon in the 220-pound class.

Fowler compared Null’s tournament to what he could see if he qualifies for the state tournament this season.

“It was good to get that competition early, because now he knows he can compete,” Fowler said. “He didn’t even qualify for state last year, and now here he is beating medalists. It’s been a huge jump for him.”

Other winners included Stephen LaMotte (132 pounds), Brandt Palmer (138), Jarrett Villinger (152), Drake Meine (170) and Brendon Cotner (285). 

Jacob Manion struggled in the 195-pound class, finishing 1-3.

Manion and Fowler weren’t impressed with his performance, and his struggles were similar to what Fowler has seen from the rest of the team this season. 

Fowler wants his wrestlers to control the pace more in matches, instead of reacting to the opponent.

“That is what is keeping him from getting to the next level on a consistent basis,” Fowler said. “Sometimes he gets after it, and sometimes he sits back and doesn’t want to pull the trigger.”

Fowler hopes Manion and the rest of the team come out aggressive Friday, when the Warriors travel to compete in the Harrisonville Tournament.

Warrenton will wrestle in pool play Friday, and will begin bracket matches Saturday morning.

As has been the case all season, the coaches hope the wrestlers throughout the lower weight classes will continue to improve, while his experienced wrestlers compete for medals.

“It’s kind of like a state tournament, in which you’re getting a lot of matches in a short period of time,” Fowler said. “It will be good for us, but it’s going to be tough competition.”

ON THE GROUND — James Biship looks to finish off an opponent Dec. 5 in the Fort Zumwalt Tournament. Biship went 5-0 in the Farmington Tournament last weekend.                Bill Barrett photo.