Seven Warrenton wrestlers made the journey to the MSHSAA Championships last Thursday. When Mizzou Arena cleared out after the finals session on Saturday, three left the building with state medals. The Warriors finished in ninth place in Class 3, amassing 62.5 points. While it wasn't quite the showing that coach Kevin Fowler had hoped for, he was proud of the overall effort. "I'm pleased in knowing that everyone won a match and scored some points," said Fowler. "I would have liked to have seen a couple more guys medal or finish higher than they were." The Warriors took four returning qualifiers to Columbia, but a pair of first-timers found themselves on the podium stand during Saturday's recognition. Senior Jake DeClue finished fifth in the 145-pound class, while junior Will Filipek took third in the 215-pound division. Senior Zach Schall admits he didn't reach his ultimate goal, landing fifth place at 112 pounds. Schall entered his fourth straight state tournament appearance ranked first in the state, sporting a 36-0 record. He won his first round match over Caleb Schuck of Willard by fall in 1:46 on Thursday. Schall returned to defeat Pacific's Jon Rind by fall during the quarterfinals on Friday. Later in the day Schall was dealt his first loss of the season during the semifinal round. Neosho's Joe Barnes, the defending champion at 103 pounds claimed a 7-4 decision over Schall. Barnes went on to win his second state title, defeating Nate Kelly of Carthage. "I don't think Zach put himself in the right state of mind and allowed Barnes to wrestle his tempo," said Fowler. "I thought he got caught wrestling not to lose." Schall stumbled in his wrestleback, falling into the fifth-place match, where he beat Webb City's Cody Jolly by an 11-0 major decision. Schall finished the season 39-2. DeClue dominated his inaugural match at the state level, beating Dakota Stanart of Raytown by an 18-3 technical fall. But he was one of four Warriors to fall consecutively during the quarterfinals on Friday. After Schall's victory, Warrenton lost its next four second-round matches, before Filipek set them back on the winning track. "We kind of took it on the chin in that round," said Fowler. "It's a roller coaster ride where a lot of things can happen." DeClue lost his quarterfinal bout to Washington's Jeremy Belsher in a 10-6 decision. He bounced back to win consecutive wrestleback matches, defeating Neosho's Ethan Pogue and Kearney's Ethan Olson each by three points. Another GAC North foe got the best of DeClue during wrestlebacks, as Zumwalt North's Cole Reedy escaped with a 7-5 decision. DeClue didn't have to wrestle in his fifth-place match, winning by injury default over Jonathan Schuler of Hillsboro. Filipek opened the tournament by pinning McDonald County's Jordan Moffatt in 43 seconds. He followed up with a 3-2 quarterfinal win over Farmington's Ethan Hennes. Filipek was eventually upended 5-1 by Joel Wyman of Willard during semifinals. He was able to overcome a familiar opponent during the final round of wrestlebacks. Hannibal's Jacob Borgmeyer had defeated Filipek during the district title match. But on Saturday morning, Filipek outlasted Borgmeyer to claim a 2-1 decision through two overtime periods. He then won a 7-2 decision over Clifton Luber in the third-place bout. "That was unexpected," said Filipek. "I didn't think I was going to be our highest placer. I worked pretty hard for it. I went all three periods and even more, proving I could go the distance." Four Warriors returned home empty-handed. It was particularly disheartening for a pair of seniors who had set out - not just to medal - but to win the state title. John Meyer made quick work of his first opponent at 189 pounds, pinning Carthage's Nelson Horton in 3:16. But the two-time qualifier felt the brunt of a stacked bracket during his next match. Rockwood Summit's Drew Lance pinned Meyer in 3:48 during the quarterfinal bout. Meyer returned to defeat Eric Erchien of North County by fall in 2:20, during what would be the final win of his prep career. Just one win shy of clinching a medal, he went down by fall to Ozark's Trent Hosick in 4:59. "John's weight class was stacked," assured Fowler. "He ran into some tough competition. Both matches were close where we tried using some desperation moves." Steven Wallace had been eyeing a state title since falling short of a medal at last year's MSHSAA Championships. Entering this year's meet with just four losses, it seemed a realistic goal for Wallace. But much like Meyer, he was forced to battle in one of the most competitive weight divisions in Class 3. Wallace opened in solid form, beating Rockwood Summit's Dylan Heiney 10-6. But during his quarterfinal bout, Wallace found himself the victim of a first period pin to eventual runner-up Tanner Minder of Kearney. Despite having his title aspirations disrupted, Wallace recovered in time to claim a 12-3 major decision over Jake Pritchett of Nixa during second-round wrestlebacks. But a 7-5 defeat to Hillsboro's Lucas Reeves in the next round sent Wallace home one win shy of earning a spot on the medalist podium. "Wallace had a tough weight class," said Fowler. "He gave great effort but just made a couple of mistakes that sent him into the wrestlebacks." He finished the season at 32-6 and amassed 115 wins during four years at the varsity level. For a pair of juniors, leaving without a medal didn't put a damper on their state experience. Junior Sean Daven admits that he would have liked to have done better, but winning at least one match during his inaugural trip to state was a promising starting point. Daven battled a familiar opponent during Thursday's opening round, beating Washington's Andy Broeder by fall in 5:58. But Daven went on to lose his next two matches, bringing to an end to what had been a breakthrough season for him. Kearney's Kevin Kinney pinned Daven in 4:34 during the quarterfinal match, and the first-round wrestleback presented a daunting scenario. Rolla's Blayne Shockley had entered the tournament sporting a No. 1 seed and 40-2 record. But a first-round upset shuffled Shockley into the consolation bracket, where he sought a vengeance for his initial setback. Daven was the second of the senior's victims, losing by fall in 1:29. Shockley went on to pin his next two opponents and win the third-place match by major decision. Daven wrapped up the season with a 29-11 mark. "I had fun and this was a good experience for me," said Daven. "I'm going to work on the things I need to improve so I can come back and medal next year." Junior Reece Berry was the only Warrenton grappler to lose his first round match. The junior heavyweight faced a tough draw in his opening match, losing to Cape Central's Trey Grovenor by fall in 4:52. Grovernor advanced to the title bout, narrowly finishing second to undefeated champion DeMarco Kemp. Berry responded positively, winning his next two matches to climb within one victory of the medal rounds. He pinned both Christopher Adams of Willard and Austin Donnelly of Ozark in the first period. Berry met his fate against another victim of a first-round upset. He faced No. 1 seeded Brandon Campbell of Windsor during the final round of wrestlebacks, getting pinned in 1:55.