One competitor nearly saw his perfect season compromised, while another vindicated himself with a cakewalk through the lightest weight class.It was part of an emotional day for the Warrenton wrestling team, which entered the Class 3 District 2 meet at Westminster High School with 11 competitors. By the end of Saturday, five had seen their season come to close short of reaching the MSHSAA Championships. The remaining half dozen are bracing themselves for a trip to the sport’s pinnacle event.The Warriors boasted a pair of district champions — one who achieved the feat with relative ease and another who should have.Junior Dominic Kennedy cruised through the 106-pound weight class with three quick falls, all within a minute or less. It meant avoiding a daunting first-round task at state.“I felt like I did a pretty good job,” said Kennedy. “I pinned all my guys in the first period, which puts me in a good spot for state. It makes me have a fourth placer from another district, which is huge, because last year I faced a district champion in the first round and got pinned.”His title match victory came against Zumwalt South’s Jake Czerniewski, who never posed a threat against the focused Kennedy.“Dominic had a great weekend, and we’re real pleased with the way he’s wrestling right now,” said Fowler.On paper, one may have concluded undefeated junior Dan Filipek would have a similarly breezy task in front of him. After opening the tournament with three pins — two in the first period and another in the second — the top-ranked 152-pound competitor found himself facing an unusual predicament. After building a comfortable lead over Chaminade’s Buddy Conley, Filipek became complacent, giving up a penalty point and just his second takedown of the entire season.“In the beginning I started off strong with three takedowns,” said Filipek. “I was letting him up, and that’s when I got overconfident in that second period, and he got the takedown.He found himself wrestling outside of his comfort zone but was able to make the recovery.“In the third period I wanted to push my lead so much that I wasn’t really focusing on my shots, and I went for something I’ve never really practiced before, which was a firemans,” said Filipek.Despite the scare, Fowler says he isn’t concerned about his title-hungry competitor becoming vulnerable in close matches because he possesses a distinguished poise.“I have a lot of confidence in him,” said Fowler. “He’s been in multiple close matches, and he always comes through.”Warrenton had one other grappler reach the title match, but after falling behind early, junior James Biship could not recover in an eventual 9-6 loss by decision. The disappiontment was evident for the 138-pound competitor.“I had been wrestling well all the way up to the finals, but by then I was really tired because of weight management,” said Biship. “In that finals match he caught me in a weird position and kept blocking everything. I wasn’t responding or pushing the pace at all. When he got ahead of me I was pretty shocked, because I know I could have beaten him.”The third-place matches were a sweep, presenting little trouble for the Warriors.Senior Seth Brierly lost his semifinal bout but was able to battle back through and avoid disappointment for a third straight season.“I was pretty disappointed with my semifinal match,” lamented Brierly of his defeat against Zumwalt South’s Patrick Klix. “I felt like he beat me more mentally than anything else.”He met an opponent he had previously defeated in wrestlebacks and cruised back into state contention with relative ease.“Coming through the backside was pretty easy, but something could have gone wrong,” said Brierly. “Thankfully, I avoided getting over-cocky against a guy I had already beaten.”He pinned Alex Clutter of St. Charles in 3:48 in the 126-pound final, continuing to prey on unsuspecting foes as an emerging threat.After a semifinal loss to former Zumwalt South teammate and best friend Hunter Brazil, senior Christian Yates was able to salvage his round with a major decision in the third-place match at 120 pounds.“Losing to Hunter really made me upset, and so when I had the chance to fight back through, I saw it as six minutes to keep my career alive,” said Yates.As the lone competitor to advance from the heavier weights, junior Jacob Manion claimed a first-period pin over Zumwalt North’s Zachary Steele in the 195-pound third-place bout.“I’ve been pushing myself a lot harder in practice all year, and it’s been paying off the past few weeks,” said Manion.BRIERLY AMONG SIX TO ADVANCE TO STATEDerrick Forsythe photo.