It was essentially a sacrifice now for the benefit later circumstance for the Warrenton wrestling team on Friday and Saturday at the GAC Tournament held at St. Charles West High School.The Warriors came home with just four medals, but the superior level of competition that kept them out of the trophy rounds will ultimately pay dividends, according to Coach Kevin Fowler.“This is the toughest tournament we’ll be at all year,” said Fowler. “It shows us what we still need to work on and gives us a good assessment of where we stand on a state level.”Warrenton finished ninth of out 16 teams, with Francis Howell taking the team crown with 225 points. The Warriors recorded 71.5 points, getting edged by just one GAC North school. Fowler believes had the Warriors had three starters who were missing from the lineup, they would have finished much higher.“I’m not going to hang my hat on ninth out of 16 at any level, but if you put things into perspective, it wasn’t bad overall,” said Fowler. “We’ve got to shore things up in the next 40 days and we’ll be OK.”Warrenton had just one competitor crowned conference champion, as junior Dan Filipek continued his unbeaten streak at 27-0.He pinned his first two opponents, before defeating state-ranked Tate Bennett of Francis Howell 3-0 in the finals.“He took care of business and beat two ranked guys in Class 4,” said Fowler.Whereas last season Filipek might have taken an occasional opponent by surprise, he is a marked man this year, having been ranked at the top of the 152-pound class since Day One.“What Dan is finding out is that kids are trying to slow the match down to stay in and then waiting until third period to try getting a takedown. The good thing he is used to those close matches. He’s just got to understand some guys are going to wrestle him on the edge, but he handled it well.”One grappler in particular showed significant improvement, as Jacob Manion claimed fourth place at 220 pounds.“He had a good tournament and is wrestling better,” said Fowler. “He went through a stretch where he wasn’t wrestling the best, but he seems to be back on track now.”He actually lost his opening round match by a 3-2 decision but responded with three straight victories in wrestlebacks to reach the third-place match, where he lost to Casden Key of Francis Howell by fall.“On his way through the backside, he beat the kids who had beaten him in the first round, so that was good to see,” said Fowler. “He was able to redeem himself.”Mason Timmerberg just recently became eligible, and he is off to an impressive start in the 182-pound class.He placed fifth on Saturday, winning three matches capped off with a trophy-round pin over Josh Smith of Orchard Farm in just 35 seconds.“It was really his first full week of live competition, and he stepped into a weight where we hadn’t had anybody most of the year,” said Fowler. “His three falls really helped the team.”Christian Yates had to take the long road to his fifth-place finish, after losing his second-round match at 120 pounds. He won a pair of wrestlebacks before falling to former teammate, Hunter Brazil of Fort Zumwalt South.“He went on a pretty good run on the backside,” said Fowler. “He’s going to have some tough brackets all the way through.”Yates closed out the day with a 7-2 decision over Blake Standridge of Francis Howell Central in the fifth-place match.Fowler says several of Warrenton’s wrestlers struggled to compete up to their potential, failing to make the trophy rounds.Dominic Kennedy lost both of his matches at 106 pounds, while senior James Biship went 2-2 in the 132-pound bracket.At 160 pounds, sophomore Drake Meine finished 1-2.Sophomore Brendon Cotner lost both of his matches in the heavyweight division.“We’ve got to have more than one win out of those guys,” said Fowler. “Hopefully it’s a learning experience for us, and we’re ready to go first round. I think it was a situation where we felt a little too much of ourselves.”

Christian Yates v Jacob Godsave FZW

Bill Barrett photo.