It’s that time of year when Coach Kevin Fowler jots down some figures on paper and takes his best guess at which of his grapplers will still have reason to report to practice next week.The Warrenton wrestling team journeys into the Class 3 District 2 Tournament this weekend at Westminster, where a dozen competitors will hope to keep their seasons alive.With five returning state qualifiers, including a transfer, Fowler hopes to at least match, if not exceed that figure again. But he acknowledges the Warriors will face plenty of challenges along the way.There are just a handful of Warrenton’s wrestlers have shown enough consistency this season to secure Fowler’s confidence that they will indeed advance.Junior Dan Filipek should be a lock at the No. 1 spot, after improving to 46-0 with his latest pair of wins at 152 pounds.“I think it can be easy to overlook how much Dan has improved,” said Fowler. “Even though he finished second last year, he had some losses. This year he’s been able to clean that up.”Filipek is eyeing his older brother’s school season record of 50 wins, which he will inevitably eclipse.“He’s had some close matches, but he was never in trouble outside of one match all year,” said Fowler. “He’ll get pushed at districts with a couple quality opponents. It’s not going to be an easy road by any means.Fowler also anticipates junior Dominic Kennedy and junior James Biship will garner Top 2 seeds at their weights, having wrestled at peak levels in recent weeks.“Kennedy had a good tournament at Blue Springs South, and James is probably wrestling the best he has all year,” said Fowler. “Some of these guys have shown flashes of being on it but haven’t been consistent.”Kennedy is 32-13 in the 106-pound weight class and is looking for a return to Columbia.Meanwhile, Biship seems to be finding a new gear, having finished 33-13 during the regular season at 138 pounds.“We’re expecting a lot out of him this weekend,” said Fowler.Senior Christian Yates, who transferred from Zumwalt South, was a state qualifier for the Bulldogs last season. He has amassed a 32-10 record at 120 pounds and will be expected to land a Top 4 spot in an effort to advance back.“Yates has been wrestling well lately too, and he’s familiar with this territory,” said Fowler.He is also optimistic about Seth Brierly’s chances of advancing, calling him the program’s most improved competitor since this time last season, when he missed the state meet by one match.“He put in a lot of work during the offseason and should be one of the top seasons this weekend,” said Fowler.One of just two seniors taking the mats for Warrenton on Friday, Brierly is now 30-13 in the 126-pound field.The Warriors’ only other grappler with state experience is sophomore Drake Meine, but he will be tasked with a tall order if he wishes to return to Columbia. Last winter he qualified at 132 pounds before making an almost unprecedented jump to 160 this season, where he typically finds himself outmatched by about 10 pounds. He’s been forced to wrestle as a higher weight class, given that he’s unable to bump Filipek from the 152 spot.“He’s going to have his work cut out for him,” said Fowler. “He’ll have to wrestle well and pull off an upset on paper to make it through.”Meine is in the top half of the weights, where the Warriors have struggled mightily this season. By comparison, the lower weight classes have been far more successful. From the 106 to 152-pound weight classes, Warrenton has gone a combined 202-78. On the contrary, the heavier weights have managed just a 104-89 overall mark.“I don’t think you can point to one reason why we haven’t done especially well at our heavier weights,” said Fowler. “We had quite a few big men earlier in the season but experienced some injuries.”Fowler says it’s a combination of inexperience and injuries, which have left the Warriors weaker than usual at positions in which they often thrive.With just one upperclassmen and no seniors battling at the four heaviest weights, there is still much to be learned and achieved.Freshman Treyson Neal will wrestle at 170 pounds, while sophomores Jacob Null and Brendon Cotner battle at the two heaviest weights.Fowler anticipates junior Jacob Manion will be the Warriors’ best shot at advancing in the heavier weights, likely garnering a Top 4 seed after going 26-20 at 195 pounds.Also representing Warrenton this weekend will be freshman Lane Belohlavy at 132 pounds and freshman Kyle Reese at 145 pounds.Action begins at 5:30 p.m. on Friday and continues at 10 a.m. on Saturday.WARRENTON HEADS TO DISTRICTSDerrick Forsythe photo.