Warrenton Coach Kevin Fowler continues to see improvement from his wrestling team, which has focused on individual accomplishments this year with a lack of depth.Recognizing that his team doesn’t have the numbers to compete for tournament titles, he is evaluating progress on a smaller scale as the Warriors prepare to compete in the GAC Tournament at Zumwalt North High School this weekend.They are coming off a Farmington Tournament, in which they went 1-4.“Overall the effort was good,” said Fowler. “It was nice to see some state level competition, and it gives us some things to work on too.”Warrenton defeated St. Clair 48-36, claiming seven matches against the Bulldogs by fall.The Warriors’ losses came against Sikeston 51-30, Farmington 68-3, Poplar Bluff 54-26 and Pacific 45-30.“Our first two duals — against Farmington and Pacific — were probably the toughest,” said Fowler. “Those schools have always got great programs.”Warrenton then had the opportunity to experience success against St. Clair.“I thought we bounced back well,” said Fowler. “Even though I didn’t think we matched up very well against them, we wrestled very competitively.”Sophomore Dan Filipek continued his success at 145 pounds, sweeping all five of his matches. He recorded four pins and one victory by decision.“Dan is wrestling very consistent,” said Fowler. “He pretty much manhandled everybody but the Farmington kid, who gave him a close match.”Dominic Kennedy at 106 pounds and Dakota Werner at 126 pounds each went 3-1 for the Warriors.“Dominic is a tough kid and will surprise some people if he continues to wrestle hard,” said Fowler.At 152 pounds, Dylan Wade also came away with a winning record at 3-2.“He had been sick, but he’s a hard-nosed kid and came out and wrestled tough,” said Fowler.James Biship split for the day, going 2-2 at 138 pounds.In the 120-pound bracket, Seth Brierly finished 1-4.At 132 pounds, Brendan Brannock also went 1-4, while Steven Strohbeck finished in similar fashion at 160 pounds.But Fowler says the biggest loss of the day was when Strohbeck broke his fibula after getting his foot awkwardly caught on the mat. He, along with freshman Drake Meine, both sustained injuries during the tournament.“That’s what hurts us more than anything,” said Fowler. “We can’t really afford to be losing guys, because we are already short on numbers. We’re wrestling good as a team, but we just don’t have enough to field a team.”Fowler says the effort has been sufficient, but there are other areas to be polished.“We’ve got to get a little smoother on the technical side,” said Fowler.

The Warrenton wrestling team will compete in the GAC Tournament this weekend.

Derrick Forsythe Photo.