Lindbergh Wrestlers Preparing For State, Slyman Tops the List

If the Lindbergh Flyers are to bring home any individual 2011 state wrestling championships, it most likely will come from superstar grappler Michael Slyman.

Qualification matches were completed at district tournaments across the St. Louis region last weekend, and the Flyers enjoyed a strong Class 4 District 1 tourney at Northwest High School. Lindbergh junior Michael Slyman placed first at 152 pounds, and four additional Flyers advanced to state. Lindbergh finished sixth overall at districts.

Slyman, who has a 32-1 mark at 152 pounds this season, has been pegged by many as the man to beat in his weight class. He's been among the top-five at his weight class in the missouriwrestling.com rankings all season.

The 81st MSHSAA State Wrestling Championships will be Feb. 17-19 at Mizzou Arena in Columbia, Mo.

Joining Slyman is junior Matthew Ratterree (112), sophomore Sam Stinebrook (119), junior Tom Korenak (125) and junior Christopher Kew (189) are headed to Columbia for the championship tourney.

Ratterree has a 26-15 mark this season while Stinebrook is 31-12, Korenak 26-16 and Kew 30-10.

The Class 4 District 1 tourney included these squads: Eureka, Fox, Jackson, Kirkwood, Lafayette, Lindbergh, Marquette, Mehlville, Northwest, Oakville, Parkway South, Seckman, SLUH, and Vianney. It was held Feb. 11 and Feb. 12, and produced some gritty performances as wrestlers competed to find out if a season of training, preparation, and meets had readied them for state qualification.

Seckman came out on top at Northwest in team points with 184.5, winning the district on the heels of four individual championship performances. Freshman Brock Wingbermuehle (103), junior Matt Kraus (112), senior Denny Kleinschrodt (125) and junior Blake Pepper (140) led the Jaguars with first-place finishes.

Lafayette finished third at the tournament, and seven Lancers qualified for the state finals. Nick Olejnick (135) captured the only individual championship for Lafayette in a district competition coach Scott Sissom referred to as a rollercoaster ride.

“We’ve had some ups and downs; we would have liked to get more kids into the medal round, but we are strong in the same weight classes where other programs are strong,” said Sissom.

The Lafayette coach singled out Ryan Siebert (130) and Kyle Black (140) as qualifiers that the team considers dangerous as they head to Columbia.

Sophomore Matt McClimens (189) posted a first-place finish for Eureka as the Wildcats advanced three wrestlers to the state championships. Coach Tim Yancey said, "We knew Matt would be strong, and we expect him to be a top-six medalist at Columbia."

Marquette saw six of its wrestlers qualify for state, and though the Mustangs did not put up an individual champion, they took fifth overall and coach George Hovis commented on his team’s progress being a result of a good process.

“There’s always good and bad, and I take it all with a grain of salt. But our guys worked very hard, and we have some wrestlers like Zach Conn (152), who drew probably the best guy in the bracket and battled his way back."

Parkway South will take three wrestlers to state, including first-place champion Donnell Walker (heavyeight, 285). Mehlville will see Jimmy Brockman (135) go to Columbia for the finals. Brockman won a minor decision to take third place at the district tournament. Brockman’s opponent, Matthew Jackson, of Oakville, will also make a trip to the finals next weekend.

While area representation is substantial heading into next weekend’s tournament, much work remains for individual wrestlers hoping to climb onto the champions stand at Mizzou Arena.

Still, though not all coaches say it, probably most have similar feelings of pride this time of year to those of Marquette’s Hovis: “Every kid on my team, I’d like to have as either a son-in-law, or a brother … they’re all great,” Hovis said.