By STEPHEN GLOVER
For the Call
Call it a late Christmas present.
Lindbergh High’s Tom Gose had hoped to qualify four wrestlers for this weekend’s state wrestling tournament, but six grapplers insisted on going.
“We were really happy with the district meet,” Gose told the Call. “We went in expecting to get four wrestlers qualified, so when we got six, we were definitely pleased.”
The Flyers tied for sixth of 13 teams at last weekend’s Class 4 District 1 tournament.
Three Lindbergh wrestlers took runners-up honors at districts — seniors Jeff Streibig, Greg Feilner and Ben Lachmann.
Streibig, with a 33-4 record, took second place at 130 pounds after suffering a pin to Seckman’s Ben Chellew, who’s 42-4.
Streibig is ranked second in the state and is slated to wrestle Dow McKnelly, 35-12, of Jefferson City in the first round of the state tournament.
“Jeff’s a returning medalist for us at state and it’s his third time going to state,” Gose said. “I’m not worried about him at all, I think he’ll do just fine up there.”
Feilner, 25-15, dropped a 7-2 decision to Matt Mitchell, 19-7, of Oakville in the championship match of the 145-pound weight class. Feilner is scheduled to face Jacob Guernsey, 38-9, of Joplin in round one of the state championships.
“Over four years time, Greg’s been a steady and reliable kid for us,” Gose said. “He was actually seeded third at districts and ended up placing second.”
Lachmann was one of the surprises at districts this season for the Flyers. The 160-pound grappler defaulted to Bobby Conn of Marquette, 39-1, in the district championship match. Lachmann’s advance to the district championship match moved him to eighth in the state rankings. He is scheduled to face Donald Woods, 32-14, of McCluer North in the first round of the tournament.
“This is Ben’s first trip to state,” Gose said. “He came close to qualifying last year but he came back this year and really made a big step from this year to where he was last year. He’s definitely got a shot because he’s good enough and talented enough to do it.”
At 119 pounds, Lindbergh’s Nick Stine-brook, 24-15, took third place at districts. The junior grappler is scheduled to face Jacob Nay, 43-4, of Oak Park in the first round of the state championships.
Sophomore Brock Summers, 23-14, took fourth at 103 pounds while junior Adam Bearden, 21-11, took fourth at 152 pounds.
Summers is to take on Wendell Jones, 36-3, of Hazelwood Central in the opening round of the state tournament, and Bear-den is to wrestle Bret Marshall, 35-7, of Liberty.
The tournament begins at 4 p.m. today — Feb. 17 — with the state championship matches scheduled for 5 p.m. Saturday. All matches will be at the Hearnes Center on the University of Missouri-Columbia campus.
