Notebook: McCluer North's Whitener One Win From State Title

(Updated with Friday's results)

McCluer North will have two wrestlers competing on Saturday at the Missouri State Wrestling Championships at Mizzou Arena in Columbia, Mo.

Patrick Whitener is one win away from a state championship. Whitener won his third consecutive decision with a 4-2 victory over Rockhurst’s Drew Daniels on Friday night.

Stars junior Darrell Pampkin can still take third place at state with two more wins. Pampkin notched a thrilling 9-7 overtime victory over Central-St. Joseph’s Colby Bravo. That followed his 7-4 decision over Lee’s Summit Coulter Allen.

Senior Fard Harris lost two matches on Friday, ending his season at 37-10. At 125 pounds, Curtis Peebles had his season end on Friday in a 7-1 loss to Holt’s Clayton Ream.

Hazelwood Central senior wrestler DuShawn Frasier lost to Timberland’s Jesse Freise, 3-2, on Friday. He ends his season at 37-1. Hawks senior Tyrone Williams lost to Rockhurst’s Chandler Smith, 6-2, and ends at 22-7.

Meanwhile, McCluer’s wrestling season came to an end on Friday. Senior John King, wrestling at 119 pounds, lost to Camdenton’s Anthony Franicevich, 8-3. At 215 pounds, junior John Cain lost to Bailey Sutko (Staley), 2-1, in overtime.

Friday's Story:

The ultimate achievement a high school wrestler can attain is an undefeated state championship season. Hazelwood Central senior wrestler DuShawn Frasier is three wins away from such a milestone.

The 81st Missouri State Wrestling Championships will conclude on Saturday night at Mizzou Arena in Columbia, Mo. It will certainly be no surprise if Frasier takes first place for the Hawks as he entered the tourney ranked No. 1 at 152 pounds in Class 4 by missouriwrestling.com.

Frasier improved to 36-0 after winning his opening match on Thursday, beating Rock Bridge’s Josh Graskins in a decision 3-1. 

Also for the Hawks, senior Tyrone Williams extended his season. Williams, wrestling at 160 pounds, improved to 21-6 after defeating Vianney’s Brett Lux in an 8-5 decision.

Hazelwood Central qualified two other wrestlers for the Class 4 state championships, but they did not make it past Thursday’s opening round. Wrestling at 125 pounds, sophomore Joe Shell lost to Samuel Crane (Rock Bridge) in his opening match, 18-3, in a technical fall. In his final match of the season, Shell dropped a 9-4 decision to Jesse Morris of Lee’s Summit. Shell finishes with a 24-8 mark this season.

At 145 pounds, senior Nick Jordan lost to Brenden Southards (Northwest-Cedar Hill) in a major decision, 8-0, then fell to Hickman’s Keith Kimbrough in a decision, 5-2. Jordan’s season ends with a 22-14 mark.

Meanwhile, McCluer North had four of its six state Class 4 qualifiers get past the opening day.

At 119 pounds, senior Fard Harris beat Paxton Diblasi from Park Hill in a 5-1 decision. Harris is 37-8 this season. Junior Curtis Peebles, wrestling at 125 pounds, beat Ozark’s Grant Godfrey in a minor decision, 12-3. Peebles is 39-6 this season.

Junior Darrell Pampkin (130 pounds) kept his season alive by beating Marquette’s Thomas Makowsky in a fall at 1:44. Pampkin, who lost to Nixa’s Dakota Davis, 11-9, in his opening match, is 39-11. At 145 pounds, senior Patrick Whitener (35-9) beat Nicholas Dondzila of Vianney in a 9-5 decision. Whitener is ranked No. 7 in the state.

Junior Delvin Hutson saw his season wind down with losses at 135 pounds to Park Hill’s Derek Rens, 6-2, and James Brockman (Mehvlille) in a fall at 3:45. Hutson finished 21-13 this season.

Senior Conner Linehan, grappling at 160 pounds, also dropped his first two matches to be eliminated. Linehan lost to Zachary King (Northwest-Cedar Hill), 10-5, and to Blue Springs’ Joey Hutchens, 6-2. Linehan ends his season at 30-16.

In Class 3 state wrestling, McCluer advanced two of its three state qualifiers.

Senior John King (119) rebounded from his 10-6 loss to Helias Catholic’s Logan Shea and defeated Rockwood’s Summit’s Mitchell Baer in a major decision, 16-2. King is 24-13. Junior John Cain, wrestling at 215 pounds, lost to Neosho’s Matt Millard in a close 4-2 decision but bounced back strong to beat Hillsboro’s Joshua Mayberry, 4-1. Cain is 27-5 this season.

At 103 pounds, sophomore Marvin Nelson dropped both of his matches to end his season at 41-8.

AREA SCHOOLS GEARED UP FOR DISTRICT HOOPS

The Hazelwood Central boys closed out its regular season on Thursday night with a 79-51 rout at Pattonville. The Hawks, at 7-0, finished atop the Suburban North Conference and will enter next week’s district competition at 25-1 and as the top seed. Hazelwood Central will host the Class 5 District 2 tourney beginning on Monday, with the district title game set for 7 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 25.

Senior guard Trae Anderson leads Hazelwood Central with 14.3 points per game. The Hawks will play either Hazelwood East or Normandy at 5 p.m. next Wednesday, Feb. 23.

McCluer (18-9, 6-1) will enter next week’s districts as the No. 2 seed, and McCluer North (22-4, 5-2) as the No. 3 seed.

McCluer North won its first 19 games before its recent struggles. The Stars wrapped its regular season with a 90-41 home victory against Ritenour on Thursday night as senior guard B.J. Young scored 33 points. The Stars will next play on Monday against sixth-seeded Riverview at 2 p.m. at Hazelwood Central’s district tourney.

McCluer is off until Wednesday, when it will play the winner of the McCluer North-Riverview game at 7 p.m. If the Comets play the Stars, it will match Young against Comets star guards in senior Shaquille Boga (19.8 points per game) and junior Demetrious Floyd (14.5 points per game). Young averages 29.6 points per game.