Sikeston grapplers win Dexter tourney

DEXTER - Sikeston's wrestling team capped off an outstanding week on Saturday by winning the Dexter Tournament. Three days earlier, the Bulldogs beat Carbondale for the first time in three years.

"We had a really good week," said Sikeston wrestling coach Chris Hodgkiss. "We're looking to take this good momentum into the Tiger Classic. I was very pleased with how the guys performed."

Sikeston beat out Park Hills for the top slot, finishing with eight first place finishes in the tournament.

"I thought we could go over and score big points, but I was extremely pleased to have eight guys finish first," said Hodgkiss. "We had some kids that came back to win some matches they were losing with a pin at the end."

Jeremy Freeman (103), Kyle Weeks (125), Cleveland Anthony (130), Justin Keller (140), Scotty Keenan (152), Jackie Cowley (160) and Stewart Carraway (215) all went 4-0 in their respective weight divisions to take first place.

"Kyle Weeks is only a sophomore, and he's 7-0 on the year," noted Hodgkiss. "He had a really good tournament."

Scott Heuiser went 3-1 in the 189 class and also took first. Cody Ryan (112) and Adam Miller (119) went 3-1 and took second.

Cody Weeks (135) and heavyweight Joe Johnson both went 2-2 in the tournament.

At 145, Jonathan Cartner went 0-1 and was unable to finish due to a dislocated elbow. Ross Merideth was also unable to finish, going 0-3 before a knee injury forced him to stop. Sikeston will travel to Murphysboro on Tuesday before competing in the Tiger Classic Friday.

SIKESTON -- Poplar Bluff won the Sikeston Junior Varsity Tournament on Saturday. Sikeston placed second, followed by Cape Central, Dexter and New Madrid County Central.

"This year we used a round-robin format," explained Sikeston coach Chris Moore. "In previous years, a couple of forfeits gave some kids a medal for free. They had to earn their medals this year by wrestling at least three matches. Overall everything went really well, there were no injuries or problems."

Sikeston's Josh Holmes (125) and Andy Croxford (189) each went 3-0 in their respective divisions to finish in first place.

"Andy Croxford really wrestled great," said Moore. "He had an outstanding tournament. He was up against kids with varsity experience and was still able to win."

Max Hansen (112), Shawn Cooper (119), Daniel Klimmek (130) and Shay May (135) all went 2-1 in the tournament to take second place.

"I thought we made an improvement from our last meet," said Moore. "The kids really started using moves we've been drilling hard in practice out on the mat, and it made a big difference."