Last week, the Saint Louis U. High wrestling team competed in the Sectional tournament, the second leg of the postseason. Following success at Districts, where the team secured two #4 seeds, two #3 seeds, one #2 seed, and two #1 seeds, the Jr. Bills were eager for the chance to wrestle in the State Tournament in Independence, Missouri, during the second week of March.

Although the Saint Louis U. High wrestling team was not able to qualify as many wrestlers as they hoped for the State Tournament, they were thrilled with the performances of Nuemann and Owens, who each earned second place finishes at the tournament and will enter into the final tournament of the postseason, the State Tournament. 

SLUH entered Sectionals with wrestlers filling half of the fourteen available weight classes, occupying spots all the way from 132 pounds to 220 pounds. Each weight class featured an eight man bracket, where the top three would progress to the State Tournament. 

“We want to get as many guys through to State as possible. If we can get a top three finish we’ll be able to get there. It’s gonna be tough, but I think our guys are up for it,” said coach Will Whitney.

Senior Will Coovert, wrestling at the 132 pound weight class, kicked off the Jr. Bill’s representation in the Sectional Tournament with his first match against Fort Zumwalt West. Against a tough opponent, Coovert lost via fall towards the end of the second period. He then faced the a wrestler from Francis Howell North, a #1 seed from District 3. Coovert was pinned during the second period—yet ended his SLUH wrestling career on a positive note, forcing his opponent to earn the win and fighting until the whistle blew.

Junior Jack Onder (145) wrestled his first match of the day against a #2 seed from Fort Zumwalt West. Despite being the lower seed on paper, Onder won the match by major decision, 15-3. Following the lopsided win, Onder was pinned by an opponent from Fort Zumwalt North with thirty seconds remaining in the second period. Onder rebounded from the loss with an early second period pin against a wrestler from Francis Howell North, moving on to the third place match, where the victor would earn a spot at the State Tournament. 

In a thrilling fashion with the score tied 4-4, the match entered a sudden victory period, where the first wrestler to score wins the match. Unfortunately, Onder lost narrowly after he gave up a shot midway through the period. With a final score of 6-4, Onder’s impressive junior season ended.

Senior Leo Wagner’s (152) first match was against a #1 seed from Hickman. Wagner started strong, only giving up two points, but was ultimately pinned early in the second period and entered into wrestlebacks. There, Wagner faced a wrestler from Francis Howell North. Despite catching his opponent on his back with seconds left in the third period, Wagner lost the match by decision, concluding his SLUH wrestling career.

Senior Bobby Conroy (160) won his first match by fall, pinning his opponent from Battle in the opening moments of the second period. Next, in the semifinals, Conroy wrestled a #1 seed from Troy. He wrestled a grit-filled first period but entered the second period down by two points. On the attack in the early second period, Conroy went in for a shot, resulting in his head colliding with his opponent and immediately sending him stumbling backwards. 

Suffering from a concussion, Conroy was forced to forfeit the match, cutting short his postseason run. Regardless, Conroy’s injury fails to take away from his hugely impressive, 100+ win SLUH wrestling career, where he competed on varsity all four years and earned fourth place at the State Tournament in 2020, SLUH’s only top four state finish since Espen Conley in 2010.

Senior Gio Loftis battled his first match against an opponent from Holt. Loftis lost by fall during the first period and was sent to wrestlebacks. In his next match, Loftis faced a wrestler from Francis Howell. Loftis lost the match by decision despite posting five points on the scoreboard, bringing his SLUH wrestling career to an end.

In the upper weight classes, SLUH began to see its first instances of state-qualifying success on the day. Senior Logan Nuemann (195), entering the tournament as #1 seed, triumphed over his opponent from Hickman with a pin during the second period. This sent Nuemann to the semifinals, which ended similarly to his first match, asNeumann pinned a Francis Howell North wrestler with thirty seconds remaining in the first period and guaranteed his spot at the State Tournament.

Riding two dominant performances, Neumann entered the championship round aiming for a win, as it would allow him a first round bye at State. Despite wrestling a tenacious match, Neumann lost to an opponent from Holt by major decision and took second place at the tournament.

Junior Cayden Owens (220) also entered the tournament as a #1 seed. He won his first match against a wrestler from Troy by fall under a minute into the second period. 

Owens’s next match was slightly closer. Facing an opponent from Holt, the match was tied after three periods, meaning the two would enter a sudden victory round. No wrestler scored in this round either, so the match entered a series of two tiebreakers rounds, where each wrestler is given an opportunity to score from top and bottom position for thirty seconds. 

With the tie score still persisting even after the two tiebreakers, the match entered an ultimate tiebreaker, where the first wrestler to score during a thirty second time period would win the match. Owens was allowed to choose his position, as he scored the first points in the match. Opting for top position, he kept his opponent down for the entire match and was awarded the win. The victory guaranteed Owens a spot in the state tournament.

In his championship match, Owens  faced  a wrestler from Fort Zumwalt North. Owens lost by decision, 7-2, and took second place.

“We didn’t get as many guys through as we thought we would. That’s just how it goes some days. We wrestled hard, but for some some guys their best wasn’t enough. That’s one of the really hard parts about this sport — you’ll probably go out on a loss,” said Whitney. “The most difficult thing for me as a coach is to see some of my wrestlers’ seasons not end the way they thought it would or the way they worked for it to end. But I think that's a learning opportunity. We’re not here to create world champions. We’re here to create excellent young men and feed into the “Grad at Grad,” and I think we succeeded in that.”

In just over a week, Neumann and Owens have the opportunity to represent SLUH on the podium for just the second time in the past ten years, as Conroy was the only SLUH wrestler to place at the State Tournament in the last decade.

“We’re just working on tuning the little things. The coaches are watching everything they’re doing and are making sure to tighten up the small things. The next week is just going to be fine tuning for State and getting us in the position we want to be in,” said Whitney. “Our goal for the State Tournament is winning medals. It’s reasonable for both Cayden and Logan to place, and I’m excited to see them go out there and crush it.”