Road to state wrestling tourney takes detour

Michael Davison
Globe Sports Writer

Usually at this time of the wrestling season the district tournaments are over and talk is usually of who will qualify for the state tournament and who will do well in Columbia.

This year isn’t any different in the talk except for how wrestlers get to state.

With the state being divided into four classes this year, MSHSAA decided to eliminate the sectional round and form four districts per class with the top four advancing to state.

The districts are large and wide spread. The Class 4 District 3 Tournament at Jefferson City has teams from three corners of the state: Joplin, the Kansas City area and the St. Louis area.

Joplin now has the pleasure of being in the same district as Fort Zumwalt West – the third-ranked team in the state by missouriwrestling.com – along with 11 other teams. Luckily for the Eagles, Blue Springs South and not No. 2 Blue Springs is in the district.

The Eagles have been gradually improving each week, says first year head coach Shawn Finch. But these district tournaments are going to be hard to predict.

First, with 13 teams involved in each district, getting one of the top three seeds will be helpful because of byes but not crucial.

With very few common opponents, seeding will be difficult.

Also, qualifying for state after losing in the first round will be just like the state meet.

But if you finish fifth in the district, you can only go to state if you buy a ticket.