Pictures to be added later
On Thursday through Saturday, February 16-18, the Butler Bears varsity wrestling team took five wrestlers to the Mizzou Arena to compete in the state wrestling tournament. The Bears came away with a 19th place team finish overall at the tournament. Butler also had two individual state medalists, Trey Heckadon (2nd/ 113) and Austin Fix (6th/ 138). Other wrestlers competing for Butler included Michael Coy (220), Cale Diehl (195), and Dalton Harris (145). A 6th wrestler, Daniel Shubert (126), injured in the district wrestling tournament, qualified for the state competition but was unable to compete.
Coach Wackerman’s Comments
“What a finish to a marathon of a season. The state tournament is an experience unlike any other. The pressure of wrestling in front of thousands of people, 8 mats running at the same time, each wrestler wrestling every match that could be his last ever…extraordinary. Our wrestlers wrestled tough in this great event. We had some great moments and some heartbreakers, as well as most other teams in the state. It is bittersweet that the state tournament is the tournament which dwarfs all other tournaments, the competition above all others. So many surprises can occur, wrestlers can win or lose a match in a split second, anything can happen. We were fortunate and proud to bring home 2 more individual state medals for Butler High School. Cale Diehl finished his outstanding senior season in the Friday night “bubble match,” only one match short of the medal rounds. Austin Fix, a 2-time state qualifier already, took the next step in his third and final state tournament with a respectable 6th place medal finish, becoming the 28th state medalist in our school’s wrestling history. Trey Heckadon, who had already medaled last year at state, wrestled a tremendous wrestler from Tolton Catholic in the state championship match. While we fell short of the gold medal, clearly the two best class 1 wrestlers in the state at 113 wrestled for the championship. Trey should have another opportunity to bring home the gold in the next two seasons. Butler has brought home 11 silver medals since 1996, our last season when Butler had an individual state champion. Our motto this year had been, “Nothing is enough, unless it is the best.” As we go forward, our best must become even better. We will use the lessons learned and the good examples set by our seniors to forge ahead to an ever stronger future for our program. I will deeply miss our seniors and many of the families who have supported us over the past 4 years. There is no sports family quite like that which we have in the wrestling community. I would like to give a final thanks to our local media, our fans, our wrestlers and managers, our families, and our community supporters for their hard work throughout this season. We can’t do what we do without all of you.”
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