Linsenbardt leads charge for Helias wrestlers

The 113-pound weight class figures to be one of the most competitive in the Class 3 District 4 wrestling tournament.

And part of that reason is the presence of Dylan Linsenbardt of the Helias Crusaders.

"It's going to be a tough tournament for Dylan," Helias coach Travis Reinsch said after Thursday night's coaches seeding meeting. "It has got to be one of the toughest weight classes in the district.

"But that's good because Dylan's the type of person and the type of wrestler who can take that pressure and use it to his advantage."

Linsenbardt is seeded second behind Jaret Singh of Kearney at 113. Singh, who won the state title at 113 last year, is also the top-ranked wrestler at the weight by MissouriWrestling.com, one spot ahead of Linsenbardt.

"Dylan has worked very hard to get to this position," Reinsch said of the senior (42-7), who was fifth at 113 last season.

Helias has one other seeded wrestler in the tournament. Slater Schrimpf (jr., 28-21) earned the No. 5 spot at 106.

"I like where Slater's at," Reinsch said. "He has a good shot at getting through to the state tournament. At this point, a lot of good things could happen for him in the tournament if he comes out confident and ready to go."

Helias has eight other wrestlers at the tournament - Aaron Mankin (sr., 6-13) at 132, Austin Schnieders (jr., 19-20) at 145, Matt Anderson (sr., 10-15) at 152, Zak Stokes (sr., 10-23) at 160, Clayton Rockers (sr., 15-26) at 170, Nate Jones (jr., 11-33) at 182, Alex Schwinke (jr., 8-21) at 195 and Matt Peppard (sr., 7-39) at 220.

"Some of those guys have a shot at getting out, if they get some breaks," Reinsch said.

Helias is open at 120, 126, 138 and 285. Ryan Mankin, a senior, was scheduled to wrestle at 138, but will not be at the tournament due to an illness.

Five teams in the district are ranked among the top 10 in Class 3, led by No. 1 and defending state champion Kearney. The others are No. 3 Warrensburg, No. 5 Staley, No. 7 Oak Park and No. 9 Platte County.

The top four individuals in each weight class advance to next week's state tournament, which begins Thursday at Mizzou Arena.