WARDSVILLE -- In years past, the Fatima Comets have been more of an individual wrestling team, usually having a number of open weight classes in their lineup.
They’ve plugged in more of those open spots this season, just not this weekend.
“Today, we had wrestlers who were hurt or sick, so we were scraping by a little bit,” Fatima coach Kurt Strope said after the Comets posted an 0-5 record Saturday in the Blair Oaks Duals.
It’s the second duals tournament of the season for the Comets, who competed last month in the Capital City Dual Tournament.
“We had some good competition here and we saw some good competition earlier this year when we were at Capital City,” Strope said. “At Capital City, with that full lineup, we were able to compete a little better.
“Today, it was a little rough, but we got some matches we needed before districts.”
For the second time this season, it was an opportunity for the Comets to face other teams from across the state without leaving Mid-Missouri.
“It’s nice when we can sleep in a little bit,” Strope said. “We’re getting out of here in pretty good time, it’s not a full Saturday.”
Fatima lost to Blair Oaks (41-24), Centralia (43-21), Savannah (60-15), Kirksville (42-36) and Sullivan (54-24).
Conner Willis led the Comets with a 4-1 record, splitting his time between matches at 175 and 190 pounds. He won a 9-5 decision in the Blair Oaks dual, then won by fall against Centralia and Sullivan. His fourth win was a forfeit victory against Kirksville.
“Conner did really well today, I was really pleased with him,” Strope said.
Nolan Laux was one of four Fatima wrestlers to finish the day with a 3-2 record. Laux bumped up to 126 in his two losses, but he started the day with a 6-2 win against Blair Oaks’ Easton DeMilia, who is a two-time state medalist in Class 2.
“He got some competition that he needed to see,” Strope said of Laux, who ended the day with an 8-6 win against Sullivan.
Tucker Tune went 3-1 wrestling at 113 and 120, while Caden Rosentreter was 3-2 at 106, Jesse Schroeder was 3-2 at 165/175 and Chase Willis was 3-2 at 165/175.
Trevor Herzing went 2-3 at 215 for the Comets. Herzing entered the dual tournament with a 35-2 record but saw plenty of tough competition from one match to the next. He ended the day with a win by fall against Kirksville, then won a 5-1 decision against Sullivan.
“We don’t get to see that many 215-pounders that are able to push him,” Strope said. “Today, three of his five matches went three periods. When he can get that, that’s a good day.”
Ryder Herzing had a 2-1 record at 144 and Thomas Kremer was 0-2 at 113 to round out the Comets’ lineup.
Fatima was open at seven spots in two of its five duals. The Comets were able to field nine wrestlers against Savannah.
However, when throwing out forfeits, Fatima won 15-of-31 times in head-to-head matchups, including eight wins by fall.
“These guys have aspirations of getting on that podium as a team this year,” said Strope, whose team had a fourth-place finish in Class 1 in 2021. “Today was good preparation for that.”
Fatima, which is ranked No. 9 in Class 1 by MissouriWrestling.com, finishes the season with a 19-10 record in dual competition. Eight of those losses came in its two dual tournaments.
“Before this year, we had at least four or five openings in every dual,” Strope said. “This year, I’ve been able to field a team that has only had one open weight class.
“Plus the kids enjoy trying to find a way to win as a team versus just going out there for themselves. They’ll push for that pin, they’ll push for that major decision.”
The Comets are off until Feb. 16, when they begin their postseason in the Class 1 District 2 Tournament at Butler.
“Hopefully the guys that are sick get better soon,” Strope said, “and the guys that aren’t sick stay that way, so we can get ourselves back healthy in two weeks.”