Fans of high school wrestling in Missouri got to hear a big announcement during the 2026 Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) Wrestling Championships held last week inside Columbia’s Missouri Arena.

Girls wrestlers in Missouri will no longer have to share the big stage of state wrestling with the boys.

With the addition of a third class of wrestling for girls in Missouri, postseason wrestling next winter will go back to the way it was.

Girls districts will be held over the first weekend of February followed by Boys districts over the second weekend of February.

Following those two weekends of tournament wrestling, state competition will change but remain in Columbia.

Over the third weekend of February, the MSHSAA Girls Wrestling Championships will take place at the Hearnes Center during the third Thursday through Saturday in February.

Boys wrestlers will go back to having their own weekend at Mizzou Arena over the final Thursday through Saturday of the month beginning next winter.

“I’m excited to be able to have our own weekend for state next year and it will help our girls enjoy the experience that much more,” Dutchgirl head wrestling coach Brandon Howard said.

During the past several years, Wrestlers have had to compete in up to three matches per day during their two days at state and this change will drastically reduce that to one or perhaps two matches per day.

This will give both the boys and girls a three-day state tournament allowing them to soak up the experience over an extra day instead of feeling rushed through what was the current format of having to wrestle four classes of boys and two classes of girls over a four-day span.

“I’m happy that the girls will get to enjoy their own weekend of state wrestling beginning next season,” Dutchmen head wrestling coach Dustin Howard said.

Over the past four days last week in Columbia, a lot of success was had not only by current Owensville High School (OHS) wrestlers but those wrestlers and coaches with past ties to the Owensville community.

Now the athletic director and an assistant wrestling coach at North Callaway High School, former OHS AD and head football coach Dale Long saw his boys Kellen and Hunter secure their places on the medal stand in their respective weight classes.

Now in his senior year at NCHS, Kellen Long captured a state championship at 157 pounds while his younger brother in sophomore Hunter Long finished second in Class 1 Boys Wrestling at 215 pounds.

NCHS also brought home a piece of team hardware placing third in the Class 1 Boys team standings just behind Marceline who finished second.

One member of Marceline’s coaching staff is former Dutchgirl head wrestling coach Zach Bollman.

Nearly 12 hours after Steven Buddemeyer received his third state medal, 1999 OHS graduate Beau Viehmann returned to Mizzou Arena Friday morning to see his son Kael Viehmann, now a sophomore at Hannibal High School, compete for the second time at state in Class 3 Boys Wrestling at 106 pounds.

“Congrats to Steven on a heck of an OHS wrestling career and on him getting his third state medal,” Beau Viehmann said.