SULLIVAN — A top-four finish in their respective weight classes.

That was the goal over the weekend for Dustin Howard’s Owensville High School (OHS) Dutchmen wrestlers during the Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) Class 2, District 1 Boys Wrestling Tournament at Sullivan High School.

After the final whistle blew Saturday night, a total of five Dutchmen qualified for state joining their four Dutchgirl counterparts to make nine orange and black state qualifiers that will compete starting today (Wednesday) in Columbia at Mizzou Arena.

Seeded third, freshman Micah Duncan looked to end his first season of high school wrestling as a state qualifier at 113 pounds.

Winning his quarterfinal match by fall in 3:01 over Central’s (Park Hills) Hayden Neff, Duncan went on to upset second-seeded Tobias Winkler from Affton by fall in 2:49 to advance to the district title match against Sullivan’s Camden Henderson.

Pinned in 2:32 by his Eagle opponent, Duncan settled for second place in the district while qualifying for state.

Seeded first at 126 pounds, Dutchmen sophomore Steven Buddemeyer looked to punch his ticket to Columbia.

Pinning CPH’s Jasper Sisk in 1:45, Buddemeyer went on to pin St. Clair’s Creek Hughes in 3:27 punching his ticket to state and the district title match against Ste. Genevieve’s Karter Worley.

Playing dragon slayer with a win by fall in 3:14, Buddemeyer won a district title and will open the state tournament against a fourth-place finisher from another district.

Senior Kaleb Wells looked to cap his OHS wrestling career with a trip to state at 165 pounds.

Pinning Affton’s Endrit Rexhepi in 3:50 during the quarterfinals, Wells was then pinned by eventual district-runner up Evan Winters (Ste. Genevieve) in 1:51 during semifinal action.

Still a win away from state in the consolation semifinals, Wells punched his ticket to Columbia with a win by fall over St. James’ Logan Crocker in 3:13 advancing him to the district third-place match against CPH’s Garrett McDowell.

Winning a 6-1 decision over his Rebel foe, Wells will face a district-runner up in his first-round match at state.

With a Four Rivers Conference (FRC) title under his belt, Dutchmen junior Landon Kramme looked to add a district title to his list of accomplishments.

Opening his tournament at 175 pounds with a win by fall over CPH’s Matrim Politte in 1:21, Landon went on to win a 12-1 major decision over St. Clair’s Adam Folks in the district semifinals advancing him to the district title match against St. James’ Zane Achterberg.

Winning the match by fall in 3:59, Kramme joined Duncan in winning a district title for Dutchmen wrestling.

Also looking to end his OHS wrestling career in Columbia, senior Hayden Shoemaker rounded out Owensville’s contingency of district wrestlers at 285 pounds.

Pinning KIPP’s Joshua Griffin (:51) and Sullivan’s Nolan Center (4:18), Shoemaker advanced to the semifinals and a bout with Herculaneum’s Shea Eberhardt.

Battling to a low-scoring match through two periods, Shoemaker was eventually pinned in 5:21 sending him to the consolation semifinals against Normandy’s Nicholas Turner with a state-qualifying spot on the line.

Posting a win by fall over his Viking opponent in 1:18, Shoemaker advanced to the third-place match against Potosi’s Aden Martinez.

Earning a win by fall in 2;13 over his Trojan foe, Shoemaker placed third in the tournament at 285 pounds while Eberhardt was the district runner-up.

“All five of our state qualifiers busted their butts to get to where they are,” Howard said. “They’ve put in the work in the weight room and the wrestling room to be able to end their respective seasons as state qualifiers.”