Notebook: Winter Sports Season Concludes For Lindbergh

Sometimes a team’s record only tells part of the story.

And while Lindbergh High School’s wrestling team finished the year with a 4-4 record in dual meets, coach Josh Hansel calls the season a success.

“I don’t think our record indicates how strong we were,” Hansel said. “We had our ups and downs in dual meets. Our coaching staff tends to view our duals as a chance for the kids to wrestle matches. We don’t put kids in duals that are sick or injured, but we take our tournaments very seriously.”

Lindbergh placed 10th in the 24-team Lee Summit Tournament, second in the 12-team Flyer Classic at Lindbergh High School, and first in the Howell North Tournament this season.

“Tournaments are a big deal for us,” Hansel said. “The kids get to wrestle in more than one match a day, just like in districts. It’s a very valuable experience, and they learn they have to get prepared mentally and physically to wrestle two to three matches a day.”

Lindbergh placed sixth in the 14-team Class 4 District 1 Tournament on Feb. 12 and qualified five wrestlers for state: junior Matt Ratterree, who wrestles in the 112-pound weight class, juniors Tom Korenak (125), Michael Slyman (152) and Chris Qew (189) and sophomore Sam Stinebrook (119).

Hansel started as head coach at Lindbergh six years ago. Last season, the school sent five competitors to state, and in 2008 and 2009 Lindbergh qualified just one wrestler for state.    

“We’ve been in a very, very tough district the last few years,” Hansel said. “If you get out, you’re very, very good.”

Two Lindbergh wresters won medals in the state tournament last month–Slyman won a state championship and Korenak placed sixth. Korenak defeated Francis Howell’s Sean O’Leary in the quarterfinals after O’Leary had defeated Korenak twice this season earlier in the season. Hansel said the win “jump started” his team’s tournament effort.

Slyman is the first state wrestling champion Lindbergh has produced since Rick Thompson won back-to-back state championships in 1964 and 1965. Slyman finished the 2010-2011 campaign with a 36-1 record.

“We knew that if he wrestled the way he was suppose to that he could do it,” Hansel said. “He made his competitors wrestle his match.”

Hansel said it was a big plus to head into the next season with five state qualifiers.

“When you take kids to state the other kids in the program learn that it’s doable,” he said. “They see that they’re a part of a quality program and a quality team. We also take our underclassmen to state so they can see the environment.”

LINDBERGH NOTEBOOK: HOOPS HONORS, HOCKEY
By: Brian Doolittle

The Suburban West all-conference boys basketball team was released this week, and Lindbergh senior forward Charlie Mueller was named to the first team. Mueller averaged 13.1 points per game and made a team-best 40 3-pointers.

On the second team is junior guard Blake Welch and senior guard Will Spitzfaden. Welch scored 11.1 points per game this season and shot 56 percent. Spitzfaden averaged 8.2 points.

The Flyers’ season ended on Feb. 23 with a 50-48 loss to Vianney in the Class 5 District 6 semifinals at Lindbergh. The Flyers went 11-14.

Meanwhile, the top-seeded Lindbergh hockey club advanced to the Wickenheiser Cup semifinals before seeing its season conclude with a loss to Wentzville Holt in the deciding mini-game. 

Lindbergh coach Greg Anderson’s Flyers went 11-14-3 this season and will lose seven seniors.