Jerry Jarrell photo Dexter senior Mikey Henley (shown on top in this file photo) placed second at districts and earned his third trip to the state tournament.

ST. LOUIS -- Dexter High School's Mikey Henley and Brittany Waldner both finished in the top four at the Class 2, District 1 wrestling tournament in St. Louis and will be representing the Bearcats at the state tournament, Feb, 14, 15 and 16 at Columbia.

It will be Henley's third trip to state. Henley pinned his way to the finals at district, where is was upset by Kevin Leclare of Ste. Genevieve.

"This match just didn't work out for Mikey," Dexter wrestling coach Rich Schwab said. "Mikey beat Leclare earlier this year at the SEMO Conference tournament, but the championship match just didn't work out in his favor."

Henley was leading in the match early, 5-2, before Leclare was able to record an escape, then used a "reverse headlock" to throw Henley.

Schwab said Henley spent the remainder of the third period on his back and eventually lost, 8-5.

Henley, wrestling in the 119 pound weight class, will take on Trevor Stevenson of Excelsior. Stevenson, a sophomore, hold a 19-17 record.

Waldner, who wrestles at 103, won here way to the semifinals before losing to Matt Arnold of Afton. Waldner fell behind early in the match, but battled back from a 20-8 score before losing 21-19.

After the loss, Waldner rebounded by pinning Abby Rose of Sullivan to make it to the state tournament, then pinned Jesse Martinelli of Ste. Genevieve for third-place honors.

Waldner will wrestle Trevor Ditto of Booneville, a freshman with a record of 23-13, in the first round of the state tournament.

Justin Robey (112 lb.) and Michael Spencer-Hayes (HWT), both made it to the "bubble match," which decides the last wrestler in a weight division to advance to the state tournament, but both came up short in their efforts.

Jerry Jarrell photo Dexter's Brittany Waldner was one of two Bearcats to advance to the state tournament after district action this weekend. Waldner, a sophomore, is shown in action above during an earlier match this season.

Other Dexter wrestlers were Zach McCoy (125), Dylan Hardin (130), Joey Moore (135), Colby Barnes (145), Jordan Averett (160), Josh Potter (171), Austin Chamberlain (189), and Daniel McClendon (215).