Johnson returns to state meet

FARMINGTON -- Sikeston senior heavyweight Joe Johnson earned his third trip to the state wrestling championships.

A two-time medalist, Johnson captured a fifth in 2003 and a fourth in 2004. In the Missouri State High School Activities Association's revamped classification system, Johnson will be Sikeston's lone representative in the Class 3 division.

Johnson (38-5) is paired against Nixa's Lee VonAllman (34-8) in the first round of the tournament which runs from Thursday through Saturday in the Hearnes Center on the campus of the University of Missouri at Columbia.