COLUMBIA, Mo. — EmmaLyn Burnett held herself to high standards, even as she continued rapid development in a relatively limited amount of time.
Platte County junior Madeleine Stone locks up with Hazelwood East junior Persephone Morrison in a 235-pound wrestleback match during the Class 2 MSHSAA Wrestling Championships on Friday at Mizzou Arena in Columbia, Missouri.
The sixth-place medal Platte County’s third-year senior collected Saturday night at Mizzou Arena will mean more with increased reflection, but she didn’t shy away from expressing some disappointment after going from the Class 2 MSHSAA Wrestling Championships semifinals at 125 pounds to the last spot on the podium with three straight losses. However, she continued to push forward the program’s tradition on multiple levels.
Burnett joined KayLyn Munn, Serina Bertram and Lilly Brower as the only medalists in the program’s six-year history and gave them a top-six placer for a fifth straight tournament.
“I’m very hard on myself. I’ve always been like that,” Burnett said. “I will always know I should have done better, that I didn’t take the mind block away that I should have.
“I feel like all the ones I lost I should have performed 10 times better than I did.”
“She should be very proud of herself,” Platte County coach Reggie Burress said. “My goodness, she works hard; she puts in the extra work. There’s a lot of people who would like to get a state medal, and she came down and got a state medal.
“It seems like every someone steps up and gets it done. That was EmmaLyn this year.”
Platte County senior EmmaLyn Burnett works to turn Fort Zumwalt West sophomore Micah Barnes in a 125-pound quarterfinal during the Class 2 MSHSAA Wrestling Championships on Friday at Mizzou Arena in Columbia, Missouri.
The deepest lineup ever for Platte County produced only two state qualifiers with Burnett making a repeat trip, while first-year junior Madeleine Stone finished a standout debut season going 1-2 at 235 pounds. The Pirates entered 13 into the Class 2 District 4 tournament with Burnett and Stone both finishing third to advance.
That meant both Burnett and Stone opened with No. 2 seeds from other parts of the state.
In the 125 bracket, Burnett (38-12) recorded a pair of pins in her first two matches Friday to reach the semifinals and guarantee a medal regardless of Saturday’s results. She went 1-2 at state as a junior after entering as the third district champion in program history (Munn and Bertram) and didn’t necessarily fully grasp the significance of her two wins this year.
“To be honest, I didn’t know that I was at least getting sixth,” Burnett said. “I didn’t really realize it until how excited my coaches were from that match. (The first day), I was in a good mind space. I wrestled pretty good.”
Burnett led Eureka sophomore Mira Richardson 3-0 in their first round matchup, and a second takedown ended with Richardson (37-11) on her back and pinned with just 7 seconds left in the second period. In the quarterfinals, Burnett gave up a penalty point for locked hands in the first period against Fort Zumwalt West sophomore Micah Barnes (27-14) but needed only 30 seconds in the second period to turn Barnes and pin her in 2:30.
In the top six for much of the season in the Class 2 Missouri Wrestling rankings, Burnett went into state unranked but in a group of three receiving honorable mention that also included Richardson. Barnes had upset Nixa sixth-ranked freshman Abigail Counts in the first round.
Platte County senior EmmaLyn Burnett wrestles Fort Zumwalt South sophomore Jena Gumahin in a 125-pound semifinal during the Class 2 MSHSAA Wrestling Championships on Saturday at Mizzou Arena in Columbia, Missouri.
“I said I couldn’t have placed (Burnett) in the bracket any better. She was right where she needed to be,” Burress said.
In the semifinals, Burnett matched up with Fort Zumwalt South breakout star sophomore Jena Gumahin (38-2), who entered off of an upset of second-ranked Liberty senior Julia Breeden (46-9). Two weeks earlier, Breeden beat Burnett in the District 4 semifinals.
Gumahin controlled the match with Burnett outside of a third period reversal on the way to an 18-4 major decision to advance to the state championship match where she stunned everyone with perhaps the most stunning upset of any of Missouri’s six state tournaments. Gumahin threw Park Hill top-ranked junior Angelina Vargas (32-2), a two-time state champion, to her back 19 seconds into the third period and claimed the 125 title in dramatic fashion.
Burnett went on to lose an 8-2 decision to Lafayette (Wildwood) senior Toby Goertz (45-10) in a consolation semifinal and then a 7-4 decision to Francis Howell Central senior Katelyn Guth (37-15) in the fifth-place match. Goertz and Guth were ranked No. 4 and 5 at 125 and finished in those spots, but Burnett recorded a takedown against each and showed glimpses of the needed belief — real or imagined — needed to compete for “upsets.”
Platte County junior Madeleine Stone wrestles Lafayette (Wildwood) junior Aaliyah Grammer in a 235-pound match during the Class 2 MSHSAA Wrestling Championships on Friday at Mizzou Arena in Columbia, Missouri.
“I also say a little bit of delusion goes a long way. I will say I’m a little bit delusional in certain things I do,” Burnett said. “I normally perform well when I’m a little bit on the delusional side and I believe I can beat anyone.”
Stone went 1-2 in the 235 bracket and ended up eliminated on Friday.
Opening with second-ranked Lafayette (Wildwood) junior Aaliyah Grammer, Stone gave up a pair of early takedowns but reached the second period where she chose the down position. Grammer (34-7) turned and pinned Stone in 2:45 and went on to place fourth, while Stone immediately went to wrestlebacks.
Stone kept her tournament alive with a pin early in the second period of her next match against Hazelwood East junior Persephone Morrison (16-10) but then ran into imposing Fort Zumwalt East senior Riley Kortkamp (27-12). The bout went to the second period scoreless, and Kortkamp turned and pinned Stone in 1:29.
“Getting a win lets you know you belong here,” Burress said. “She didn’t sneak in. She deserved to be here, and she’ll come a long way next year, too.”
Stone joined the wrestling team after spending the past two winters swimming for Platte County, and she earned honorable mention all-state honors as part of a relay in her sophomore season. Burress had long ago seen a glimpse of what her potential could be in the sport but never actively recruited her, only benefiting after she made the decision to switch this year.
Platte County senior EmmaLyn Burnett prepares to accept her sixth-place medal from coach Reggie Burress during the Class 2 MSHSAA Wrestling Championships on Saturday at Mizzou Arena in Columbia, Missouri.
“I probably knew what she could be when she did a roundoff and back handspring in weights class when she’s still swimming,” Burress said. “I didn’t know she would choose to come and wrestle. I never once asked her to wrestle, and one day, Madeleine decided to wrestle. She’s real coachable and tries to do everything you ask and does it with a smile on her face.”
Burnett became just the third for Platte County to reach more than one state tournament and did so in just her third year in the sport — really more like 2 1/2 after earning a varsity spot late in her sophomore season. The Pirates should have a pair of returning state qualifiers next year looking to extend some of the successful streaks that remain active thanks to her work.
In addition to Stone, Platte County junior Giada Cucchiara missed all of this season due to a torn ACL suffered in fall soccer. She went to state as a sophomore as a District 4 runnerup and went 0-2.
“I’m excited to see how next year (goes), especially some of the girls I know have a lot of capability in the sport,” Burnett said. “As long as they have the drive and are willing to put in the extra work and the extra reps and all the sweat and the tears and the moments that go into it, I’m excited to see how they do in this sport and how far they take (the program).”
