Down but never out, Platte County pieces together 4th-place finish in Class 4 District 4 debut

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Despite all of the unknowns, Platte County turned in an impressive debut in an ultra-competitive Class 4 District 4 tournament over the weekend at Park Hill High School. The Pirates entered with all eight returning state qualifiers in the lineup for the first and only time this season and finished fourth out of 16 teams in the final standings.

Despite stepping into the state’s largest classification for the first time in program history, Platte County seniors Grant Fadler and Cole Johnson juniors Jaxson Shute, Jack Johnson and Cooper Hammontree all earned medals and trips to this week’s Class 4 MSHSAA Wrestling Championships, while junior Chase Hulett completed the opening phase of an increasingly impressive comeback by earning a first berth. Uncertainty and injuries threatened to derail the promising followup to last year’s fourth-place state finish in Class 3 at multiple times.

The pieces came together at just right the time for Platte County — the smallest public school in all of Class 4.

“We had a good weekend,” said Platte County coach Reggie Burress, set to retire following this season after 29 years with the program. “There’s always matches looking back we wanted to get, but we probably got some matches we weren’t supposed to get. I’m proud of everybody.”

Platte County’s deep contingent of state qualifiers included three previous medal winners, and the two returning finalists led the way and made some history for one of the state’s most historically successful programs.

Shute — a 2024 Class 3 runnerup at 106 and 2025 champion at 120 — became the first Class 4 individual district champion in Platte County’s history with a 3-0 run through the 138-pound bracket. Cole Johnson reached the final at 215 and finished second, marking his first title bout at this level of the postseason despite finishing second at state in Class 3 as a junior in the same weight class. He became a four-time state qualifier, as did Fadler (fourth, 150).

Jack Johnson (fourth, 165) and Shute both earned a third trip to state, while Hammontree (third, 190) returns after making his debut as a junior.

Hulett (third, 144) enters Friday’s opening day of the Class 4 MSHSAA Wrestling Championships as Platte County’s only debutant. He missed each missed the past seasons after suffering a torn left ACL as a freshman and a sophomore while playing football in the fall.

“It’s a blessing. Missed the last two years, and I’m just ready to go,” Hulett said. “For Reggie’s last year as well, it’s just all coming together.”

With the football team winning a second straight undefeated state title in early December, Platte County opened the season without seven of the 13 wrestlers in the district lineup. Most returned before the 2026 portion of the schedule, but injuries kept Cole Johnson (knee) and senior Quinn Lightle (ankle) out for even longer. Cole Johnson later returned and suffered a head injury, meaning he came back for districts with just five matches on his ledger, while Shute missed extended time due to a shoulder injury suffered in late December’s KC Stampede tournament to create an additional unexpected hole in the lineup.

Through precarious portions of the season, Hulett took an even more important role despite having no prior high school matches — just a lot of untested potential.

The payoff came at districts. Hulett entered with the No. 3 seed behind the highly touted duo of Staley senior Miller Sipes and Liberty junior Roman Stewart then needed to hold on late to earn a 4-3 decision over Park Hill South senior Tommy Wolfgeher (30-17) just to reach the semifinals. Sipes (36-4) pulled away for a 17-2 win by technical fall over Hulett on his way to the district title.

However, Hulett (31-10) came back and pinned Rockhurst senior Nigel Shipley (30-13) late in the second period to secure the state berth. Importantly, Hulett then prevailed in the third-place match, coming out on the better end of a scramble in the 1-minute sudden victory overtime period to record a 7-4 decision over St. Pius X sophomore Boyer Ward (21-19).

“It felt great, man,” Hulett said. “I was pretty scared for about a split second, but I came out on top.”

Shute’s 138 championship bout preceded Hulett in the placement matches Saturday afternoon.

Improving to 19-2, Shute remained unbeaten since returning from a shoulder injury suffered in a medical forfeit loss to Millard South (Nebraska) star Kiernan Meink at KC Stampede. Those two were unexpectedly in the consolation bracket after Shute lost to Fort Osage senior Antonio Martinez and then matched up with top-seeded Meink coming off of an upset loss.

The result with Martinez determined the top two spots in the Class 4 District 4 bracket.

The No. 2 seed, Shute received a first-round bye and needed early two minutes total to pin both Oak Park sophomore Zane Phelps (18-22) and Park Hill South senior Wyatt Togio (12-0) in the quarterfinals and semifinals. That set up a rematch with Martinez in the championship bout.

Martinez granted Shute an escape to start the third period for the only point of the match. Shute held on for a 1-0 decision victory after riding out Martinez for the entirety of the second period and narrowly avoiding a late takedown.

“Got it done again. That’s what I’d say: found a way,” Burress said of Shute, who lost 5-2 in sudden victory in the previous matchup.

With the criteria due to a Class 3 state runnerup finish last season, Cole Johnson (6-2) earned the top seed in Class 4 District 4 at 215 pounds, having taken his only loss prior to the postseason while suffering a head injury during his match with Lee’s Summit North senior Barrett Lawless in January’s Blue Valley West Dual Tournament.

Cole Johnson’s first action in more than a month resulted in a second-period pin against Fort Osage senior Nathan Parker in the quarterfinals. He then scored the winning takedown of a 4-3 decision in the third period of a highly competitive semifinal against Park Hill junior Louis Van Batavia, who came back to place third.

In the final, North Kansas City junior Kobe Rhymes — a high-level Division I football recruit — recorded the only three takedowns and won a 10-4 decision over Cole Johnson to take the 215 title.

“I’m just excited to be able to come out here and wrestle. It’s a lot of fun,” said Cole Johnson, who placed third at 215 as a junior, fourth at 175 as a sophomore and third at 175 as a freshman in three previous Class 3 district appearances. “There’s a ton of positives I can take away (from the loss to Rhymes). I’ve just got to stay in my stance, get a little more conditioned. Not having as much practices kind of dips down my conditioning, but other than that, it’s pretty good.”

Platte County went 2-3 in Saturday’s semifinal round, but all five to advance that far eventually earned medals, including Hulett, Jack Johnson and Hammontree. The Pirates scored 115 1/2 points to finish right behind a breakaway top three, and the six total qualifiers ranked behind only district champion Liberty (260 points, 13 qualifiers) and runnerup St. Pius X (nine qualifiers, 202 1/2 points).

Staley came in third with 142 points and also sent six to state.

Liberty entered the season as the six-time defending state champions in Class 4, while St. Pius X won titles in Class 2 (2024) and Class 3 (2025) while continuously moving up due to the private school success multiplier. Platte County came out ahead of Park Hill (fifth, 110 points) and Fort Osage (sixth, 103 points) in the district standings after both finished in the top 10 at state in Class 4 last year behind fifth-place Staley.

“We got fourth last year at state and coming out here in Class 4 and getting fourth in this district?” Cole Johnson said. “I’ll tell you this much: it’s the hardest district of all of wrestling, all classes, this year. So being able to come out here and prove that we actually deserve to be in this class and we’ll show you how good we are means everything to me.”

Just like Hulett, Hammontree and Jack Johnson both needed consolation semifinal victories to clinch repeat state berths.

Hammontree (27-9) with his third-pace finish held seed in the 190 bracket but produced dramatic finishes in two of his four wins. He opened with a pin but needed a third period reversal to win a 7-6 decision over North Kansas City sophomore Laith Alhashemi to reach the semifinals.

Blue Springs South second-seeded junior Cy Wilmes (30-3) pinned Hammontree in the first period to advance to the final.

Hammontree came back with back-to-back victories to match his third-place finish at 190 in Class 3 District 4 last year. The first clinched the state berth, but he gave up the opening takedown to Liberty North senior Spencer Deuschle (12-7) and needed a tying takedown in the third period to force overtime where he earned an 8-5 decision with another three points in sudden victory.

In the third-place match, Hammontree pinned Rockhurst junior Chase Quinn (28-13) in the third period of a rematch from the Blue Springs Invitational just weeks earlier — an 11-2 major decision for Hammontree.

“I think Cooper never really panics. He just keeps fighting,” Burress said.

A No. 1 seed, Jack Johnson hoped to make a hoped to earn a second district title berth and first since his freshman season at 144 pounds.

However, the 165 bracket proved one of the most evenly matched across the top four. Jack Johnson dominated his first two matches to reach the semifinals but lost a 12-6 decision to Grain Valley junior Sjoeren Aumua in the first meetings of their careers.

Aumua went on to finish as runnerup to Park Hill senior Noah Johnson (38-7), while Jack Johnson rebounded with a 9-1 major decision over North Kansas City senior Aaron Colvon. Liberty sophomore Justice Williams (16-14) bounced back from his 9-7 loss to Noah Johnson in the semifinals, pinning Jack Johnson early in the second period of the third-place match.

“(Jack) wasn’t going to be denied, especially after his brother had already qualified,” Burress said.

Fadler took the most adventurous and difficult route to advance out of districts and earn a final shot at earning a state medal. Seeded fourth at 150, he dropped a 10-4 decision to Liberty North sophomore Brayden Hennegin (14-9), who lost his next two matches after the upset win.

Facing the potential of a premature end to his career, Fadler rolled off a pin and two major decisions to reach the consolation semifinals for a pivotal matchup with fifth-seeded Staley sophomore Jackson Atherton (17-9), who showed obvious frustration after falling behind 7-0.

Fadler scored a takedown in both the first and second period and then earned a penalty point for Atherton’s overly aggressive crossfacing in the third period. Atherton worked from the top position for the final 2 minutes and did earn four near-fall points late, but Fadler avoided a pin and moved on to the third-place match where he lost to .

St. Pius X sophomore Luke Cline (36-12) pinned Fadler in 1:35 to give him a third-career fourth-place finish at districts — 2024 at 126 and 2025 at 132 — in addition to last year’s runnerup showing at 144 in Class 3.

“You look at Grant who has stepped up and been a big leader here lately and loses first round and finds away to come back and get through. Not everyone can do that,” Burress said of Fadler, who has a 2-6 career record at state after going winless last season as a junior.

Platte County senior Quinn Lightle (285) and sophomores Cade Crawford (113) and Hank Marriott (157) all came up short of advancing past districts for the second time.

Of that group, only Crawford — a returning fifth-place Class 3 state medalist — reached the consolation semifinals but couldn’t overcome a 6-1 loss to Staley sophomore Rylan Shaw in the quarterfinals. Crawford received an opening-round bye and then fell behind 6-0 in the first period after giving up a takedown and three near-fall points in one early sequence. Shaw rode him out for the entirety of the second and third periods, allowing only a penalty point late.

Shaw went on to place fourth and advance to state, while Crawford won his first two matches on Saturday before receiving a difficult draw in the consolation semifinals. Park Hill junior Caden Brayfield (36-5) — the top seed — entered off of an upset loss in the semifinals and earned a 15-5 major decision over Crawford (30-9), who did record a takedown late in a season-ending defeat.

Up five weight classes from last season, Marriott (23-10) couldn’t overcome a late deficit in a 7-4 decision loss to fourth-seeded Park Hill junior Grant Armentrout (30-14). Marriott then went 1-1 in consolation bracket matches, ending his season on a 9-6 loss to Blue Springs South junior Caleb Hart (28-11) just weeks after a dominant victory over him in the Blue Springs South Invitational.

“Crawford and Hank were both right there,” Burress said. “We just have to keep getting better.”

Lightle went 1-2 and also lost in the third round of wrestlebacks to finish a four-year varsity career. He also bowed out of the same part of the bracket at 190 as a freshman and missed a state berth by one match as a sophomore at 285 before a breakthrough junior season that ended up just one win shy of a state medal.

Incidentally, Lightle (7-3) went into Class 4 District 4 competition unseeded and drew Grain Valley junior Maui Sua (22-10) in the first round. They met three times in last year’s postseason at the Class 3 level with Sua — then at Northeast (Kansas City) — going 3-0 and beating Lightle at state to advance into the medal rounds.

Sua won a 10-2 major decision on Friday but ultimately also fell short of a state berth.

Lightle stayed alive with a 5-3 devision over Park Hill junior Adien Donar but lost Friday’s opener 1-0 to Liberty North senior Luke Dale (21-20), who scored an escape in the second period for the match’s only point. Lightle chose the down position to start the third but did not score.

“It’s such a small margin for error here,” Burress said. “Some matchups are just better than others. At Class 3, you could get away with a lot more.

Open at 120, Platte County’s only wrestlers to go winless were sophomore Ian Giese (132) in his first postseason and senior Liam Franksen (126) in his third. Lennon Fitzpatrick (12-20) scored a pin in the first round against Oak Park freshman Jayden Hills (13-18) after going 0-2 in Class 3 District 4 as a vastly undersized 113 as a freshman

Platte County junior Justice Martin (15-14) won the second of his three matches in the 175 pound bracket while making his postseason debut, moving into the lineup only after Fadler, Marriott and Jack Johnson all dropped down a weight class. Martin actually led late in their second round wrestleback match with Truman junior Gabriel Soliz (23-6), who secured a pin late and eventually advanced to state after top-seeded Park Hill senior Sammy Mormino (29-6) — a returning state finalist suffered a season-ending injury in a semifinal loss.

Mormino medically forfeited to Soliz in the consolation semifinals.

“Obviously, it’s my last district tournament,” Burress said. “I feel proud about the way the kids competed and battled. Not just the ones who are going to state, but the ones that didn’t go to state. I’m honored to have coached them and been able to spend time with them on my last journey.”

In many ways, the last district tournament at Platte County for Burress seemed fitting. The Pirates went in trying to make a statement while facing the latest challenge.

Burress came to Platte City in the late 1990s with the program on the brink of becoming a small school powerhouse, collecting seven team state titles in Classes 1A/2A, 1 and 2 before spending the past decade-plus earning a place as a Class 3 contender and now trying to prove the ability to compete regardless of level. The Pirates have now made the first appearance in Class 4 and might not be back next season but made a statement about program’s credentials and identity.

“It’s funny. I’ve got to see it all,” Burress said. “From the small to the big, it’s been great. I’d say we probably outperformed what a lot of people would have thought we could do, especially coming into this season.”