Platte County junior Jake Fernandez wrestles Whitfield junior Adrian Harrold in the a 220-pound wrestleback match during the Class 3 Missouri State Wrestling Championships on Saturday at Mizzou Arena. ROSS MARTIN/PC Preps Extra

Fernandez places 3rd after title defense ends with frustrating quarterfinal loss

Platte County ends up with just 1 medal in Class 3 with Hulett having best state tournament yet but just missing the podium and 5 1st-time qualifiers eliminated on Day 1.

COLUMBIA, Mo. — With no senior qualifiers, Platte County knew the ultimate success for the Class 3 Missouri State Wrestling Championships might end up being the participation and continuing the progression toward a bright future. The Pirates didn’t underachieve but left Mizzou Arena with some disappointments.

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Platte County junior Shane Leary goes under his opponent during a 132-pound wrestleback match during the Class 3 Missouri State Wrestling Championships on Friday at Mizzou Arena.

Platte County junior Jake Fernandez became a two-time state medalist but didn’t defend his state championship. Caden Hulett, a junior, experienced his most successful state tournament in three tries but just missed a spot on the podium. Of the five first-time qualifiers, only freshman Grant Fadler won a match, while junior Shane Leary, sophomores Darrell Smith and Evan Maccuish and Cole Johnson went 0-2 in their state debuts.

“Overall, I think it kind of played out how it was on paper, probably how it should for the most part,” Platte County coach Reggie Burress said. “Obviously, we would’ve liked Fernandez to repeat and get Caden on the medal stand. I kind of hoped to get a couple more wins there from some kids and give them more experience, but five of them down here getting experience with a first trip to state? Hopefully, we can build on that and bring into next season.”

Platte County entered the season with Fernandez and Hulett as proven commodities and only four others with prior postseason experience. Yet, the Pirates maximized opportunity in Class 3 District 4 competition, finishing fourth in the team standings and advancing half of a mostly inexperienced and developing lineup to state.

However, Fernandez won the only individual district title, and he received the most challenging draw possible in the Friday portion of the 215-pound bracket.

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Platte County junior Jake Fernandez locks up with Branson senior Cade Grimm during a 215-pound quarterfinal in the Class 3 Missouri State Wrestling Championships at Mizzou Arena in Columbia.

After a quick pin of Vianney junior Sam Berger (27-18) in the first round, Fernandez — the state champion as a sophomore in the now defunct 220 weight class ranked No. 2 according to Missouriwrestling.com — matched up with Branson senior Cade Grimm, who finished as a district runnerup to McDonald County junior Sam Murphy . Grimm (41-4) entered state ranked No. 3, while Murphy held the No. 1 spot.

In the featured matchup, Grimm scored the initial takedown on Fernandez and led 2-1 late in the first period. Fernandez then went in deep on a shot but gave up the leg and ended up in a body lock when Grimm went to his strength in throws. He ended up with Fernandez on his back on the edge of the mat and scored the fall with 2 seconds left in the first period — bringing an unexpectedly emphatic end to repeat hopes.

“We had two hands on the leg, took it off the leg and went to the waist and didn’t get the takedown that I think would have changed the momentum of that match,” Burress said.

After the loss, Fernandez immediately came back Friday morning to wrestle Fort Zumwalt South senior William Pierce (42-9) in a wrestle back elimination match. A district champion, Pierce suffered a first round upset loss to Willard sophomore Alex Nunez (27-12) and ended up going out of the tournament after a 3-1 loss to Fernandez, who scored the winning takedown in the closing seconds of the second period.

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Platte County junior Jake Fernandez locks up with Willard sophomore Alex Nunez in a 215-pound wrestleback match during the Class 3 Missouri State Wrestling Championships on Saturday at Mizzou Arena in Columbia.

Fernandez advanced to Saturday’s consolation rounds and appeared to have Whitfield junior Adrian Harold (31-17) pinned in the second period of his next match. However, his move finished with Harrold partially on an adjacent mat with an active match, which nullified the fall and ended up with just two near-fall points.

Incidentally, Fernandez benefitted from the same ruling in his sophomore state run when Murphy had a winning takedown nullified in an eventual loss in overtime tiebreakers.

Despite the hiccup, Fernandez went on to a 9-0 major decision to guarantee a second straight medal in his third career trip, and he scored the only takedown in a 3-2 decision over Nunez in the consolation semifinals to reach the third-place match. Fernandez then completed his run through the backside with a 1-0 win over DeSmet junior Ashton Phillips (21-8), who failed to get out from the bottom position in the third period and gave up the only point of the match on a second-period escape.

“All these matches were hard,” Fernandez said. “I definitely wrestled better on the backside.”

Fernandez finished 49-5 on the season with a loss to Murphy in sudden victory overtime on his ledger from December. Murphy went on to beat Grimm, who placed fourth at 195 as a junior with a loss to Platte County state champion Jaydon Walls in the semifinals, with a 6-1 decision in the championship match with a five-point move in sudden victory.

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Platte County junior Caden Hulett works for a turn against Glendale freshman Ethan Kelly in a 113-pound first round match during the Class 3 Missouri State Wrestling Championships on Friday at Mizzou Arena in Columbia.

Generally a stoic, even-keel competitor, Fernandez’s demeanor gave a clear indicator of his emotions after missing out on the semifinals and having the possibility of a rematch with Murphy in the championship match wiped away.

“That was obviously a tough loss,” Fernandez said. “Honestly, I was hurting a little bit there after, but I just knew I had to come back on the back side and wrestle tough there.”

Also a three-time qualifier, Hulett (31-16) entered the 113 bracket as a district runnerup and went 2-2 after recording one win in each of his first two trips to state at 106.

Hulett drew an intriguing first round match with Glendale freshman Ethan Kelly (32-7) and led 4-0 after recording a takedown in each of the first two periods. He twice appeared close to earning two near-fall points in the first period that weren’t awarded but seemed insignificant until a 5-second span of the third period.

Choosing top with intent to work on turning Kelly, Hulett ended up reversed to his back in a tight headlock. Kelly racked up five points and kept Hulett fighting to avoid the pin for the final 1:38 of the match to take a 5-4 minor upset victory.

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Platte County junior Caden Hulett takes off his ankle band following a loss in a 113-pound wrestleback match during the Class 3 Missouri State Wrestling Championships on Saturday at Mizzou Arena in Columbia.

“Besides just that little lapse in that first match, it’s a step forward, but we were just one step from where we wanted to be. Man, it’s just tough to see,” Burress said.

Kelly went on to lose to Pacific sophomore Timothy Link (37-8) in the next round and did not medal, while Link went on to place fifth after Smithville freshman Tristan Waters (30-7) pinned him in their semifinal. Hulett owned a pair of wins over Waters this season, including one in last week’s District 4 semifinals.

While Waters went on to lose to Kearney sophomore and District 4 champion Ryder Shelton (42-3) in the final, Hulett needed three straight wins to earn his first career medal. He opened with a second period pin of Holt freshman Aiden Bonnie (17-26) but fell behind Warrenton junior Jeremiah Kassing (37-12) in the second round of wrestlebacks.

Hulett trailed 4-2 late in the second period when he scored a takedown that resulted in a fall at the 3:36 mark. He gave an understated pump of his fist after recording a second win at state for the first time.

However, that set up a third round wrestleback Saturday morning with Hannibal junior Reign Creech (35-7). The two had met twice before with Hulett winning both — first at state their freshmen years and last year at the Platte County Invitational. The third matchup went scoreless through regulation, a 1-minute sudden victory period and both 30-second tiebreaker periods.

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Platte County freshman Grant Fadler works for a takedown against Carl Junction junior Max Matthews in a 126-pound wrestleback match Friday during the Class 3 Missouri State Wrestling Championships at Mizzou Arena in Columbia.

After winning the flip, Hulett chose top for the 30-second ultimate tiebreaker period needing to hold Creech down to earn the 1-0 win. Instead, Creech went to a well-timed Granby roll that resulted in a winning reversal in a 2-0 decision victory. He went on to place third while Hulett ended up agonizingly close to his first medal.

“Comes back and wrestles almost a perfect match in the bubble round,” Burress said. “In that last tiebreaker gives up the reversal when we’d ridden him for 2 1/2 minutes already. It’s just heartbreaking for him. I was thinking we might get out of there at 1-0. We got to our feet once (in the third period) and just couldn’t quite get out. Creech never got to his feet in the whole series, and I was just hoping we could get one there and call it good.”

All five of Platte County’s first-time qualifiers entered after finishing third or fourth at districts, resulting in varying levels of difficult opening matches.

Fadler started the 126 bracket against Hillsboro senior Gavin Alexander — a returning two-time finalist and 2021 state champion. Fadler trailed start to finish but flustered Alexander into a pair of penalty points in the second period and didn’t go to his back until the third period, eventually ending up pinned in 5:52.

Alexander went on to finish second for a second straight year.

Fadler (27-18) came back for a 6-4 decision over Carl Junction junior Max Matthews after seeing a 5-1 lead almost slip away. That set up his third match of Friday against Jefferson City junior and District 4 third-place finisher Elijah Teiberis (34-12) in the second round of wrestlebacks.

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Platte County freshman Cole Johnson works to get away from his opponent in a 175-pound first round match during the Class 3 Missouri State Wrestling Championships on Friday at Mizzou Arena in Columbia.

Fadler lost the previous matchup 4-0 but led 2-0 this time around. However Teiberis came back with a penalty point on a controversial fleeing the mat call and reversal in the second period and then kept Fadler from scoring a point after he chose the bottom position to start the third period. Unable to come up with a tying escape, Teiberis won a 3-2 decision and went on to place fifth.

“Even in a week, Fadler got better,” Burress said. “He got dominated pretty much by that kid last week and comes back and loses 3-2 on a call that you don’t see any other time all weekend. He wrestled well, and he’s making great progress.”

Johnson (31-18) earned Platte County’s only third-place finish at districts but drew Windsor (Imperial) sophomore Brice Henry (45-7) in the first round. Henry won a 9-1 major decision, advanced to the semifinals and placed third. Johnson dropped into the consolation bracket and lost in the next round with Marshfield sophomore Tyce Jones (32-22) pinning him in 1:49.

Fadler and Johnson were two of four promising freshmen in Platte County’s lineup this year.

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Platte County sophomore Evan Maccuish ties up with an opponent during a 138-pound consolation match in the Class 3 Missouri State Wrestling Championships on Friday at Mizzou Arena in Columbia.

“From the beginning of the year to now is what I see. He made little improvements,” Burress said. “He never quits wrestling and always tries to find a way.”

Leary (17-24) made an impressive return to Platte County’s postseason lineup this season as a junior. He started as a freshman for the Class 3 District 8 champions but only made limited varsity appearances on a deeper lineup as a sophomore.

After a slow start to the season, Leary placed fourth at District 4 to advance to state for the first time. His opening match ended with a second period pin for Marshfield sophomore Tanner Davidson (42-8), and in the first round of wrestlebacks, he lost a 10-4 decision to Rockwood Summit junior Minko Brown (24-14).

“I think it’s the learning experience for (Leary),” Burress said. “Found a way to get down here, and hopefully, he can build on that.”

Like Leary, both Maccuish (138) and Smith (157) ended up squeezed out of the postseason lineup after promising varsity cameos as freshmen. Both finished fourth the previous week at districts.

Maccuish (22-21) lost in the opening round to Hillsboro senior and District 1 champion Blake Jackson (41-11) in a 15-0 technical fall, while Fort Zumwalt South senior Joseph Kenny (33-4) ended his tournament with a 15-3 major decision in the first round of wrestlebacks.

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Platte County sophomore Darrell Smith locks up his opponent in a 157-pound wrestleback match during the Class 3 Missouri State Wrestling Championships on Friday at Mizzou Arena in Columbia.

After coming all the way back from a first round district loss, Smith (25-19) drew Bolivar senior Riley Beckman (42-4) in the opening round and ultimately wrestled well. Beckman pinned him midway through the second period and eventually finished as runner-up at 157.

On the backside, Smith and Windsor (Imperial) junior Cameron Busch (39-14) exchanged escapes in the second and third period and went to overtime tied 1-1. Neither scored in the 1-minute sudden victory period with Smith seemingly hesitant to fully commit to shots and a possible winning takedown. Instead, they went to tiebreakers, and Busch took a 2-1 lead with an escape in the first of two 30-second periods.

Taking down to start the next period, Smith attempted a Granby roll for the second time in a late attempt to score a tying takedown or winning reversal, but Busch adjusted and put Smith to his back and ended up with a pin in 6:57.

“Evan’s down here getting some experience and hopefully getting some knowledge of things he can change and work on for next year,” Burress said. “(Darrell) just needs to get back to attacking all the time and more movement. But he knows that. Hopefully, another summer of wrestling will help him a lot. He wrestled in middle school but not really competitively until high school, and in the big picture, this is his second year of wrestling. Darrell’s just going to keep getting better.”

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Platte County junior Jake Fernandez wrestles in a 215-pound consolation match during the Class 3 Missouri State Wrestling Championships on Saturday at Mizzou Arena in Columbia.

With all seven qualifiers, two more starting freshmen, a promising eighth-grade class and a developing cast, Platte County believes this marked a positive season while attempting to move on from a senior-dominated 2022 team that finished seventh at state in Class 3 for a second straight year. The Pirates dropped back to 24th this season, mostly a product of having no semifinalists and only Fernandez advancing to the front side out of the first round.

Platte County expected more but can already look forward to what the future holds, especially with Fernandez back to chase a second state title and Hulett in position to finally break through for the podium finish to reward the hard work and dedication he’s given to the program.

“I’m already thinking about (winning another title) right now, but obviously, I’m going to take some time off,” Fernandez said. “Third place wasn’t the goal here, but hey, I felt good on the backside, and I’m happy with the way I fought.

“I’m excited for next year. Obviously, all of our guys are going to come back next year — plus more — so as a team we’re going to look good.”

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