Platte County senior Darrell Smith works for a takedown in a match during the Class 3 MSHSAA Wrestling Championships last season in Columbia. ROSS MARTIN/PC Preps Extra

Platte County ready to build on last year’s exciting team trophy chase at state

With 6 returning qualifiers, Pirates hope to take another step forward, build on recent successes.

Platte County went from third place at Class 3 District 4 to nearly capturing an elusive team trophy the following weekend. With nine total state qualifiers, the Pirates made a memorable charge in the Class 3 MSHSAA Wrestling Championships but ultimately ended up just a few results shy of finishing in the top four of the final standings.

The results for Platte County included a state champion, a pair of finalists and five individual podium finishes. All nine qualifiers won at least one match, and six return this year. The Pirates finished fifth in the final team standings — just three points away from tying district rival Kearney for fourth and a share of a team trophy, which would have been the 16th in program history.

Platte County must replace three of the five state medal winners but the program’s ever-present championship mentality received invigoration. Veteran coach Reggie Burress hopes this can become the first to finish in the top four since the 2018 team finished third.

“I think we definitely have the pieces of the puzzle. We just have to put them together,” Burress said. “I definitely think the kids believe now, saw how it came together last year. Everyone stayed healthy and had a great state tournament. I think we’re looking forward to the same kind of development, but it starts now and ends in March. It’s a long season, and we just have to get better every day.”

Well, the season kind of starts now.

At least seven potential starters play for Platte County’s football team, which plays in the Class 5 state championship game this weekend. That means the lineup for Wednesday’s season-opening dual likely won’t look close to what Burress expects at full strength. The group includes senior Darrell Smith, a returning fifth-place state medalist at 165 pounds; two-time qualifiers Grant Fadler and Cole Johnson plus sophomore Jack Johnson, a Class 3 District 4 runnerup a year ago.

For now, Platte County sophomore Jaxson Shute — a state runnerup as a freshman at 106 — and senior Evan Maccuish, another two-time qualifier, bring the most notable experience. The Pirates expect to have 10 of the 14 wrestlers back from last year’s postseason lineup and add in promising freshmen Cade Crawford and Hank Marriott, but the three state medalists leave a notable void.

Jake Fernandez capped an accomplished career with a third state medal and second state championship, winning the 215-pound Class 3 title, while Caden Hulett qualified four times and finally made a well-deserved podium appearance as a senior, finishing third at 120. Shane Leary, who made his second trip to state, nearly beat the eventual state runnerup in a 157 quarterfinal and rallied for a placement critical to the Pirates’ team push toward the top four.

Platte County’s five medalists were the most in one state tournament since a 2018 team that finished third with a pair of state champions, and the nine qualifiers were the most since 2019.

“It’s really hard right now,” Burress said. “We have seven or eight starters playing football and making a run, but it’s going to be 20 practices they’ve missed. We’re going to have to figure out how to close that gap.”

Shute expects to move up to 120 pounds after becoming the first freshman state finalist for Platte County since current assistant coach Matthew Schmitt in 2013. A district champion the week prior, Shute (39-4) overtime showed elite ability throughout the season and scored three impressive wins to earn a shot at a title against fellow freshman Ryzen Isringhausen of Branson. The match went into overtime tied 2-2, and Isringhausen ended up with the only two takedowns in a 4-2 decision victory.

The bump in weight comes with a need to continue offensive development, and Shute’s limited struggles a year ago were generally related to a lack of quality shots.

“I think the biggest thing for him is getting to his setups and getting to his attacks,” Burress said.

Shute can serve as an unofficial mentor to Crawford, who enters off of a solid youth career. Likely a bit undersized, Crawford will receive plenty of early tests on the schedule, as will freshman Lennon Fitzpatrick, the likely starter at 113.

“I think the good thing with Crawford is he kind of knows what it means to try and develop. He’s going to go to two really hard tournaments to start the year, and just keeping him focused and learning is key for him.”

In addition to the graduates, Platte County also must deal with another unexpected and unfortunate absence after sophomore Chase Hulett tore the ACL in his left knee for a second straight year during a football game. He will again miss the entire season and leave an additional opening to fill in the lineup.

Burress expects a pair of juniors back at the weights where they competed during districts after Liam Franksen went 11-26 at 126 pounds and Jackson Woolsey 4-33 at 138. In between, Marriott becomes a high-profile freshman with a chance to make an immediate impact.

“Liam and Jackson have been in the lineup, and it’s time for them to step up,” Burress said. “They’ve had enough time in the room that they can start putting the pieces together. Hank, we’re expecting big things from him.”

Fadler looks like a lock for the 144 spot, but Platte County needs to see where some of the other football players fall before knowing how to dive out the 150, 157, 165 and 175 spots look. The Pirates have multiple options with Smith the most likely to stick at 165 for a second straight year, but Jack Johnson should move up after wrestling at 144 as a freshman. Burress said he could be at either 157 or 175.

Maccuish currently sits in the 157 spot but could move to 150, which could be the most beneficial to the depth of Platte County’s lineup. However, the Pirates also have seniors Brock Myers and Isaiah Seymour, another football player, as options at 150.

Platte County juniors Cooper Hammontree (190), Cole Johnson (215) and Quinn Lightle (285) round out the expected starters. Fadler, Maccuish, Smith and Cole Johnson have all qualified for the past two state tournaments.

“We’re going to have to expect a lot from them — Fadler, Maccuish Smith, even Cole Johnson, Jack Johnson, Cooper and Quinn,” Burress said. “We’re going to have to build around those guys. Those guys have to come in and raise the level.”

Fadler needed a comeback in the Class 3 District 4 consolation semifinals at 132 to earn his repeat trip and then won one of three matches at state for the second year in a row to finish with a 27-23 record. Smith, Maccuish and Cole Johnson all won their first state matches.

Notably, Smith (22-12) went from fourth at Class 3 District 4 to the podium even after losing his first round match to eventual second-time state champion Sam Richardson of Hillsboro. Smith went 3-1 in his remaining matches and showed another dramatic improvement after going 0-2 at state as a sophomore.

Like Fadler, Maccuish (32-15 at 150), Cole Johnson (13-13 at 175) and Jack Johnson (27-14 144) were all eliminated after going 1-2 at state, losing in the first round before winning a wrestleback match.

Maccuish and Jack Johnson joined Fernandez, Hulett, Leary and Shute as Class 3 District 4 finalists. Platte County into the final two rounds of that tournament just two points out of first place but ultimately ended up third, unable to match the late charges from champion Kearney (191) and runnerup Helias (182 1/2). Lightle (26-15) gave the Pirates a 10th semifinalist, but he dropped his final two matches and ended up one win short of qualifying after bumping up from 190 pounds as a freshman.

Hammontree finished his first season in the starting lineup with a 21-25 record but recorded his best win of the season in the district bracket.

“(Cooper’s) bigger, stronger. That will help a lot,” Burress said. “Quinn obviously he’s come along a lot in one year. If we can get him to come that much further again, it’ll be great.”

The Class 3 District 4 field becomes even deeper this year thanks to the state’s private school success multiplier.

Kearney, Platte County and fourth-place Smithville return, while Helias, fifth-place Capital City and Warrensburg and William Chrisman move out. However, St. Pius X (2024 Class 1 state champion) and St. Michael the Archangel (Class 2 runnerup last year) both move up, and the number of teams increases to 16. Marshall moves back up, Ruskin back down and Northeast (Kansas City), co-oping with Central (Kansas City) also joins for the first time.

Maximizing qualifiers out of the tough field will be key for Platte County, which finished as low as 33rd (2020) and 24th (2023) in the Class 3 state team standings this decade. Even in back-to-back seventh-place finishes in 2021 and 2022, the Pirates were never truly in contention for a top-four trophy.

Platte County entered the discussion last year and hopes the core of returning qualifiers can lead the maturation needed this season to build upon the success.

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