Platte County welcomes challenge ahead after qualifying 10 for state

BELTON, Mo. — Good fortune helped put a nearly complete lineup into the Class 3 District 4 tournament this past weekend at Belton High School. Resilience played a part in maximizing advancement.

Platte County sophomore Jaxson Shute won a second straight individual title, while senior Evan Maccuish took home his first. Grant Fadler, a junior, reached the finals for the first time, but the Pirates’ big push came in one of the most productive postseason rounds in the program’s recent history.

In Saturday’s consolation semifinals, Platte County won 7 of 8 matches to end up with 10 total state qualifiers — the most in a single year since a 2016 team that went on to place second in the Class 3 MSHSAA Wrestling Championships with the same number. The Pirates were third in this year’s Class 3 District 4 team standings in a testament to the strength of a revamped 16-team field.

“This district is brutal,” Platte County coach Reggie Burress said. “I’m hoping we can take the lessons and build on that and let that drive us through the state tournament now.”

For the first time this season, Platte County put all six wrestlers with prior state experience in the lineup, and senior Darrell Smith and junior Cole Johnson joined Maccuish and Fadler as three-time qualifiers, while sophomore Jack Johnson made an impressive season debut and ultimately reached the medal round. The Pirates totaled 178 team points with 12 of 14 entrants winning at least one match, and juniors Cooper Hammontree and Quinn Lightle and the freshman duo of Cade Crawford and Hank Marriott also advancing in the postseason.

The top four in each weight class earn state berths, and Platte County finished tied with team champion St. Pius X for the most qualifiers. The Warriors moved up after winning a Class 1 team state title last year due to the private school success multiplier and ended up with 233 team points, thanks to eight finalists and seven individual champions.

Kearney sends nine to this week’s Class 3 state tournament Friday and Saturday at Mezzo Arena and finished as runnerup with 197 points after putting 11 into the district semifinals. The top three teams accounted for 29 of the 56 individual qualifiers with fourth-place St. Michael the Archangel — the 2024 Class 2 state runnerup also moved up by the multiplier — added seven more.

That means the other 22 state spots were spread across 12 teams.

Of Platte County’s eight district semifinalists, only Shute, Fadler and Maccuish advanced to the championship match with guaranteed state spots. Smith, Cole Johnson, Jack Johnson, Hammontree and Crawford all bounced back with the necessary win to reach third-place matches, while Lightle and Marriott overcame quarterfinal losses and took the longest paths to their first berths. The Pirates hope the large contingent can build on 2024’s fifth-place Class 3 state finish when they just missed a team trophy.

Platte County graduated three of the five medalists, including two-time state champion Jake Fernandez, from last season but slowly pieced together a formidable lineup that won a second straight Suburban Conference White Division title while dealing with injuries and a delayed start for a group of football players who were wrapping up an undefeated Class 5 state title in early December. That included Smith, who made a memorable run to a fifth-place in Class 3 at 165 pounds as a junior.

“I like how everyone bonds and helps each other push through (the season) and how the crowd is in for like everyone in each of these matches,” said Shute, a district champion at 106 pounds as a freshman who went on to finish as a state runnerup. “(Evan and Darrell) have been super big mentors for all the younger kids like me and the freshmen. They help people through when it gets hard.

“I’m pumped up for everyone and excited to see how everyone will do at state.”

Seeded No. 2 in a deep 120-pound bracket, Shute started slow for a second straight year in districts before recording a major decision against a familiar opponent in the semifinals and avenging a loss to St. Michael the Archangel junior Parker Lutz in a tense championship bout.

Shute (37-7) drew a first-round opponent and gave up the opening takedown to Smithville freshman Cooper Heitman (13-22) before going on to a 15-5 major decision. His 18-0 technical fall over Van Horn sophomore Darren Faustlin (12-29) went into the second period after missing a couple of chances at an early pin.

“I just need to push the pace more and get on my attacks and not be in my head,” Shute said.

In the semifinals, Shute matched up with Kearney sophomore Phoenix Shelton for the second time this season to continue a lengthy history between the two dating back to youth competitions. Shute recorded the first two takedowns and led 6-2 going to the third period, and after giving up a stalling penalty point, he turned Shelton to his back late to extend the margin of victory to 13-4.

A defending Class 2 state champion at 113 and two-time state finalist, Lutz won a 3-2 decision over Shute in January’s Platte County Invitational, and the rematch again proved tight. The two exchanged escapes and ended regulation tied 1-1 then went scoreless in the 1-minute sudden-victory overtime period.

In the alternating 30-second tiebreaker periods, Shute kept Lutz down in the first to maintain the tie, took a one-point lead with an escape in the second and then held on in the final 17 seconds for a 2-1 decision.

“There was a ton of action and a ton of scoring that could have happened, but Jaxson did a great job of slowing him down and making him wrestle his pace,” Burress said. “Jaxson got out, and he couldn’t.”

Maccuish (33-4) returned to the 150-pound final at Class 3 District 4 and continued a breakthrough season with a winning streak dating back to his final match at the KC Stampede Tournament in late December.

Another of eight Platte County wrestlers to have a first-round matchup, Maccuish recorded successive technical falls overs Raytown junior Josiah Hogan (26-16), Marshall junior Deagan Ball (14-26) and Belton senior Diego Suarez (29-20) in the first three matches. Notably, he extended the margin of victory on Suarez from 4-0 from a matchup in the Platte County Invitational to 17-0 and nearly recording a pin twice in the final seconds before time ran out in the third period.

Maccuish then recorded a second win over St. Michael the Archangel junior Brody Narron (32-13), a two-time state medalist in Class 1 and finalist at 144 as a sophomore while at Father Tolton Catholic before transferring this season. The first meeting at the Platte County Invitational resulted in an 8-7 decision for Maccuish, who went up 7-2 with a takedown in the third period before turning Narron and pinning him with 40 seconds left in regulation.

As a sophomore, Maccuish lost both matches at state before going 1-2 last year as a junior.

“Ever since I saw him crying in the tunnel at state last year when Darrell medaled, he’s had a different mindset,” Burress said. “You’re seeing that every time out. He’s focused and he’s a goer. He just keeps coming back.”

A fourth-place finisher at districts each of the past two years, Fadler took the No. 1 seed in the 144 bracket via coin flip after St. Michael the Archangel sophomore Rowdy Narron (30-8) dropped to 138 pounds and ensured a better podium finish with three straight wins. He pinned Smithville sophomore Sully Grooms (8-19) in the first period of an opening round match and scored a 13-5 major decision over St. Pius X freshman Boyer Ward (18-25) in the quarterfinals.

Fadler (30-10) looked his best in a dominant 18-2 technical fall against Belton junior Jordan Baar (15-16) in the semifinals.

Kearney senior Blaine Turpin (32-16) — a two-time state qualifier — never trailed in the championship bout, taking Fadler down twice on the way to a 7-1 decision. Fadler now enters a third state tournament as a No. 2 seed after going 1-2 in each of his first two trips.

“(Turpin) beat us last year so I knew we would need to wrestle a smart match,” Burress said. “That kid slows us down for some reason, and I don’t know why. We just don’t match up very well with him. This is a step in Grant’s progression, and now the progression has to be to go down to state and win multiple chances and give ourselves a shot at the podium.”

Another three-time qualifier with two prior fourth-place district finishes, Smith finished third at 157 pounds in a drop down a weight class from his state medalist junior season. He again missed out on the district final after a 10-1 loss to St. Michael the Archangel freshman Cole Sackett in their third meeting this season.

Sackett (35-8) won two matchups in the Platte County Invitational between the two, and Smith (20-4) gave up a takedown and went to his back for four near-fall points to fall behind 7-0 in the third. However, he came right back for a 12-3 major decision and nearly pinned Smithville junior Cannon Hutchcraft (25-18) in the consolation semifinals to again reach the Class 3 District 4 third-place match.

Unlike the previous two, Smith closed with a win — a 9-1 major decision — against Kearney sophomore Kale Davis (28-15). Smith understands the task ahead after going from fourth place in districts at 165 pounds to fifth place in Class 3 with a memorable run through the backside of the bracket. He went 0-2 as a sophomore and drew the No. 1-ranked wrestler in his weight classes in the opening round at state each of the past two seasons.

“I just don’t think Darrell’s scared of anybody in the big picture,” Burress said. “He’ll go out, and if you’ve never wrestled Darrell before, he’s an interesting matchup. He does some stuff that’s hard to defend.”

Cole Johnson ended up in a Class 3 District 4 third-place match for the third time in three seasons. He closed with a win for the second time, matching the finish from his freshman season.

After going to state at 175 pounds as a freshman and sophomore, Cole Johnson went into this year’s deep 215 bracket as a No. 4 seed after some late shuffling saw Kearney sophomore JD Romero and St. Michael the Archangel junior Brody Purtle go up to 285. In addition, St. Pius X senior Jackson Rotterman (40-3) moved up from 190 and took the top seed.

Cole Johnson (23-5) opened with a 4-0 decision over Winnetonka senior Tuff Johnston (26-18) in a quarterfinal matchup. That set up a meeting with Rotterman, who pinned Cole Johnson in a spladle after just 31 seconds. He came back with a pin in the early part of the second period against Raytown senior Winston Pieters (22-11) to earn another state berth and then avenged two prior losses to Belton junior Jameson Lyons (40-7) in the third-place match.

Lyons won an 11-7 decision over Cole Johnson in the Platte County Invitational and then recorded an 18-4 major decision in a dual three days later.

“Our game plan was a little better,” Burress said of the approach for Cole Johnson, who lost both matches at state as a freshman before going 1-2 to conclude an injury-plagued sophomore campaign. “He stayed super patient. We took a lot of attacks the first two times. We dialed it back a bit; we hand fought a little bit more and made him get tired a little bit more.”

Another No. 4 seed, Hammontree (24-8) kept bouncing back on the way to a well-earned third-place finish at 190 pounds. The second-year starter for Platte County gave up an opening takedown in the first round against Grandview freshman Anthony Cole (15-14), who ended up pinned in just 1:12.

Hammontree trailed Smithville junior Aiden Robeson 5-1 in the quarterfinals but came all the way back with a tying takedown late in the third period and a winner with just 4 seconds left in the 1-minute sudden victory overtime period. Robeson (27-21) couldn’t generate a winning escape in the final 1:05 of regulation.

After a loss to Kearney sophomore and defending 175-pound state champion Carter Temple (40-3), Hammontree pinned Cole in the first period again and then beat Robeson 4-1 in their third meeting of the season — all decision wins for Hammontree.

“He’s really starting to believe, and he’s worked on a couple of things and has more confidence now,” Burress said. “He should be right there with almost anyone. He just continues to get better and better.”

One of two freshman qualifiers, Crawford (29-12) went straight into the quarterfinals of the 106-pound bracket in what ended up the first of two matchups in the tournament with St. Pius X sophomore Patrick Hickey. Crawford came out of coach’s voting with the No. 3 seed and built a 6-0 lead with takedowns in both the second and third periods.

Hickey (26-22) chose the top position for the third and turned Crawford in a cradle but didn’t come away with a pin. A late reversal led to an 8-4 decision victory.

Kearney sophomore Brayden Robinson (27-13) beat Crawford for the second time this season in the semifinals with an 18-1 technical fall. However, he came back with a 10-0 major decision over Smithville freshman Hunter Iverson (14-21) to reach the third place match. Hickey didn’t score in a rematch with Crawford, who recorded a takedown in the first period of the third-place match and avoided going to his back when Hickey chose top to start the second period.

Crawford won a 3-0 decision after a scoreless third period spent in the neutral position.

“Cade responded to the challenge, and he’s very coachable,” Burress said. “He can make adjustments. I liked the way he wrestled, a little more conservative but stayed after it.”

Platte County went 8-0 in first-round matches and sat in first place going into quarterfinals with all 14 wrestlers on the front side.

That included Jack Johnson, a sophomore who went 1-2 in his first trip to state as a freshman at 144 pounds. He went into the 165 bracket at districts with a 1-0 record as a result of a forfeit taken in a junior varsity dual with Ruskin that gave him the required weigh-in to participate.

Jack Johnson suffered a shoulder injury in football, and doctors were unable to schedule surgery before the state tournament and cleared him to compete. In his first match of the season, he pinned Raytown junior Javier Bejarano (4-13) in just 45 seconds.

“People have no idea what that took,” Burress said. “He practiced two weeks total this year. You practice two weeks and go out there and give yourself a chance like that is impressive.”

In the quarterfinals, Jack Johnson led Belton junior Jared Meineker 9-3 after two periods, having held Meineker (18-14) down for the final 1:32 of the second. Burress put Jack Johnson in the top position for the third period, and he eventually pinned Meineker at 5:14.

After forfeiting the semifinal to St. Pius X senior Noah Gonzalez (43-6) the eventual champion to avoid wear and tear against a three-time state medalist, Jack Johnson won an 5-0 decision over Kearney sophomore Cohen Dray (21-19) in the consolation semifinals. Jack Johnson scored two near-fall points after the match’s only takedown in the second period and recorded 3:53 of riding time in an impressive 5-minute match.

Jack Johnson again went 5 minutes in the third-place match, but Lincoln Prep junior Philip Faigan (38-6) overcame an early three-point deficit and led 14-3 33 seconds into the second period after twice recording four-point near falls — once each off of a reveals and a takedown. Jack Johnson mounted a comeback and closed within 15-14 with his third takedown.

The high-scoring matchup eventually ended with a 27-17 major decision for Faigan, who recorded two more takedowns in the third period and took Jack Johnson to his back a third time. He finished fourth at districts for a second straight season but doing so under impressive circumstances given his non-existent live mat time prior to the postseason.

“Jack surprised me with his gas tank. He did,” Burress said. “He did a great job on top, the two times we put him on top, just driving those guys down. He didn’t want to go on top very badly the first time, but we gave him the idea that he needed to go on top. The next time we got in that situation, he listened to us.”

Platte County other two fourth-place finishers both fought back after consequential quarterfinal losses.

At 126, Marriott (18-16) owned the No. 4 seed and advanced out of the first round with a second-period pin against Ruskin senior Asad Shakeeb (19-19). That set up the first of two matches in the tournament with Northeast (Kansas City) sophomore Locardo Mwamba (32-8). Marriott scored a reversal 40 seconds into the second period but ended up reversed to his back and pinned on the edge of the mat at the 3:04 mark.

Marriott won three straight tight matches in the consolation bracket to end up with a well-earned state berth. The run started with a 4-2 decision over Smithville sophomoree Kale Smithee (22-23) and continued with a 4-0 shutout of Belton freshman Ravion Davis (13-23).

However, Marriott still needed to beat Van Horn senior Mlondani Emoyi (31-8), the No. 3 seed and a two-time state qualifier. Emoyi chose the neutral position to start the second period, but the match went to the third scoreless. Marriott went down and went ahead 1-0 with an escape after just 35 seconds.

With Emoyi trying in vain to find a takedown late, Marriott threw him to his back and pinned him in the closing seconds to reach the third-place match. He then held a two-point lead over Mwamba late in their rematch but gave up a winning takedown in the closing seconds. Mwamba ended up with a 4-3 decision victory.

“With Hank, he wrestled four tough matches in a row to get back there,” Burress said. “Hank found a way.”

Lightle entered Class 3 District 4 undefeated but took his first two losses — both to Northeast sophomore Amanono Sua (44-5). The two met in the quarterfinals after Lightle (18-2) pinned Smithville freshman Ashton Krahn (8-24) with a roll-through reversal to start the second period with the fall coming at 2:06.

The No. 4 seed after both Purtle and Romero moved up and ended up at No. 2 and No. 3, Lightle ended up an upper body lock with Sua, who pushed him to his back and pinned him after just 50 seconds. He lost to top-seeded St. Pius X sophomore Kyler Kuhn (40-3) in the semifinals and ended up in a rematch with Lightle for third place.

However, Lightle needed to pin Raytown freshman Zach Ryland (9-23) and win back-to-back one-point decisions to book his first state trip in his third district tournament. Lightle exchanged escapes with Winnetonka sophomore Law Ali (28-19), who lost a 2-1 decision after giving up a penalty point for unnecessary roughness int he second period. He didn’t take a shot at a potential winning takedown as the final seconds of regulation ticked away.

A returning state qualifier at 215, Romero (18-13) allowed an escape in the second period and ultimately lost 1-0 after choosing the neutral position to start the third. Lightle bypassed a few opportunities at a takedown to safely grind out the victory that guaranteed a state spot.

“Quinn did a great job making sure he won the match, regardless of score,” Burress said. “We had a good game plan to wear (Romero) down and then he didn’t choose down. We knew we were in good shape and could hand fight and stay out of bad situations.

“I’m proud of Quinn. At that point, he knew there were nine of his friends going to state, and he didn’t want to be the last guy out.”

In the third-place match, Lightle, who didn’t wrestle until after the holiday break after coming out of football season and then missed time with injury late in January, went scoreless in the first period with Sua, who chose neutral to start the second. He ended up with another takedown that ended with Lightle turned to his back and pinned at 2:24.

After the match, all wrestlers and coaches plus fans of both teams were ejected from Belton High School after a disagreement over Northeast’s increasingly animated celebrations throughout the tournament and perceived lack of sportsmanship led to arguments and confrontations on the mat and in the bleachers. The Vikings ended up with just the two state qualifiers and finished 11th, but the four most important victories came in the 126 and 285 matchups with Marriott and Lightle. The building tension between coaching staffs built from the Class 2 District 4 girls tournament the previous week.

The unfortunate ending did little to overshadow Platte County’s show of team cohesiveness. The string of victories in the consolation semifinals helped push the Pirates into the top three, but the lone loss brought an end to the career of inspirational senior Zach Olson (13-28), a second-year wrestler who recorded victories in conference duals against both Fort Osage and Grain Valley that were critical to securing the White Division title.

Olson losses were to two of the four state qualifiers in the 175 bracket — Marshall senior Mason Evans (29-9) in quarterfinals and Kearney senior Eli Helberg (30-18) in the backside of the bracket. One of only three seniors in this year’s district lineup, Olson recorded two wins, one by forfeit when St. Pius X freshman Jake Nichols (12-14) didn’t compete on Day 2 and a pin in the closing seconds of a wrestle back match with Van Horn junior Gunnar Faustian (7-17) that secured maximum team points.

Platte County junior Jackson Woolsey (9-24) also lost to two state qualifiers in the 138 bracket, while undersized freshman Lennon Fitzpatrick (6-23) at 113 pounds and junior Liam Franksen (1-7), who missed most of the season with a wrist injury, at 132 both went 0-2. Franksen and Woolsey were both second-year starters.

“I think everybody wanted to contribute,” Burress said. “We all kind of have that same mentality. We’re all a team, and everyone wants to contribute and do the best they can. I love that about this team.”

After going 3-5 in the semifinals, Platte County closed with 13 wins in the final 18 matches, including a 6-4 showing in the medal round. The Pirates only had two wins in district place matches a year earlier before nine qualifiers were able to come in fifth at state in Class 3.

Platte County increased that number this year and advanced 10 for the first time in nearly a decade.

The 2016 team featured six current or future state champions who accounted for 13 total titles in their decorated careers — Matthew Schmitt (three), Ethan Karsten (three), Cody Phippen (three) and Johnny Blankenship (two) plus one each for Sage Smart and Casey Jumps. Four of those were won that season while finishing second to Neosho in the final Class 3 state team standings.

The current group doesn’t enter with the same championship pedigree but hopes to build around Shute, Smith and Maccuish in pursuit of another memorable postseason and realistic hopes of the 15th overall state trophy in program history, first since 2018 and just the fourth since moving up to Class 3. The Pirates likely need to match last year’s medalist total of five to stick with 2023 team champion and 2024 runnerup Hillsboro, Kearney and small-class credentialed St. Pius X and St. Michael the Archangel.

St. Pius X’s seven district champions and Hillsboro’s 14 qualifiers make them the frontrunners for the top two spots with a half dozen other teams, including Platte County, likely fighting for the final two trophy spots.

“We’ll fight with what we’ve got, and we’re happy to fight with what we’ve got,” Burress said. “That’s what they think: Let’s go get as many on the medal stand as we can and see where the chips fall. It’s very similar to last year except maybe we’re on a few more people’s radar. We weren’t on the radar at all last year.”