Platte County showed the reasons to keep high expectations and anticipate the need for improvements during the opening week of competition. After dropping a dual to Kearney on Wednesday, the Pirates placed seventh out of 23 teams in the Jay Border Wars held Friday and Saturday in Jay, Oklahoma, with five medalists.
Platte County sophomore Harper Golden wrestles in the 110-pound match of a dual with Kearney on Wednesday at Kearney High School.
The lineup included a pair of freshmen and a potential impact first-year sophomore.
Platte County put five out of nine entrants into the semifinals of the Border Wars, which otherwise exclusively included teams from Oklahoma and Arkansas, but didn’t have anyone in the championship bouts of the Gold Brackets. The Pirates ended up with sophomore Harper Golden (110), senior Charley Sims (115), freshman Mattie Blankenship (135) and sophomore Ava Blankenship (140) all finishing fourth to lead the way.
In addition, Platte County senior Nicole Fernandez dropped to sixth at 235, while freshman Ariel Humphreys (100) and senior Anna Wiesehan (130) in the Gold Bracket but both went 0-2 without a placement.
Mattie Blankenship continued a strong start to her season, going 2-0 in pool and then recording an 18-0 technical fall in Friday’s action. She finished 4-2 overall, bouncing back from a loss in the semifinals to record a fall and reach the third-place match.
Platte County sophomore Ava Blankenship wrestles in the 140-pound match of a dual with Kearney on Wednesday at Kearney High School.
The other four medalists all made a return to this tournament.
A year earlier, Golden wrestled in the Silver Bracket at 100, but she went 2-1 in pool on Friday to advance to the Gold Bracket at 110. She alternated wins and losses in her final four matches, which included a 6-4 decision win over Glenpool (Oklahoma) freshman Trinity Rickner in the consolation semifinals to reach the third-place match.
One of two returning state qualifiers on Platte County’s roster, Ava Blankenship went 1-1 in pool but needed just 37 seconds to pin McLoud (Oklahoma) sophomore Faith Breusch in the quarterfinals to reach the medal rounds.
Ava Blankenship’s lone win in the last three matches ended up being a 21-5 technical fall against Broken Arrow (Oklahoma) sophomore Peyton Horvath in the consolation semifinals.
The other returner with experience in the Class 2 MSHSAA Wrestling Championships, Sims dominated both pool matches and pinned Bentonville (Arkansas) sophomore Kathryn Estrada in 1 minute, 53 seconds in Friday’s quarterfinals. Sims’ two losses were both decisions — 5-0 to Broken Arrow senior Kristen DeLaRosa (the eventual runnerup) in the semifinals and 5-4 to McLoud sophomore Yazmin Nevarez, who scored the winning takedown in the third-place match with 26 seconds left in regulation and then prevented a potential tying escape in the remainder.
Platte County senior Charley Sims wrestles in the 115-pound match of a dual with Kearney on Wednesday at Kearney High School.
Fernandez needed a 2-1 win over Bentonville sophomore Allie Hitt in pool to go into quarterfinal undefeated. She then made the semifinals on Saturday but dropped her final three matches, including a 2-1 loss in tiebreakers to Hitt in a rematch that occurred with fifth on the line.
In addition to the Gold Bracket qualifiers, Platte County senior Gabriella Ciccarelli came back to win the Silver Bracket at 120, while sophomore Katelyn Newberry — a first-year member of the team — came in third at 125 in the first tournament of her career.
Kearney 69, Platte County 12
The Pirates won only one of the head-to-head matches in a season-opening dual against the three-time defending Class 1 state champions on Wednesday in Kearney.
Platte County senior Nicole Fernandez wrestles in the 235-pound match of a dual with Kearney on Wednesday at Kearney High School.
The two teams actually exchanged forfeits to start with Humprheys’ win at 100 giving Platte County an early 6-0 lead. However, Kearney followed with maximum points at the next six weight classes, including taking advantage of official rulings at both 115 and 125.
After Golden lost to standout freshman Zolah Williams at 110, Kearney led 12-6 ahead of a matchup of returning state medalists. Sims gave up the initial takedown in the 115 match to Bulldogs sophomore Myla Woolridge but then scored a reversal to pull within 3-2, a score that held until the start of the second period. Woolridge, who came in fifth at 105 in Class 1 as a freshman, then scored the next 12 points and put Sims to her back three times.
On the third, Sims — a sixth-place finisher at 115 in Class 2 last season — seemed to have a shot to avoid a pin and end up with a technical fall, but the official called the pin at the buzzer of the second period. He briefly talked with the table workers and determined the pin came first.
The extra point ended up not mattering.
Platte County sophomore Katelyn Newberry wrestles in the 125-pound match of a dual with Kearney on Wednesday at Kearney High School.
At 125, Newberry made an impressive debut, especially after the first quarter. She received an initial penalty point for an illegal hold after giving up the first takedown against Kearney freshman Madison VanMeter.
Newberry then scored a reversal and went into the second period tied 3-3. She then chose bottom after Kearney deferred choice and ended up turned to her back and pinned in 2:16.
However, the official then realized that Newberry should have been given the first option to pick position. That led to a question of whether the match should restart but after both head coach conferenced and eventually called a state official, the result held, and the dual moved forward.
Wiesehan led 5-1 in the 130 match against Kearney freshman Aislin Elliott, who earned a pin late in the third period. The Bulldogs led 36-6 at that point, but Mattie Blankenship stopped the run with a first-period pin of freshman Jaiden Williams for what ended up the final team points for the Pirates.
Kearney had pins at 140, 145 and 155 then took forfeits at 170 and 190. The final match also went to the Bulldogs with sophomore Ella Chavez scoring a takedown in the third period to finish out a 4-0 decision over Fernandez at 235.
