Platte County senior Evan Maccuish wrestles in a 150-pound match during the Platte County Invitational on Friday at Pirate Fieldhouse. ROSS MARTIN/PC Preps Extra

Platte County’s Maccuish claims Most Outstanding Wrestler honor at home tournament

Senior continues breakout season for Pirates with dramatic, memorable run to 150-pound title with wins over multiple returning state medalists.

Platte County senior Evan Maccuish might have felt some effects from the cut back down a weight class, but with an equal mix of dramatics and fierce resolve, he battled through two days in the deepest bracket of the 53rd annual Platte County Invitational to claim the 150-pound title.

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Platte County senior Darrell Smith wrestles in a 157-pound match during the Platte County Invitational on Friday at Pirate Fieldhouse.

Maccuish won all nine matches with six of the last seven coming via decision to continue a breakout season. He also became the first for the Pirates to claim the Most Outstanding Wrestler honor at their home tournament since Cody Phippen in 2018.

Platte County finished fifth in the final standings for a tournament that’s grown to include 16 teams — two from Kansas and a mix of Missouri competition from Classes 2, 3 and 4. The Pirates totaled 283 points with senior Darrell Smith (second, 157) joining Maccuish as a finalist, while juniors Cooper Hammontree (third, 190) and Cole Johnson (third, 215) and sophomore Jaxson Shute (fourth, 120) also made the medal stand.

Having spent much of the season at 157 pounds, Maccuish (29-4) — a two-time state qualifier — won five pool matches Friday night but not without encountering adversity. In the opener, he trailed Van Horn’s Tristan Paige 7-0 in the first period after going to his back off of th first takedown.

Maccuish turned Paige to his back in the third period and recorded a pin in 4 minutes, 47 seconds in a matchup critical to upcoming Class 3 District 4 seeding.

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Platte county senior Evan Maccuish wrestles in a 150-pound match during the Platte County Invitational on Friday at Pirate Fieldhouse.

After pinning Excelsior Springs’ Gaige Carr in the second match, Maccuish trailed Mid-Buchanan sophomore Cooper Kirkham 7-2 in the third period. Kirkham recorded the first two takedowns but lost the lead after allowing an escape and two takedowns in the final 1:17.

Maccuish went ahead 9-8 with 21 seconds to go in regulation and then held on to a leg just long enough for the clock to expire on a one-point decision victory.

Returning on Saturday morning, Maccuish needed a 4-1 win over Belton junior Diego Suarez and an 8-7 triumph again St. Michael the Archangel junior Brody Narron to stay unbeaten and earn the top seed out of the pool. He broke a 1-1 tie with Suarez on a takedown with 1:03 left in regulation and recorded the winning takedown with 51 seconds left in the third period while erasing a two-point deficit against Narron.

Maccuish rode out both opponents for the remainder of the match in each instance.

However, that only set up the bracket matchups. Maccuish defeated Smithville senior Brennen Greene 6-4 in the semifinals and then recorded the only takedown in a 4-2 win over Olathe North (Kansas) junior Blake Samuelson, who currently sits at No. 2 in Class 6A in the Kansas Wrestling Coaches Association rankings.

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Platte County junior Cooper Hammontree wrestles in a 190-pound match during the Platte County Invitational on Friday at Pirate Fieldhouse.

In addition, Green placed fifth at state in Class 3 at 150 pounds last season, while Narron medaled second in Class 1 at 144 while at Father Tolton Catholic. Cooper Kirkham was a Class 2 state qualifier.

Maccuish became only the second active member of the roster to win a Platte County Invitational individual title, joining Shute (106, 2024).

Smith turned in the best showing in Platte County’s home tournament after also dropping a weight class to his likely spot in the lineup for the postseason. He went 6-1 in pool with the lone loss coming to St. Michael the Archangel freshman Cole Sackett to conclude Friday night.

Leading 3-0 early, Smith ended up turned and pinned with just 2 seconds left in the second period. He came back to win a 17-1 technical fall over Hannibal sophomore Jaxson Essig before beating Helias senior Aleksander Carriage 3-1 to earn the second spot out of the pool in the championship bracket.

Smith, a two-time state qualifier who medaled sixth at state last season while at 165 pounds, beat Capital City senior Levi Casey in the semifinals with a comfortable 19-4 technical fall that went just 13 seconds into the third period but lost a rematch to Sackett 6-0 in the championship.

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Platte County junior Cole Johnson wrestles in a 215-pound match during the Platte County Invitational on Friday at Pirate Fieldhouse.

In the best performance of his career so far, Hammontree overcame two losses in pool Friday night to earn the No. 2 seed and a spot in the championship bracket. The key ended up a late comeback to beat Smithville junior Aiden Robeson 7-5, while William Chrisman junior Vershawn Dudley forfeited out of his Saturday matches.

Hammontree lost a tight 7-6 decision to Capital City senior Darius Hendricks, the opposite pool winner, in the semifinals but avenged a prior loss to Helias junior Brady Fann in the third-place match. Fann pinned Hammontree in Friday’s bout but lost the rematch.

Another two-time state qualifier, Johnson continued the same limited buildup to the postseason as Smith and Hammontree. All three were on Platte County’s football team that made a run to a Class 5 state title that extended the fall season into early December. The Pirates were without them and others until after the Christmas break due to their delayed start of wrestling practices.

Johnson went 6-1 in pool but lost out on the top seed after an 11-7 loss to Belton junior Jameson Lyons on Saturday morning. Lyons went on to finish second to St. Michael the Archangel junior Brodie Purtle — a Class 2 state qualifier as a sophomore.

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Platte County sophomore Jaxson Shute wrestles in a 120-pound match during the Platte County Invitational on Friday at Pirate Fieldhouse.

Purtle pinned Johnson in the semifinals and then won the title with another fall against Lyons with just 3 seconds left in regulation of the 215 title bout. Those three will all be part of a loaded Class 3 District 4 bracket with St. Michael the Archangel and St. Pius X both bumping up from lower classifications as part of the private school success multiplier.

A returning Class 3 state runnerup at 106, Shute won his first six matches and then lost the final three in another deep bracket at the Platte County Invitational. He lost 3-2 to St. Michael the Archangel junior Parker Lutz (two-time Class 2 state medalist and 2024 champion at 113 pounds) in Saturday’s pool finale and 6-0 to Hannibal junior Austin Brown (two-time Class 3 state medalist and 2024 champion) in the bracket semifinals.

Shute then lost 1-0 to Carthage senior Tanner Putt, who finished sixth at state in Class 4 at 106 as a junior.

In addition to the five medalists, Platte County freshman Cade Crawford (106) and junior Grant Fadler (144) came back to finish fifth in their brackets. Crawford lost his pool openers Friday to Oak Grove sophomore Kale Martin and Mid-Buchanan freshman Colby Schreck but then won five straight to take fifth — a run that included a pair of victories over Smithville freshman Hunter Iverson in results key to district seeding.

Olathe North junior Taggart Murphy threw and pinned Fadler in their Friday matchup in what ended up the decider for second place in the pool. Murphy ended up fourth, while Fadler lost a 7-0 decision to St. Michael the Archangel junior Rowdy Narron, the eventual pool winner and returning Class 2 state medalist.

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Platte County junior Grant Fadler wrestles in a 144-pound match during the Platte County Invitational on Friday at Pirate Fieldhouse.

A two-time state qualifier, Fadler finished third and came back to pin St. James Academy (Kansas) junior Dylan Spaeth in the consolation bracket semifinals. Fadler then recorded a second win by decision over Helias junior Benjamin Holee in the fifth-place match.

Olathe North (370 points) won the team title for the second time in three years with Helias second (331 1/2) and St. Michael the Archangel third (306). Smithville finished just behind in fourth with 304 points with Platte County edging Capital City (280) for fifth. The Pirates were without junior Quinn Lightle (285) due to a skin condition and abdominal inflammation.

In addition to the tournament, Dwaine Thomason and a state runnerup team were inducted into the Platte County Wrestling Hall of Fame during a break in Friday’s action. Thomason became the first state qualifier in program history back in 1971, while 12 state qualifiers and eight medalists combined to help the Pirates place second in Class 1A-2A in 1992 to earn the first state trophy in program history.

That season, Platte County seniors Brad Thomas, Joe Cossette, John Swaney and Justin Gifford all made the state finals and finished as runnersup, while senior Todd Gair placed third. In addition, seniors Kevin Burge and John Fugett claimed fifth-place medals with sophomore Bill Kossen coming in sixth. Other state qualifiers included Jared Grimes, Chris Arnold, Jeff Thomas and Danny Filger.

Many of the team members along with head coach Chip Sherman were on hand for the ceremonies.

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Members of Platte County’s 1992 wrestling team are inducted into the Platte County Wrestling Hall of Fame during the Platte County Invitational on Friday at Pirate Fieldhouse.

Platte County 39, Grain Valley 36

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Platte County freshman Cade Crawford wrestles in the 106-pound match of a dual with Grain Valley on Tuesday at Pirate Fieldhouse.

The Pirates staged a late comeback to earn a shorthanded victory Tuesday at Pirate Fieldhouse and likely lock up a second straight Suburban Conference White Division title.

Leading 33-30 going into the final two matches, Platte County coach Reggie Burress flipped junior Peter Tremain and Johnson in the lineup. Grain Valley recorded a pin at 215 to briefly go back in front.

Needing any type of bonus-point result to earn the dual win for Platte County, Johnson pinned Alec Fenstemaker in 1:05 to provide the dramatic conclusion. Tremain went into the lineup with Lightle out, continuing a run of bad injury news piling up throughout the season for the Pirates.

“I knew that Cole was fine,” Burress said. “I think Cole could have won at 215, too, but I think this was the best thing for the team to do.”

Still, Platte County fielded a full lineup and benefitted from a pair of forfeits in the matchup. The Pirates led 12-6 after the first three matches with a pin from Crawford at 106 and an open for Shute at 120.

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Platte County freshman Hank Marriott wrestles in the 126-pound match of a dual with Grain Valley on Tuesday at Pirate Fieldhouse.

Grain Valley somewhat expectedly took control from there with an experienced advantage in many of the lower weights. The Eagles rolled off victories five straight matches, including decisions at 126 and 144 that put a victory in reach.

Platte County freshman Hank Marriott trailed by just two points late in the 126 match against Justin King, who recorded a late takedown to win a 9-4 decision, while Fadler led 3-0 early against Kobe Hughes at 144 but gave up the next two points and trailed by four in the third period. Fadler scored two points on a clasping call against Hughes and an escape but lost 7-5, unable to get a winning takedown late in regulation.

“I thought Fadler would for sure get that win. He just didn’t wrestle the way he normally does,” Burress said.

Down 30-12 going to the 157-pound match, Maccuish and Smith both recorded pins in the second period to close the gap, but the biggest result came from senior Zach Olson, a second-year wrestler taking advantage of a more prominent role than expected. He went into the second period scoreless with Grain Valley’s Grant Burd at 175 and then built a 5-0 lead.

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Platte County senior Zach Olson wrestles in the 175-pound match of a dual with Grain Valley on Tuesday at Pirate Fieldhouse.

Burd madę a critical error from the top position, failing to return Olson to the mat for a prolonged segment of action resulting in a stall warning and then penalty point all in the same sequence. Olson then added an escape and a takedown, while Burd ended up with a reversal to go into the third period down three points. He took an escape for what ended up the final scoring in Olson’s 5-3 decision victory.

Hammontree took a forfeit at 190 to put Platte County back ahead at 33-30 and make for an easy decision on how Platte County could win the dual.

“I knew there was a good chance for Zach to get that done,” Burress said. “He did a great job of just fighting, fighting, fighting. He didn’t stop wrestling. He knew we had to have it.”

Platte County must still beat Belton on Tuesday and Truman in early February to claim the White Division championship again. The Pirates will be strong favorites even with mounting injury concerns.

In addition to Lightle, Platte County remained without junior Liam Franksen due to a wrist injury, giving freshman Ian Giese additional opportunity at 132 pounds although he forfeited out of his final matches of the Platte County Invitational. The Pirates also put senior Isaiah Seymour in at 150 against Grain Valley, and the recent cut in weight for Maccuish and Smith provides openings for sophomore Justice Martin (165) and Olson (175) in the likely postseason lineup.

That comes as a result of another now confirmed season-ending injury.

Platte County sophomores Chase Hulett (knee) and Jack Johnson (shoulder) will both miss the entire season. Hulett tore his left ACL in football games in both 2023 and 2024 that have kept him out of wrestling, while Jack Johnson, a state qualifier as a freshman, played through his injury for much of football season and initially expected to wrestle at some point before recently opting to undergo surgery.

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