I’ve always enjoyed a bit of “February Fanaticism” around the MSHSAA Wrestling Championships. Nothing quite like the adventures in Columbia, Missouri, where the expected often happens but the unpredictable truly makes the outcomes memorable.
With that in mind, I like to take an annual look at the layout of brackets to take hypothetical looks at the paths to a medal for local wrestlers. The bracketology, if you will.
I’ve done this below for each of Platte County’s 11 state qualifiers, two in the Class 2 girls tournament and nine in the Class 3 boys. All rankings are pulled from Missouri Wrestling and are simply used as a general indicator of the quality of matchups and potential matchups. Semifinalists automatically medal while anyone who loses in the first round must win three straight to reach the place matches, while quarterfinal losers need to win two in wrestlebacks to make the podium.
The first round for both teams starts Friday with semifinals and third-round wrestlebacks and placement matches Saturday.
BOYS
106 POUNDS
Platte County freshman Jaxson Shute enters with a 36-3 record with no losses since late December and none to Class 3 opponents. In fact, his first defeat came in Council Bluffs, Iowa to an out-state wrestler, and he lost twice at KC Stampede to Class 4 ranked wrestlers Mason Brayfield of Park Hill and Gunner Dahms of Staley — both sophomores.
Shute didn’t have his best tournament at Class 3 District 4 but still won the individual title and enters state with the No. 4 ranking and both a good and bad draw. His potential quarterfinal opponents are both quality — North Point sophomore Brody Apenbrinck (31-16) and Washington freshman Gable Ohm (43-3). However, he should be the favorite, and his semifinal matchup would likely be Farmington sophomore Aiden Hahn (39-4), a returning state medalist with losses this season to both of the top two in Class 3. No. 1 Warrenton freshman Zayden Teson (40-1) and No. 2 Branson freshman Ryzen Isringhausen (43-1) sit on the opposite side of the bracket along with No. 5 Hillsboro sophomore James Penick (23-5) and No. 6 Kearney freshman Phoenix Shelton (31-11).
Interestingly, Shute defeated Isringhausen in a youth state final last year. Any of the top four should compete for the state title here.
120 POUNDS
Platte County senior Caden Hulett (32-11) take his final shot to earn a first state medal. A four-time district finalist and state qualifier, he has won at least one match in his three previous trips to Columbia only to experience heartbreak each time.
Entering unranked, Hulett should be in good position to reach the podium, continually wrestling Kearney junior and two-time state champion Ryder Shelton (38-5) as tough as anyone despite not having won any matchups between the two so far. Hulett opens with unranked McDonald County sophomore Robinson Yoshino (26-21) with a fitting quarterfinal looming.
Hannibal senior Reign Creech (42-6) ranks No. 3 behind No. 1 Hillsboro sophomore Carter Wallis (34-5) and Shelton. Hulett and Creech have wrestled at least once each of their four years despite being located on opposite sides of the state and met five times in total. Hulett won the first three, once at state at 106 as freshmen and twice in the 50th Platte County Invitational as sophomores, but has lost two straight — in wrestle backs at state last year when Creech went on to medal third after eliminating Hulett and 3-2 at this year’s tournament in Platte City.
The winner of that likely gets Wallis. Even with a loss, Hulett’s backside sets up well, assuming he wins in the opening round. An upset last year immediately put him on the backside where he hit Creech in a featured wrestleback.
132 POUNDS
On the brink of early elimination, Platte County sophomore Grant Fadler (26-21) came up with a monumental comeback in the Class 3 District 4 consolation semifinals and ended up finishing fourth for a second straight year. He went 2-1 last year at 126 pounds and looks to build upon that but didn’t receive any favors.
Fadler enters unranked and draws Hannibal senior Tristen Essig (45-1) in the opening round. He ranks No. 1 and beat Fadler at this year’s Platte County Invitational. The other matchup in that quarter of the bracket features unranked Camdenton junior Finnegan McNitt (37-7) and Farmington senior Zach Dennis (36-11). Without a first round upset and with a win in wrestle backs, Fadler would likely draw one of No. 2 North Point junior Kaden Purler (32-2), No. 3 Jefferson City senior Braden Werdehausen (42-5) or unranked Raytown South senior Norman Schneider (39-5), who pinned Fadler in last weekend’s third-place match at districts.
144 POUNDS
Platte County freshman Jack Johnson reached the Class 3 District 4 finals, finished as runnerup and moved to No. 5 in the most recent rankings — a first for him. Now comes the challenge on delivering on the expectations.
Entering with a 26-12 record, Johnson appears to have a favorable draw with only DeSoto freshman Dominic Eakins (39-8) ranked in his quarter, and he’s at No. 6 after winning a district title. Johnson opens with Fort Zumwalt South senior Austin Hunter (33-9) so nothing is guaranteed but a navigable path to the semifinals and a guaranteed state medal exists.
The most likely semifinalists from the neighboring quarter would be Bolivar Junior Cooper Moore (No. 2, 39-3) and North Point junior Leo Buchheit (No. 3, 40-4). The big key will be the opening round win, as potential wrestleback opponents with a loss could prove extremely challenging.
150 POUNDS
Platte County junior Evan Maccuish (31-13) comes back to state after going 0-2 a year ago in his debut. He enters unranked but having reached the Class 3 District 4 championship bout where he lost a rematch to Smithville sophomore Tristan Waters (32-17), a returning state finalist at 113 ranked No. 5 going into state.
The draw worked out with Waters potentially set to face No. 2 Whitfield junior Rome Tate (38-12) in quarterfinals, while Maccuish opens with unranked Carl Junction freshman Aaron Dillingham (34-16) with Farmington’s sixth-ranked junior Kyeler Ayers (39-7) facing a tough opening round test from Hannibal senior Peyton Elliot in the first round.
Should Maccuish hold his No. 2 seed against Dillingham, either matchup appears competitive but winnable, although Elliot dominated a matchup between the two at the Platte County Invitational before Maccuish went on to beat Waters with a third period pin in the place match for his best in-state win of the season.
157 POUNDS
Platte County senior Shane Leary contributed to a Class 3 District 8 team title as a freshman, nearly walked away from the sport as a sophomore and came back to become a two-time state qualifier. He went 0-2 last year as a No. 4 seed out of Class 3 District 4 but reached the final this year before losing to Smithville senior Alex Hutchcraft (42-5), a two-time state finalist who ranks No. 1 and sits on the opposite side of the bracket with No. 2 Washington senior Casey Olszowka (47-0).
Leary (32-15) has had his best season but faces an immediate first round challenge in this bracket with Jefferson City senior Anthony Seneker (31-13), unranked but certainly in the medal mix. The winner advances to likely face Hannibal senior Koen Ramage (24-4), who goes into state as a district champion ranked No. 5. Ramage did not wrestle at the Platte County Invitational so has not seen Leary this season.
With a first-round loss, Leary likely would face Farmington sophomore Lane Weiss (30-17), and with a win, his potential wrestleback opponents would include Olszowka or No. 4 Whitfield sophomore Lucas Parietti (32-11). The best path to a medal appears to be an opening round win and an upset semifinal berth of the bottom side of wrestlebacks.
165 POUNDS
From No. 6 seed in Class 3 District 4 to two-time state qualifier, Platte County junior Darrell Smith (18-10) has battled back from a preseason knee injury to make the most of limited mat time. He beat Smithville senior Nate Lawhon (29-14) in the district quarterfinals to key his run to a fourth-place finish, which concluded with his second loss of the season to Lawhon in the third-place match.
Now, Smith opens with No. 1-ranked Sam Richardson (44-3), a senior returning state champion from Class 3 team favorite Hillsboro.
Smith likely ends up in a wrestleback matchup with North Point sophomore Brody Wilmes (15-17) with a strong chance to earn his first state win after going 0-2 at 157 last year. The second round wrestle backs are always harder to predict but would seem to be either Carl Junction sophomore district champion Marcus Lopez-Durman (No. 6, 33-6) or Van Horn senior Darrius Paige (No. 5, 26-4). Paige beat Smith by decision in last weekend’s district semifinals.
175 POUNDS
Platte County’s Cole Johnson joins Fadler as two-time sophomore qualifiers for state. He went 0-2 last year at 175 after entering as a third seed, and he goes in this year as a No. 4 seed after losing last weekend’s third-place match in a deep bracket.
However, Cole Johnson (12-11), who missed a significant portion of the season due to two different injuries), wrestled well in last week’s semifinal loss to No. 3 Carter Temple (33-4), a freshman for Kearney who won the district title and will be in the mix to take a state championship. Still, seeding hurts Cole Johnson with an immediate matchup against Carl Junction junior Tony Stewart (44-3), who ranks No. 2. The winner gets an unranked wrestler in quarterfinals with the loser getting a winnable wrestleback match.
With a loss and a win to start, the second round wrestlback also looks difficult with the corresponding quarterfinal containing Belton’s fourth-ranked sophomore Quinten Attebury (37-10), Union’s sixth-ranked junior Trey Ladymon (41-6) and Fort Zumwalt South senior JD Dunn. Attebury has beaten Johnson twice, and the best option would appear to be Dunn winning in the first round and then losing to either Attebury or Ladymon in quarterfinals.
215 POUNDS
Platte County senior Jake Fernandez understands the assignment and received the right draw to move past last year’s “disappointing” third-place finish at 215 and build on his sophomore state title at 220 before weight classes were changed.
The expected matchup for the title would be Fernandez (38-4, No. 2), who has not lost to a Class 3 Missouri opponent this season but has had some struggles late in the season, and McDonald County No. 1-ranked Sam Murphy (44-3) — last year’s state champion at 215. However, Fernandez must first take care of a business in a quarter that has no other ranked wrestlers and then likely hit Warrenton senior (45-0) Jacob Ruff. He’s a returning state finalist at 190 who ranks No. 4 but has also only wrestled for four years with just three on varsity.
Murphy and Fernandez have met twice before with Fernandez upsetting him in a 220 state matchup in overtime but losing last year at KC Stampede. The two appeared set to meet at Stampede again in December only for Murphy to injury default out of the tournament after a loss.
Fernandez is a four-time district champion — plus one sectional title in a different qualifying format due to COVID-19 protocols — and a two-time state medalist looking to join more elite company in the program’s storied history. He reached 150 wins by beating Van Horn third-ranked senior CJ Nelson (34-4) in last week’s District 4 title bout. Nelson and fifth-ranked Farmington senior Rowdy Vaughan (34-7) appear set to meet in the quarterfinals with the winner likely to take on Murphy in the other semifinal.
GIRLS
125 POUNDS
Platte County senior EmmaLyn Burnett (36-9) didn’t earn the seed she wanted and will again have a tough path to becoming the fourth state medalist in the program’s six-year history. She finished third in Class 2 District 4 behind No. 1 two-time defending state champion Angelina Vargas (29-1), a Park Hill junior, and Liberty senior Julia Breeden (41-8), who bumped up a weight and now sits at No. 2 at 125. Breeden pinned Burnett in their district semifinal, and Vargas won the title match with a takedown in sudden-victory overtime.
Now a No. 3 seed, Burnett dropped to honorable mention in the latest rankings, a distinction she shares with her opening round opponent — Eureka sophomore Mira Richardson (36-9). The winner likely gets sixth-ranked Nixa freshman Abigail Counts (34-12) in quarterfinals with the likely semifinals opponents either Breeden or No. 3-ranked Fort Zumwalt South sophomore Jena Gumahin.
Burnett has come a long way from first-year sophomore just missing a state berth to two-time qualifier. She went 1-2 last year after becoming just the third district champion in program history and now sets sights on joining the state medalist club.
235 POUNDS
From the swimming pool to the wrestling mat, Platte County junior Madeleine Stone continues to excel. She became an honorable mention all-state member of a swimming relay last winter but gave up the sport to pursue wrestling this season, immediately becoming a first-time state qualifier.
Stone enters unranked but already made huge strides with district consolation semifinal upset that came on a pin in the third period after trailing 12-6. She then recorded another pin in the third-place match to better her state seed.
However, Stone received the worst possible draw with No. 2-ranked Aaliyah Grammer (30-5), a junior from Lafayette (Wildwood). She finished fifth at 235 last year and only came in with a two seed after losing a district final to No. 1 Abby Chandler (33-3), a senior from Northwest (Cedar Hill).
If Stone can’t pull the upset, Hazelwood East junior Persephone Morrison (16-8) likely awaits in a winnable match and then comes the loser of an opposite quarterfinal that could feature Chandler or more likely one of two honorable mention individuals meeting in the first round — Lebanon sophomore Sophiea Quinn (29-8) or Fort Zumwalt East senior Riley Kortkamp (25-10).
