Team effort: 3 finalists, 5 medalists, 10 qualifiers combine to earn Platte County’s 15th state trophy

COLUMBIA, Mo. — Pieces both big and small came together in seemingly fortuitous ways this past weekend.

On the strength of 10 total qualifiers, Platte County made a late surge Saturday in the Class 3 MSHSAA Wrestling Championships at Mizzou Arena that ultimately culminated in a fourth-place finish in the final team standings. This allowed the Pirates to build back from the previous year’s disappointment and add the 15 state trophy in program history and first since finishing third in 2018.

Nine wrestlers won at least one match, five earned medals and three reached the state finals to help Platte County compile 103 1/2 points, and a little bit of good fortune helped keep St. Michael the Archangel 5 1/2 points back in fifth.

“That’s fitting. You go down through that lineup and find everybody helping out,” Platte County veteran coach Reggie Burress said. “It was everywhere in there. They did a great job. Five medals and close to sneaking out some more, and when it came down to it, they found a way. That’s all you can ask.”

Platte County finished in the top four of Class 3 for just the fourth time in a slow climb from being in the state’s smallest ranks as recently as 2002. The Pirates finished third in a loaded District 4 but finished behind two private schools and Hillsboro at state.

To earn the trophy, Platte County needed sophomore Jaxson Shute’s first state championship and finals appearances for senior Evan Maccuish and junior Cole Johnson plus pins in fifth-place matches from senior Darrell Smith and freshman Cade Crawford. The Pirates all but locked up fourth with Shute’s dramatic 5-4 decision over Hannibal junior Austin Brown in the 120-pound championship match but could officially celebrate after St. Michael the Archangel freshman Cole Sackett lost the 157-pound title bout to St. Pius X senior Gable Gross.

Sackett would have needed a victory by pin to send the Guardians in front by half a point with Johnson still yet to wrestle the 215-pound final.

The win for Gross came just moments after Maccuish lost a 9-0 major decision to Whitfield senior Rome Tate in the 150-pound championship. Platte County’s postseason roster included only three seniors, who celebrated the team accomplishment a year after the Pirates finished fifth — just three points away from tying Kearney for a team trophy spot.

Platte County lost three of the five state medalists from a year ago and still found a way to build back.

“Team trophy, that’s where we wanted to be,” said Maccuish, a three-time qualifier who went a combined 1-4 in his previous two state tournaments. “I might not have finished where I wanted to be, personally, but I’m glad all the guys got to come together and get our ultimate goal in the end.

“I think we all kind of had our minds set on it since we were so close to it last year.”

St. Pius X took the team title with 201 1/2 points after dominating Class 1 a year ago and then moving up due to the championship success multiplier. Hillsboro claimed second with all 14 wrestlers qualified producing 154 1/2 points, while Whitfield took third at 110 points on the strength of four individual finalists.

St. Michael the Archangel also moved up to Class 3 on the championship multiplier after a 2024 runnerup finish in Class 2. Four of the top six teams came from District 4 in St. Pius X, Platte County, St. Michael the Archangel and sixth-place Kearney.

One of only three Class 3 schools with double-digit qualifiers, Platte County brought the numbers but mostly maximized results over the two-day tournament to end up in the top four. The Pirates again endured a brutal early season stretch of tournaments, this time around with shorthanded lineups, as part of a preparation for a state run with this roster finally the won to break the trophy drought.

“We knew we could get it. We just had to put all the pieces of the puzzle together,” Maccuish said. “And that’s what all the tournaments were this season leading up to it, just getting us tougher. We showed it here that we can compete against these guys.”

Shute (41-7) reached the state finals for a second straight year in one of Class 3’s deepest brackets. Earning the District 4 title ended up providing a beneficial spot in the bracket, and he took advantage, starting with a 15-0 technical fall with all points scored int he first period against McDonald County freshman Christian Benhumea.

The next three wins all included some dramatics.

Shute scored the only takedown in a defensive 4-1 decision over DeSoto junior Brenton Drummond (38-6) in the quarterfinals. That advanced Shute to Saturday’s morning semifinal round when he fell behind Carl Junction senior Carter Foglesong (41-8), a two-time state medalist and returning finalist, early in the first period.

Within 4-3 after a reversal in the third period, Shute tied the match with a penalty point on the second stalling call against Foglesong with 30 seconds left in regulation. The final restart of the match came with 12 seconds on the clock, and Foglesong tried a Granby roll looking for a quick escape and one-point victory.

Instead, Shute caught and held him for four near-fall points in what ended up an exciting 8-4 decision victory that left him flexing at the Platte County crowd in celebration.

“Very clutch, very clutch,” Burress said. “He’s a gamer. He is.”

In the final, Shute faced a rematch.

Brown (45-4) won the first meeting between the two 6-0 in the semifinals of the Platte County Invitational. That came in the middle of three straight losses to conclude that tournament that ended up being the last of Shute’s season.

Shute gave up the opening takedown again in the 120 final but stuck close and trailed 4-2 in the third period against Brown, a third-place finisher as a freshman at 106 and state champion at 113 as a sophomore. South of Shute’s points to that point came on escapes, but he countered a late shot from Brown and ended up with a takedown in the closing seconds for the one-point decision victory.

A year earlier, Shute went into overtime in the 106 final and gave up the winning takedown to Branson’s Ryzen Isringhausen in a 3-1 loss under high school’s old scoring system that only awarded two points for a takedown. The rules changed this season, also adding a maximum of four near-fall points compared to the previous three in an effort to encourage scoring.

Shute seemed noticeably confident and poised in the pre-match introductions in his second state final and didn’t seemed phase with the the initial 3-0 deficit against Brown.

“I knew I could get (the win) because of all the hard work I’ve been putting in this whole season — just trusted what my coaches told me to do and went out and did it,” Shute said. “I didn’t know that I was going to get the takedown there at the end. It was kind of just like a flurry or something. I was just kind of shocked, and I had to pump up the crowd, right?”

Entering at No. 2 in Missouri Wrestling’s post-district rankings, Maccuish ended up in the role of favorite in his quadrant of the bracket, but his only previous state win came last year while going 1-2 at 144 pounds. He turned a corner this year and hadn’t lost since late December at the KC Stampede, where he missed a medal by one win in a tournament featuring competitors from more than a dozen states.

Maccuish (42-5) didn’t have his most dominant efforts but opened with an 8-0 major decision over DeSoto senior Hunter Adams (31-12) and then blanked Capital City senior DeMarkus Lyddon-Allen (33-18) 5-0 to reach the semifinals and guarantee a medal. However, Maccuish’s 4-2 decision over Hillsboro senior Wyatt Hendrix (34-12), who nearly scrambled to a winning takedown in the closing seconds of regulation, gave him an outwardly emotional berth in the state finals.

“(Evan’s) leadership skills were so big for this team. We can’t overlook those,” Burress said. “And now state finalist and the team he leads got a team trophy and those things will live on forever.”

In the final, Tate (42-6) — a four-time qualifier — took a 2-0 lead with a reversal in the second before putting Maccuish to his back for four near-fall points. He then gave up the final points while desperately looking for a big-move throw late that allowed Tate score a takedown.

Tate finished his career as a three-time medalist, winning his first state title after placing third at 150 as a junior and fifth at 144 as a sophomore.

“Honestly, I told myself every day that I was gonna get there eventually if I just kept working hard. I knew I’d get there,” said Maccuish, who didn’t crack the varsity lineup until his sophomore year and then slowly developed into a team leader on and off the mat. “We were gameplanning a little bit going into it. We knew it was going to be a tough match. Ultimately, I didn’t know he was going to have that cradle. His top was better than my bottom so I ended up in an unfortunate spot one time and it kind of sold me the match.

“I don’t think he can beat me on my feet, but we didn’t wrestle there so that’s not how the match went.”

Another three-time qualifier, Johnson (22-6) finished third in Class 3 District 4 but ended up as the state runnerup at 215 pounds. He went 0-2 as a freshman and 1-2 in an injury-plagued sophomore season — both at 175 — and then faced a tough turnaround from helping Platte County to a Class 5 state championship in football in a fall season that didn’t end until early December.

Johnson didn’t debut until the 2025 portion of the season but seemed to embrace each challenge in the first three years of his career.

In the opening round, Johnson pinned Warrenton senior Lucas Burroughs late in the second period before a challenging quarterfinal with Jefferson City junior Luke Jenkins (22-7), who closed within 4-3 with an reversal in the third period. Johnson quickly escaped and added a late takedown for an 8-3 decision victory that guaranteed his first state medal and set up an interesting matchup with District 4 runnerup Haze Middleton, a junior from Smithville.

Middleton (36-11), also a first-time medalist, took a 3-0 lead with a takedown early in the first period. That advantage held until the third when Johnson tied the score but then granted an escape to go behind 4-3, rather than try to turn Middleton or finish the period in the top position without allowing another point.

Needing to score, Johnson pushed the action and sucked in Middleton with a deep double-leg takedown and took him straight to his back. He recorded the pin at 5:30 in a sudden end to the first career meeting between the two.

“He never questioned us when we told him to go neutral,” Burress said. “That was so awesome for him. He works so hard and will do whatever you ask. Him making the finals made such a big difference.”

At districts, Middleton held the second seed with Johnson at No. 4. However, Johnson’s win in the third-place match over Belton junior Jameson Lyons (43-9) put him on the same half of the state bracket as Middleton after both lost to St. Pius X senior Jackson Rottterman (44-3).

With the win over Middleton, Johnson earned the shot at Rotterman, who became a two-time state champion and four-time medalist with a 17-1 technical fall in the 215 championship match. He pinned Johnson in a spladle during the first period of their District 4 semifinal but ended up going 24 seconds into the third period in the rematch.

Middleton came back to beat Lyons in the third-place match with the top four medalists in Class 3 all coming from the same district.

“Cole was another who was just clutch in a tough bracket,” Burress said.

Platte County went 6-4 in the first round on Friday, but the only three to reach the semifinals also ended up in championship matches.

However, Smith (157 pounds) and Crawford (106 pounds) came up with wins in Saturday morning’s third-round wrestlebacks to reach the medal rounds and earn a valuable opportunity at more team points. Both came back from quarterfinal losses to eventual top-four finishers to place fifth in their brackets.

Crawford (33-14) entered state as a No. 3 seed but importantly came up with a pin in the second period against Camdenton sophomore Miguel McCreery (26-17) to set up his eventual run to the podium. After a loss to Hillsboro freshman and eventual runnerup Carter Pryor (38-7), he came back to survive a stint on his back and avoid a pin on the way to a 12-9 decision over Central (Cape Girardeau) freshman Dane Armstrong (31-8) to advance to the second day.

That set up a third match in two weeks against St. Pius X sophomore Patrick Hickey (28-24) with Crawford winning all three. He gave up an early takedown but scored the rest of the points in a 9-3 decision.

Helias sophomore Damon Duemmel (46-2) pinned Crawford in the consolation semifinals on the way to finishing third, but challenged by Burress to record a bonus victory in the fifth-place match, he pinned Warrenton junior Nathan Donovan (26-16) in just 25 seconds.

“He went and got that fall when we needed it,” Burress said. “He’s come a long way this year. I’m proud of everything he did.”

Smith (24-6) also cpinned in the 157-pound fifth-place match, sticking Hazelwood East senior Kamron Watson (29-6) at the 1:55 mark in the first minute of the second period. That allowed Smith to cap his career with a win and a second-straight fifth-place medal after making an inspired run in the 165 bracket as a junior.

A three-time qualifier who went 0-2 as a sophomore, Smith entered as a No. 3 seed after finish behind the eventual state finalists — Gross and Sackett — in District 4. However, Smith didn’t draw the No. 1-ranked wrestler in his weight class in the opening round for the first time and advanced to the quarterfinals with a 6-0 decision over Jefferson City sophomore Mikel Carver (36-13).

Holt senior Boston Howard (33-4), who eventually finished fourth, pinned Smith midway through the third period of an otherwise competitive bout, leaving him in need of two wins to reach the podium again. He started with a 10-1 major decision over Kearney sophomore Kale Davis (29-17) on Friday in a rematch of the District 4 third-place match that resulted in a similar outcome.

Smith then scored the winning point of a 5-4 decision with an escape early in the third period against Farmington senior Kyeler Aders (31-7) in the bubble match before Helias senior Aleksandr Careaga (42-12) pinned him in the consolation semifinals. Like in the loss to Howard, Smith tried a throw late in a tight match but ended up on his back.

“He’s going to give you everything you want, and he did a great job to get back to the medal stand,” Burress said.

However, Smith’s pin in the fifth-place bookended another big moment in Platte County’s chase for fourth place and left the Pirates with a lead to protect going into the finals later in the day.

St. Michael’s went 0-3 in third- and fifth-place matches and then split two championship bouts with junior Landon Lane winning a 106-pound title for a second straight season. The biggest blow for the Guardians came when Lutz, who lost to Shute in the District 4 final and then to Hannibal’s Brown in a marquee state quarterfinal, reached the third-place match at 120 and led by one point late but ended up disqualified after an illegal slam as the last seconds were set to tick away on a win over Drummond, who ended up third but left the arena on a stretcher due to the injury suffered. The loss cost the Guardians valuable team points in a seemingly unnecessary move from a defending Class 2 state champion at 113 pounds.

Platte County junior Quinn Lightle (285 pounds) and junior Jack Johnson (165 pounds) made pushes in the other direction under difficult circumstances, and both came up just one win short of a medal.

A fourth-place district finisher and first-time qualifier, Lightle did additional damage to St. Michael the Archangel’s team trophy hopes. He lost in the opening round to Hillsboro Junior Griffin Morris (29-6), the eventual third-place finisher, but extended his tournament with a pin of St. Charles junior DeRay Coleman in wrestlebacks.

That set up a difficult second round match on the consolation half of the bracket with St. Michael the Archangel junior and District 4 runnerup Brodie Purtle (33-9), coming off of a devastating overtime loss to Helias sophomore Zyan Knollmeyer in their quarterfinal. Lightle scored a winning takedown in an upset 4-1 decision as time ran out in regulation to advance to the second day and limit the expected points from Purtle, who bumped up from 215 pounds for the postseason.

Lightle lost a much-anticipated third match with Northeast (Kansas City) sophomore Amanono Sua (48-7), who also won the previous two at District 4 in results that contributed to escalating tensions with both teams and all fans ejected from Belton High School following confrontations on and off the mat after the third-place match a week earlier. Sua finished fifth at state.

Due to a delayed start after football and an injury in January, Lightle only had 16 matches and no losses prior to the postseason.

“Another great team guy,” Burress said. “Like we said, he beats the St. Michael’s kid (in wrestlebacks) and kept him from scoring any points. We don’t finish fourth without him stepping up.”

Jack Johnson didn’t have a single match this season prior to the Class 3 District 4 tournament, but he earned a repeat state bid after placing fourth.

After going 0-2 at 144 as a freshman, Jack Johnson (6-4) won a pair of matches in the 165 bracket, both after losing in the first round to Helias junior Eli Homan (42-5) — the third-place finisher and a three-time medalist. Both of the victories were technical falls in wrestlebacks with the first against DeSmet junior Tim Nicholson (13-20) and the second against Whitfield freshman Marko Tagle (23-16) to advance to the second day.

Pacific junior Lucas Tennyson (41-14) ended Jack Johnson’s inspiring run with an 13-4 major decision victory Saturday morning. Jack Johnson actually recorded the first takedown in the matchup but couldn’t sustain the momentum and now plans to undergo surgery for the shoulder injury suffered in football that nearly kept him out of action for the entire season.

Unable to schedule the procedure until after state, doctors cleared Jack Johnson to wrestle, and he went 5-4 the past two weeks with his only other win coming via forfeit against Ruskin after a needed weigh-in to be eligible for the postseason.

“How do you sum that up?” Burress said. “Three weeks ago, we didn’t think we’d have him, and it all fell into place. He comes down here and scores five points and was part of that momentum we got going.

With Jack Johnson’s return, all six of Platte County’s previous state qualifiers were back this time around. All four of the Pirates’ first-time qualifiers scored team points with Crawford and Lightle leading the way.

Platte County junior Cooper Hammontree (25-10) followed a third-place finish at Class 3 District 4 with a first round win at state, pinning Sikeston sophomore Sam McGill (27-7) in the first round. However, Hammontree’s season ended with back-to-back losses to Fort Zumwalt East senior Dirk Rivera (38-9) by 10-0 major decision in quarterfinals and Vianney senior Andrew Lumsden (35-13) in Friday’s second round wrestlebacks.

Hammontree had just tied the score at 4-4 with 34 seconds left in regulation on the second stalling call against Lumsden, resulting in a penalty point. However, the next scramble ended with Hammontree on his back and pinned. Rivera eventually beat Lumsden for sixth place.

“For Cooper, the next step is learning how to wrestle to the situation. He had a chance to win there (against Lumsden),” Burress said. “I’m so proud of him, and he’s come such a long way. If we get the same kind of development next year, we can get him on the medal stand.”

The second freshman qualifier for Platte County this season, Hank Marriott bounced back from a loss to Farmington junior Aiden Hahn (44-3) — the eventual state champion and three-time medalist — in the opening round of the 126-pound bracket. Marriott scored two takedowns and added three near-fall points in a tidy 10-3 devision over St. Charles junior Taylor Souders (31-16) in his first wrestleback match but lost by a 22-6 technical fall in the next round to Warrensburg junior Jaylen Civil (39-5), who went on to finish fourth.

Marriott (19-18) finished fourth at Class 3 District 4 and eliminated Van Horn senior and two-time state qualifier Mlondani Emoyi just to reach the third-place match while peaking down the stretch.

“This is really going to be huge for (Hank). It just makes a big difference gaining this experience,” Burress said.

Platte County junior Grant Fadler (30-12) made a third trip to state but didn’t win a match for the first time. He entered as a district runnerup at 144 pounds and recorded the opening takedown in each of his losses but didn’t score again in either.

Ladue sophomore Darron Bell (40-7) pinned Fadler late in the third period shortly after going ahead 6-4. In wrestlebacks, Warrensburg junior Justus Griffith (30-14) won a 4-3 decision with help from a stalling penalty point late in the second period. He then took Fadler down in the third period and held him down for the final 1:27 to maintain the one-point lead.

Fadler went 1-2 in each of his first two trips to state.

“Grant might not have had the tournament he expected, but he’s been a great leader in the practice room and a great example for the younger guys,” Burress said. “I really appreciate him, and he’s going to bounce back.”

While disappointments were minimal, Platte County came back with some overachievements and memorable performances a year after just missing a few results that could have resulted in a top-four finish. The Pirates needed to replace three state medalists, including two-time state champion, and yet, this postseason roster included only three seniors in Maccuish, Smith and Zach Olson.

Platte County can now look forward to the future with so many returning pieces plus the potential addition of sophomore Chase Hulett, who missed his first two wrestling seasons while twice rehabbing from a torn ACL in his left knee suffered playing football in the fall. The Pirates have 16 top-four finishes starting with the first in 1991 — a fourth-place showing when the state only gave trophies to the top three teams.

In the 34 seasons since, Platte County has become one of Missouri’s most consistently decorated programs, starting with a Class 1A-2A runnerup showing in 1992. That marked the first of now 15 team trophies despite the eventual ascension into Class 2 in 2003 and Class 3 in 2011 — just one season after winning the most recent of seven state titles.

The past two years have seen Platte County much more of an underdog compared to a dynastic run lasting more than a decade and found a different way to become a factor each of the past two seasons.

“Our team is probably one of the best fighting teams out there,” Shute said. “We’ll fight no matter what. Whatever gets in our way, we’re going to come full (strength).”