Park Hill made a battle of Suburban Conference Red Division unbeatens look easy Tuesday, Jan. 26. Back to mostly full strength, the Trojans won 11 head-to-head matches and received three forfeits in a 76-0 win over Park Hill South in Riverside, Mo. Kelvin Eblen (113 pounds) and Blake Hopson (145 pounds) both returned to the lineup with first-period pins.
Eblen wrestled up a weight with Garrett Raynor taking a forfeit at 106 with Josh Steele, a sophomore and returning Class 4 Missouri State Wrestling Championships qualifier, out after suffering an injury three days earlier during the Winnetonka Invitational. Austin Kolvek also remained out of action at 120.
Only three matches didn’t end in a fall or medical forfeit with Park Hill leading wire-to-wire in all three.
Jacob Sobbing took a 3-2 lead in the second period of his 195 match with Ring Deng on a penalty point and then won an 8-3 decision. Carter Goslee won a 9-2 decision at 138 over Zak Horton, while David Ambriz scored three near-fall points late to earn a 9-1 major decision at 220 over Travis Fisher.
In addition to Eblen, Hopson (145) and Devin Winston (170) also scored first-period pins. Sean Hosford won in 18 seconds at 152 due to injury default.
Park Hill was off until scheduled duals Wednesday, Feb. 3 at Lee’s Summit West and Thursday, Feb. 4 vs. Ruskin/St. Joseph Central.
The Trojans’ final regular season tournament of the year will the Elite 8 Duals scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 6. They will be one of eight Missouri teams in a bracket competition.
The six top finishing teams from last year’s Class 4 Missouri State Wrestling Championships were invited, including three-time defending champion Park Hill. Five accepted and three others were picked to fill out the field, which will compete at Battle High School in Columbia, Mo.
Six of the eight teams participating are in the missouriwrestling.com Class 4 top 10, including Park Hill (1), Holt (2), Jefferson City (3), Francis Howell (7), Lee’s Summit West (9) and Staley (10). Seckman and Timberland are the other two participants.
Platte County 70, Grandview 9
The Pirates received seven forfeits and earned an easy Suburban Conference Blue Division win Tuesday, Jan. 26 in Grandview, Mo.
Platte County also posted three pins, while losing only two of seven head-to-head matchups. Nick Filger, one of four reserves in the lineup, scored an 8-0 major decision at 126, while Sage Smart won a 13-3 major decision over Marshaun Swift at 195.
Grandview’s two wins came from returning Class 3 Missouri State Wrestling championships qualifiers Ja’Kori Bell (182) and Shotrel Wilson (138).
Polo triangular
West Platte won just 3 matches in duals with Polo and Lawson on Tuesday, Jan. 26 in Polo, Mo.
In the KCI Conference matchup with Lawson, the Bluejays’ lone win came from No. 1-ranked Justin Rhodes in his 152 match. They also gave up nine forfeits in addition to both teams being open at 113.
Polo won 42-12 in the other matchup, which included five double forfeits. Rhodes won by fall at 152, while Michael Devers received a forfeit at 195.
West Platte triangular
The Bluejays lost a pair of duals at home against Gallatin and Mid-Buchanan on Thursday, Jan. 28 in Weston, Mo.
Mid-Buchanan’s 54-18 win included victories for North Platte students Jake Williams (126) and Tristan Roth (145) by forfeit, and a pin for Elijah Bledsoe against West Platte’s Thomas Tharp. All three compete for the Dragons as part of the cooperative agreement.
Cameron Johnson’s pin at 220 was the only head-to-head win for West Platte in the dual.
Against Gallatin, West Platte’s No. 1-ranked Justin Rhodes won a 3-0 decision against sixth-ranked Caleb Michael at 152 pounds. Dalton Larison won by fall at 195 for the Bluejays, who lost 48-21.