Matthew Knopp, Austin Kincaid and Jaron Hoegler scored key victories in Platte County’s 45-13 win against Kearney on Tuesday, Feb. 2.

On a night when Matthew Schmitt garnered the most attention for setting the program record for career wins, the Pirates also benefited from Kincaid (120 pounds) and Trey Dockery (126 pounds) returning from injury. Both won matches, helping put Kearney into a 36-7 hole and assuring the win and a second straight Suburban Conference Blue Division championship.

Kearney led 3-0 after the opening match at 195.

Zac Courtoise, a state finalist in 2015, scored a reversal and put Platte County’s Sage Smart to his back for a 4-2 decision in a matchup of state ranked foes. Platte County won the next three to take the lead for good on its biggest rival.

Casey Jumps continued his mastery of Clayton Mordecai with a pin at 220, and Knopp’s third period reversal keyed a 4-1 win at 285. Knopp rode out Garrett Barker for all of the second period before scoring the winning points in the third, adding a takedown late after Barker’s escape earned his only point.

Kincaid, out with a head injury for two weeks, nearly pinned Mason Lockamy at the end of the first quarter, holding him to his back for much of the final minute. Lockamy survived and scored a takedown in each of three periods but lost a 16-10 decision.

In addition to the three near-fall points collected at the end of the first period, Kincaid also had two of his four takedowns and a reversal in the first period, building a 9-4 lead.

Dockery followed with a second-period pin in his return from a knee injury that flared up at last month’s Platte County Invitational, and Platte County won five straight, including Schmitt’s historic 186th career win and Hoegler’s 7-1 decision at 138.

Ethan Karsten assured victory with his pin at 145, the 184th victory of his career. That puts him just one back of Collin Wittmeyer for second place on the Pirates’ all-time list. Wittmeyer held the record until Schmitt passed him with his win earlier in the dual.

Park Hill 57, Lee’s Summit West 12

Devin Winston continued to add to his impressive collection of wins Wednesday, Feb. 2 in Lee’s Summit, Mo.

The Park Hill freshman upset DJ Brasfield-Thogerson in their 160 match. Brasfield-Thogerson finished fourth at 160 in the Class 4 Missouri State Wrestling Championships last season and entered ranked No. 1 at that weight, according to missouriwrestling.com.

Now ranked No. 1, Winston trailed 2-0 after the first period, and Brasfield-Thogerson chose neutral to start the second. Winston took him down and put him to his back, scoring the pin in 3 minutes, 10 seconds and improving to 35-6 on the season at that point.

The big win came right after Thomas Lisher scored another dramatic victory. Ranked No. 5 at 152 pounds, he trailed 6-4 in the second period against Lawyer Beckum, wrestling up from 145 where he’s ranked No. 3 after placing fifth at state at 132 last year.

Beckum had three takedowns, but Lisher, a state champion transfer from Baldwin (Kan.), pinned him out of a scramble at 3:36.

Park Hill won 11 of 14 matches, losing only at 132, 138 and 220.

Austin Kolvek returned to the lineup for the Trojans and scored a late takedown to win his 120 match against Shane Knox by an 8-7 decision. Kelvin Eblen (106), Blake Hopson (145), Jacob Sobbing (195) and Landen Brown (285) also scored pins, while Canten Marriott won a 16-0 technical fall.

Park Hill 77, St. Joseph Central 3

The Trojans wrapped up the Suburban Conference Red Division title with a win against St. Joseph Central on Thursday, Feb. 4 at Park Hill High School in Kansas City, Mo.

Park Hill went 11-1 in head-to-head matches with the lone loss a 3-2 decision for the Indians at 285. Jacob Olson, ranked No. 6 in Class 4, scored an early takedown and beat Landon Brown 3-2.

Park Hill ended up with 10 pins and two forfeits. The lone win that didn’t earn maximum points was Sean Hosford winning a 17-0 technical fall over Chase Morgan in just 1:20 at 152 pounds.

Park Hill South senior night

Park Hill South split a pair of duals Thursday, Feb. 4 at Park Hill South High School in Riverside, Mo., barely overcoming its open spots in a 42-36 win against Oak Park.

Up 30-0 after five matches, Park Hill South’s lead evaporated. Oak Park won four of the final five matches, including decision losses for the Panthers at 170 (Jakob Lebar) and 182 (Ring Deng), and the Northmen took three forfeits late.

Starting at 126, Park Hill South received pins from Andrew Mikuls, Kaleb Lenhert, Andre Anderson, Zak Horton and Alex Kubicki. Travis Fisher’s pin at 195 put the Panthers up 36-12, and the final four classes involved a forfeit, the last one going to Park Hill South for the win.

Against Liberty, three of Park Hill South’s five wins came by decision (Mikuls, 126; Horton, 145; and Kevin Nollett, 160). Liberty won 46-27, receiving two forfeits and recording five pins.

Horton won in overtime at 145, scoring a takedown in the first extra period to beat Jack Childress.

Park Hill South triangular

The Panthers took advantage of shorthanded opponents, winning a pair of duals Tuesday, Feb. 2 at Park Hill South High School.

In a 54-24 Red Division win against Ruskin, Park Hill South received seven forfeits and won two of the three head-to-had matches, including pins for Carter Thomas (120) and Horton (138). The Panthers beat North Kansas City 59-18 with six forfeits and wins in four of five matches wrestled.

Lenhert (132), Nollett (152) and Lebar (160) all collected first-period pins for Park Hill South while Dayton Gorosko won an 18-3 technical fall at 113.

West Platte triangular

West Platte lost a KCI dual and ended its losing streak by beating St. Pius X on Tuesday, Feb. 2 in Weston, Mo.

Mitch Moppin returned to the lineup at 182 pounds and won by fall against St. Pius X’s Kyle Miller, one of five head-to-head victories for the Bluejays. Dalton Larison (195) and Justin Rhodes (152) — the Bluejays’ two returning state qualifiers — also scored pins, while Cameron Johnson won an 11-0 major decision at 220.

Noah Conway won the 145 match with a 12-6 decision.

Against Plattsburg, Rhodes collected a pin at 152, while Thomas Tharp won a 6-0 decision against Joe Cleaveland at 285. The Tigers won 61-15.