History was made once again at the Class 1 District 4 Wrestling Championship as the West Platte boys’ wrestling team sent a program best four athletes to state for the second straight season and had its first individual district champion since 2016.
West Platte’s David Brown finished in fourth place in the 175-weight class to become one of four Blue Jays to qualify for state after the Class 1 District 4 Wrestling Championship at Lathrop on Feb. 18.
In a competitive district that saw 16 total teams, Lane Scott shined the most for the Blue Jays at Lathrop High School on Feb. 18. The 215-pound wrestler won an individual district title and was the first Blue Jay since Justin Rhodes, who went on to win a state title.
Scott officially has a 31-5 record on the season after going 3-0 at districts, all of which were pins. The Blue Jay matched up with Dakota Rankin (Plattsburg) – who had a 31-11 record at the time – in the championship match with Scott winning by fall in 3:47.
Canton Wilkins (106), Peyson Chandler (150) and David Brown (175) all made it past districts as well. This will be Chandler’s third trip to state and Brown’s second appearance.
Chandler joined Scott as one of the only two Blue Jays to make it to the championship match after winning by a 10-2 major decision over Reece Dixon (Plattsburg) and a 9-6 decision against Ethan Hunter (St. Pius X). Chandler was pinned in the championship by Maysville’s Kaleb Jestes in 3:46.
Wilkins entered the postseason tournament with a losing record but finished in third place to move to 23-22 on the season. The Blue Jay pinned Brody McCartney (Plattsburg) in 3:5.
Brown finished in fourth place after alternating wins and losses at Lathrop and going 2-2 there. Brown matched up with South Harrison’s Jastin Johns in the third-place match and was pinned in 1:50.
Jhett Chandler wrapped up his season with a 25-22 record in the 126-weight class but fell short of qualifying for state. McKanan Reade (138), Tristan Newkirk (144), Xavier Williams (165) and Garrett Moritz (190) all made a run, but also fell short of a state berth.