With more than half a dozen state qualifiers, the Platte County boys’ wrestling team only had one medalist, Jake Fernandez, walk away from Mizzou Arena on Feb. 25.
The Pirates had a rough start to the Class 3 State Tournament – losing the opening six matches – with Fernandez being the only one to start 1-0. The Platte County 215-pounder had the most experience on the team ahead of time, being the reigning state champion in the 220-weight class.
Fernandez pinned Sam Berger (Vianney) in 1:35, before having a tough matchup with Cade Grimm (Branson) in the quarterfinals. For the first time in more than a calendar year, Fernandez was pinned as Grimm – who entered as the No. 3 wrestler in the state and ended as the runner-up – pulled out a win by fall late in the first period, with an official time of 1:58.
The Pirate bounced back with a 3-1 decision win over William Pierce from Ft. Zumwalt South to clinch a chance to bring home a medal on the second day. The junior rattled off three straight victories to end up on the podium with a bronze medal.
Fernandez had a comfortable 9-0 major decision win over Adrian Harrold from Whitfield and then made his way to the third-place match with a 3-2 decision win over Alex Nunez from Willard. He ended his junior campaign with a tight 1-0 decision against Ashton Phillips from DeSmet to bring home his second consecutive state medal.
Caden Hulett bounced back with back-to-back pins on opening day after dropping the first match on a 5-4 decision to Glendale’s Ethan Kelly. Then the junior fell in a 2-0 ultimate tie breaker and his state trip ended with a 2-2 record.
He finished with a 31-16 record and has a chance to be a 4-time state qualifier next winter. The junior has qualified for state every year so far.
Platte County senior Jake Fernandez finished in third-place in the 215-weight class at Mizzou Arena on Feb. 25.
The rest of the Pirates’ season came to an end on the first day with Grant Fadler being the only one in that group to not go 0-2. The freshman went 1-2 in the 126-weight class, which wasn’t good enough to advance to day two.
Gavin Alexander (Hillsboro) was a tough first-round matchup for the first-year state qualifier, entering with an impressive 37-4 record compared to Fadler’s 27-18 record. The Pirate put up a fight but was pinned in 5:52 late in the third period.
Fadler bounced back with a 6-4 decision over Carl Junction’s Max Matthews, resulting in the Pirate’s first career state win under his belt. The freshman’s season came to an end with a 3-2 decision loss to Jefferson City’s Elijah Teiberis.
Shane Leary (132) was the third Plate County wrestler to compete – following Hullett and Fadler – and was also the first to be eliminated. Leary’s junior campaign came to a close with a 0-2 state record and 17-26 overall record.
A week prior, Leary was the last 132-pound wrestler to qualify beyond the Class 4 District 4 Tournament. At state, the junior lost by fall in 2:55 to Tanner Davidson from Marshfield and then was defeated by a 10-4 decision to Minko Brown from Rockwood Summit.
Evan MacCuish lost on a pair of matches in the 138-weight class but will have two more years of eligibility to potentially earn some wins at state. Blake Jackson (Hillsboro) won with a tech fall and Joseph Kenny (Ft. Zumwalt South) pulled out a 15-3 major decision.
Platte County sophomore Darrell Smith was pinned twice in the 157-weight class, dropping both before earning a state win. Bolivar’s Riley Beckman won by fall in 2:58 and Imperial Windsor’s Cameron Busch won by fall in 6:57.
Cole Johnson (175) was the final Platte County wrestler to go 0-2, doing so with a loss by fall and a major decision defeat. The freshman was a third-place finisher at districts and ended the year with 31 wins and 20 losses.