The semifinal round of the Class 2 State Wrestling Tournament wasn’t kind to Mid-Buchanan who entered day two with seven boys alive for a berth to individual championships on Feb. 23.
It appeared that another repeat as state champions was in the air, despite bumping up a class from a year ago, but that didn’t quite happen with every single Dragon semifinal match being lost. North Platte was responsible for five of those seven when every Panther who made it to state went undefeated on the opening day at Mizzou Arena as both KCI schools have players on the Dragons’ squad.
North Platte’s Grant Schuster helped lead the Mid-Buchanan co-op wrestling team to a second-place finish in the Class 2 State Tournament at Mizzou Arena on Feb. 23.
The Dragons were in position to do something special – win two consecutive state titles in different classes – but couldn’t recover after the opening matches on day two. Mid-Buchanan did recover quickly, going on to finish in second place with 135.5 points, exactly 10 points shy of tying Pleasant Hill’s winning score.
This was a unique situation with the two teams fighting for gold, both entering the tournament with a chance to 3-peat as state champions. Mid-Buchanan had won it all in Class 1 in the last two years – which played a part in the team being moved up to Class 2 – and Pleasant Hill entered the Class 2 State Meet as the 2-time reigning champion, comfortably winning it all by a 45.5-point margin last year and 37-point margin the year prior.
North Platte was responsible for hosting three third-place matches, winning two of them. Owen Stockbauer was the only one out of the trio who took fourth, doing so in the 285-weight class to close out the year with a 37-14 record when he was pinned in 1:41 to Center’s Harold Tsafack.
The North Platte wrestler started the weekend off strong when he beat Jeremiah Rodriguez from Sullivan on a 10-3 decision then closed out opening day with a 3:48 pin over Thomas Palmer from St. Charles. Stockbauer lost on a 5-1 decision to Brady Kerperin (Blair Oaks) in the semifinals then won by the same score against Kenneth Johnson (Nevada).
Ryder Coons matched up with Akhilleus Arguelles (Cassville) with a chance for third place in the 113-weight class. The junior rose to the occasion, pulling out a 6-3 decision and brought home a bronze medal.
Before the third-place match, Coons had a 5:04 tech fall over Osage’s Zac Greene and 2:58 win by fall in a meeting with Kirksville’s Ben Amerman. The 132-pounder was bumped in the semifinals with a pin in 3:00 to Brady Roark from Seneca, then had a 4-2 decision triumph against Eli Peregoy from Sullivan.
Heavy weight senior Seth Cruz had an epic start in the 285-weight class, pulling out a tough 3-2 ultimate tie breaker in an opening matchup with Jeremiah Rodriguez from Sullivan, following that up with a pin. Oak Grove’s Caleb Groff – who has been Cruz’s Achilles heel throughout the season – once again got the best of the Dragon wrestler, winning on a 5-1 decision.
Cruz met up with Sam McDowell-Driskell (Pleasant Hill) after the semifinal loss, led 3-0 in the match and nearly turned it into a pin, but won it with a decision to advance to the third-place match. He ended his high school career with a 4-2 decision in a matchup with Maryville 128-pounder Kort Watkins and is officially a 3-time state medalist and 4-time state qualifier.
Colton Kirkham (165) was in a battle with Blair Oak’s Zach Rackers in the semifinals – following a pair of triumphs on opening day with a pin and decision – but lost by fall in 4:35 and was visibly disappointed, taking his time to rise from the matt. The North Platte quarterback ended up losing again in his next match when Jake Anthonysz (Cassville) pulled out a 3-2 decision.
That loss gave Kirkham an opportunity to claim fifth place, which he did for the second consecutive season. The junior ended the winter on a high note with an 8-6 sudden victory over Moberly’s Gage St. Clair and now has as many state medals as appearances, with three.
Grant Schuster was the sole North Platte athlete to not win his opening match, getting defeated by a 3:46 tech fall against Fulton’s Cole Blattner. The 106-pounder didn’t let the early failure phase him, ripping off three consecutive victories in his first state tournament.
The sophomore started that 3-match streak with a 51-second pin over Jace Amschler (Ste. Genevieve). He followed that up with two straight decision victories, then was defeated with a 15-2 major decision defeat against Dylan Pratt from Cameron and earned a spot in a fifth-place match – that he won with a 4-0 decision – against Brock Arrowood from Osage.