The Panthers won six of seven matches, but the Pirates won the final five to rally for a 39-21 victory — the first of the year — on Tuesday, Dec. 11 in Riverside.
“We are getting young guys experience,” Platte County coach Reggie Burress said. “We have a couple of seniors (Nick Maddox and Omar Garcia) banged up and they are looking to get back, but right now these young guys are stepping up and taking advantage.
“It was a good overall team effort and a good effort from the young guys.”
Platte County got the first two wins of the match with a 14-1 major decision by Jarod Parsons over Max Donohoe (132 pounds) and Nick Filger (138) followed with a forfeit victory to make it 10-0.
The lead for the Pirates (1-2) grew to 16-3 after a win by Nolan Saale (152) against Andrew Anderson by a pin in 3 minutes, 44 seconds.
That win came after Parker Greenfield posted a 5-4 decision for Park Hill South against Gabe Davis (154).
After Saale’s win, Park Hill South (0-2) won five matches in a row to take a 21-16 lead.
Returning state qualifier Max Rosario (160) posted a 12-6 decision against Blaine Kuhn and Jackson Minor (170) won 7-3 against Drake Lacina. Cameron Gillespie (182) kept the win streak going by winning 4-1 against Jaydon Walls.
Xavier Jackson (195) pulled out a 4-0 decision against Gabe Harmon and Clay Cronkleton’s pin over Jonathan Owen (220) in 3:20 gave the Panthers the lead temporarily.
Glen Gammill gave the Pirates a win in the heavyweight match, taking a 7-1 decision against Michael Swope that pulled his team within two points.
The lighter weights then sealed the win for the Pirates.
Vincent Cesaro (106) posted an 18-3 technical fall victory against Trey Mastio to give the Pirates the lead back. Grant Stathopoulous (113) got a forfeit victory and just like that, the Pirates took a 30-21 lead after trailing by five.
Down to two matches left, freshman Eli Rocha pinned Mohamed Ali (113) 17 seconds into the second period put the match out of reach.
“Eli had a chance to seal the victory and he took advantage of it,” Burress said of Rocha, who missed the dual last week with Ray-Pec and Belton.
While his team lost, Park Hill South coach Dan Durkin saw plenty of positives against the Pirates — coached his former high school teammate at Trenton and later at Missouri.
“To be honest, I hope we use this as a turning point,” Durkin said. “We are really good in the room and we haven’t been good against good opponents. Platte County is always tough and we fought every weight class. I’m pleased with that. We were fighting for every point and fighting as a team to save points. We gave a lot better effort and had a lot better product. We knew they would be tough. They are good. They are young, but good.”
Platte County returns to action on Tuesday at home against Raytown South. Results of that were not available by press time.
Other matches/tournaments
Park Hill 48, Liberty North 24
Tied at 12, the Trojans went on a 32-3 run between 145 pounds and 220 to seal the win on Dec. 11 at Liberty North High School.
Trey Safford (145) opened the run with a 9-6 decision over Kolin Thee. Tyson Moore (152), Justin Stock (170), Devin Winston (195) and Chris Bizzle (220) all won by pins for the Trojans. Blake Hopson (182) won by a 16-0 technical fall. The lone win for the Eagles was a 3-2 win by Vince Restivo over Carter Goslee.
Kal Miller (126), Ethen Miller (132) and Josef Moreno (113) also added wins for Park Hill.
Park Hill 61, Lee’s Summit 12
The Tigers won the three lowest weight classes — 106, 113 and 120 — but didn’t win another match against the Trojans in a double duel at Liberty North.
Kal Miller (126), Ethen Miller (126), Grayston DiBlasi (138), Trey Safford (145), Blake Hopson (182) and Logan Lasater (285) all picked up wins by fall. Hopson had the fastest in 27 seconds, while Kal Miller’s (30), Laster (31) and Safford (57) were all under a minute. Justin Stock (170) won 5-3, while Chris Bizzle (220) posted a 11-3 major decision. Devin Winston, Carter Goslee and Tyson Moore all won by forfeits for Park Hill.
Mid-Buchanan 39, St. Joseph Central JV 36
North Platte’s Aaron Thomas lost a 6-3 decision to Central’s Anthony Grumblatt in a 160-pound match on Tuesday, Dec. 11.
The Battle at Katy Trail
Mid-Buchanan took fifth place overall and West Platte was 38th at a tournament held Friday and Saturday, Dec. 14-15 in Sedalia, Mo.
The lone North Platte entrant in the lineup for Mid-Buchanan was Aaron Thomas, who took 14th in the 160-pound class. He won three matches on the day — all by pins — but fell by a 10-2 major decision in the 13th-place match vs. Jaren Powrie of Nevada.
Blake Davidson’s 11th-place finish headlined the day — with four wins — for the Bluejays in the event that featured 44 teams that are either Class 1 or 2. Thomas Tharp placed 13th, Zach Esther was 14th and Julian Trelow finished 15th for West Platte. Tharp had four wins, while Trelow posted three wins.
Lee’s Summit Holiday Tournament
Park Hill South had one individual champion and took 18th overall at the Lee’s Summit Holiday Tournament held Friday and Saturday, Dec. 14-15 at Lee’s Summit High School.
For the second straight week, Cameron Gillespie took home a championship for the Panthers. He won the 182-pound title with a 7-0 record and hiked his season mark to 19-3 overall. He had three pins and a technical fall win in pool matches and then opened with a pin over McCluer North’s Tim Robertson in 1:04 in the quarterfinals. Gillespie bested North Kansas City’s Seth Mattly by a 10-3 decision in the semifinals and then won 8-4 against Lee’s Summit North’s Zane Ragland in the finals.
Michael Swope took fourth and Parker Greenfield finished 10th for Park Hill South. Swope (285) opened with 5-0 straight wins, but lost by a pin to Lindbergh’s Matt Nickel in the semifinals. In his place match, Logan Thornton of Lee’s Summit North won by a 4-2 decision. Greenfield won four matches but lost in ninth-place match vs. Ozark’s Caleb Doyle by a 4-2 sudden death overtime victory.
Girls Wrestling
Platte County 6, Park Hill South 5
With only two matches on the docket, a pin made the difference as Platte County posted a win on Tuesday, Dec. 11 at Riverside.
Avery Krahenbill picked up a win for Platte County, pinning Mystique Anderson in 2 minutes, 48 seconds. Finley Bickford got the win for the Panthers, picking up a 16-0 technical fall victory against Natalie Crain.
Staley 6, Mid-Buchanan 0
In the lone match, Madison Slaughter pinned Mid-Buchanan wrestler and North Platte student Haley Sampson in the first period.