Multiple wrestlers from the area competed in the USA Wrestling 16U Junior National Championship in Fargo, ND, last week representing Team Missouri and had impressive outings led by Parkville native Rylan Kuhn.
Parkville native Rylan Kuhn, above left, pins an opponent in a freestyle match at the USA Wrestling 16U Junior National Championship in Fargo, ND, this past weekend.
The 16-year-old wrestler became double All-American – which happens when an individual finishes in the top-8 – by finishing fifth place in the freestyle and second place in the Greco-Roman. Kuhn went 7-2 in the freestyle and was 5-1 in the Greco-Roman where he was in the 220-weight class.
The incoming St Pius X High sophomore resides in Parkville and matched up with one opponent twice – once in the freestyle and once in the Greco-Roman finals – where he split the matches.
Kuhn was joined by multiple teammates from the area, including Weston’s Jackson Rotterman.
Park Hill also had some competitors travel all the way to North Dakota as Cael Keck, Mason Brayfield, Jim Humphrey and Erik Egstad wrestled at the event on July 20 and 21. Brayfield had the best finish among the Trojan participants.
On the first day, Brayfield took down the top-seeded wrestler to move on to the quarterfinals where he dropped the next match before picking up an 11-4 tech fall to become an All-American. The Trojan made it to the finals and lost both of his matches on the final day to collect eighth place.
Egstad fell short in his first match of the tournament but bounced back to make it to the consolation round. He finished the consolation with a 2-2 record.
Humphrey had a similar start as Egstad, losing his first match, but had a stronger finish after reaching the consolations. The Park Hill wrestler finished with a 4-2 record to end just shy of All-American.
Keck was also an All-American in the Junior 132-weight class as the Park Hill graduate capped off the summer on a high note ahead of his collegiate career that will start at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Angelina Vargas also competed for the girls and was an All-American in the 112-weight class.
Park Hill South had one competitor with Maddie Kubicki. The incoming senior finished in third place to become an All-American.