COLUMBIA, Mo. — Park Hill South has a state wrestling championship more than 20 years after the school opened the doors in the fall of 1998.
The wrestler that secured the milestone is freshman Maddie Kubicki.
She finished her first season with a perfect 29-0 record and became the first medalist in the two years the Panthers have had the program.
Kubicki walked off the mat at Mizzoua Arena into the tunnel and got high-fives and hugs from the Panthers coaching staff.
She finally got asked what it was like to win a state title after pinning Lawson’s Savanna McCutchen.
“It’s alright,” she said nonchalantly. “I knew she is really strong and I know she worked hard and I knew it would most likely be here in the finals.”
What did it mean to be the first state champion, boys or girls, for Park Hill South wrestling program?
CODY THORN/Citizen photo
Park Hill South’s Maddie Kubicki has her arm raised after winning the 135-pound championship in Class 1 on Saturday, Feb. 22. She is the first wrestling state champion in the school’s history.
“It feels alright … it’s not too bad,” she said. “It lets me know I’m working hard but I need to keep doing stuff and I have things I need to work on to make me better. Being the first is pretty crazy. It shows how much we have grown and everyone in the room can help you out and the coaches can help you become a champion, place and learn.”
Kubicki built an 8-0 lead on McCutchen (135 pounds) but gave up points to McCutchen in the second round. However, leading 10-2, Kubicki got a pin to end the match at the 3:12 mark.
At the district finals the week prior, Kubicki pinned McCuthen (40-2) in 39 seconds – and handed her both of her losses this season.
Kubicki won all four of her matches by pins. She needed 1:03 to beat Troy Buchanan’s Alie Burt in the first round and then 1:46 to pin Rolla’s Hannah O’Connor in the quarterfinals. On Friday night, Kubicki pinned Cassidy Head of St. Charles in 40 seconds.
“Maddie worked hard her whole life, I hope we get more women out for the sport of wrestling,” Park Hill South coach Dan Dunkin said. “The first year we had low numbers and we doubled it this year. Hopefully we can double it again and make it a bigger sport.”
The win by Kubicki impressed her teammates, though she was the lone representative for the Panthers girls.
“She set a real good tone with all the powerhouses around, we want to draw in good kids as much as we can and it starts with the youth program and we have Team Hammer now,” Park Hill South senior Cameron Gillespie said. “To have her win it, it looks good on the program and its a good draw. You never want to be foundation level because you don’t get the success personally, but if we can build the success in the future, it is all worth it.”
The Panthers finished in a tie for 16th place with Kubicki scoring the same as DeSoto’s team did.
Platte County finished in a four-way tie for 23rd place and Park Hill tied with Polo for 30th place.
Each of those schools had at least one medalist – a first for both programs.
The Pirates ended with two medalists in the second trip to state.
Sarina Bertram (166) took fourth place, while KayLyn Munn (187) took sixth for Platte County.
“We went 2-for-2,” Platte County coach Reggie Burress said. “They wrestled well and they are motivated to go down there and make the finals. That is the goal for next year.”
Bertram went 4-2 and both of her losses came to Kirkwood’s Emma Schreiber. Bertram, a junior, won her first match, 3-1, against Bailey Shockley of Lebanon.
A loss to Schreiber followed in the quarterfinals, but Bertram won her next three to secure a medal in her first trip to state. Bertram won 9-2 against St. Charles’ Kylie Swinney, 5-3 against Buffalo’s Jada Watson and then 3-2 against Truman’s Ava Miller.
That was a rematch of a district semifinal match that Bertram won 10-7.
Bertram lost by a pin against Schreiber in the third-place match and finished the year 40-7.
Munn’s season ended with a familiar foe, facing off against William Chrisman’s Mary-Mae McMillan, who won 4-3 to take third place. At the district meet, Munn lost by a pin against McMillan, who went 39-5.
Munn (23-15) lost her first-round match against Lafayette Wilwood’s Josette Partney by pin but then won three straight matches. She pinned Knob Noster’s Annamarie Alviar, Union’s Jaiden Powell and Northwest Cedar Hill’s Olivia Buckley.
That set up a rematch against Partney, who won by a pin again.
In the 187 class, all four girls who advanced to state placed in the top six at state.
“We had six girls out and we hope to put some more girls with them and grow the program and get some more state medals,” Burress said.
CODY THORN/Citizen photo
Platte County’s KayLyn Munn makes a move during a match against William Chrisman’s Mary-Mae McMillan in the fifth-place match of the Class 1 187-pound match on Saturday, Feb. 22 at Mizzou Arena in Columbia, Mo.
Park Hill’s Ciara Miller became the program’s first state qualifier and first state medalist.
“The first medalist for Park Hill, it is crazy; I’m really excited and really proud of myself,” said Miller, who went 4-2 at state and finished the year 23-8.
Miller didn’t have any background in the sport of wrestling but decided to give it a try after a talk with her weights coach – Park Hill girls volleyball coach Lindsay Hood.
“She kind of sprung it on me and I’m glad it happened,” said Miller, who also plays tennis for Park Hill.
Miller won her opening match against Mehlville’s Naida Abdijanovic by pin, but would run into her again in the third-place match and lost by a pin despite holding a 10-7 lead at the time.
ROSS MARTIN/Special to the Citizen
Park Hill’s Ciara Miller took fourth place to become the school’s first female state medalist.
In between those matchups, she went 3-1. Miller lost in the quarterfinals to Antionna Cunningham of Lebanon — who finished fifth — by pin.
Miller (23-8) then won by falls against Elisabeth Consentino of McCluer North, La’Niaa Brown of Cape Girardeau Central and Fort Osage’s Rachel Relilihan, who finished sixth.
Miller expects to start competing in freestyle and greco wrestling during the offseason to improve in the sport she just picked up. She also hopes to recruit more girls to the team after the Trojans had four this past season.
The area had two other qualifiers from the North Platte-Mid-Buchanan co-op.
North Platte’s Haley Sampson (115) returned to state, while Loren Patee (103) was a first-time qualifier. Both wrestlers went 0-2 in the tournament.
Sampson drew a state runner-up in Harrisonville’s Chloe Herrick in her first match.