Drew Aggus
Special to the Citizen
Park Hill South’s comeback attempt against Platte County fell just short, as the Pirates squeezed out a victory 44-34 on Tuesday, Dec. 17 at Platte County High School.
The dual began with a forfeit, as the Panthers had an opening at 220 and Platte County’s Jesse Schillinger got the win.
The Panthers scored pins in two of the next three matches to take a 12-6 lead before having another opening at 120.
Panthers coach Dan Dunkin said that one of the openings was due to a wrestler having a concussion and the other was due to a broken ankle.
“Twelve points is a big difference,” Dunkin said. “We kind of came in a little short; we knew it was going to be close. Being without two guys made it a little tougher.”
DREW AGGUS/Special to the Citizen
Platte County’s John Owen, top, pins Park Hill South’s Luke Hicks during a match on Tuesday, Dec. 17 at Platte County High School.
After holding an early 12-6 lead, thanks to pins from Clay Cronkleton (285 against Calvin Sholey) and Dylan Taylor (106 against Mason Greer), the Panthers dropped five straight matches.
The streak for Platte County included a forfeit to Grant Stathopoulos (120), while Draiden Chilcoat (113) got an 11-0 major decision against Mystyque Anderson, as she made the move up to varsity boys from varsity girls for this match.
Eli Rocha (132) got a 10-2 major decision against Kale Slater. Hunter Burge (132) and Trey Phan (126) won by pins against Trey Mastio and Mohammed Ali, respectively.
Eventually, Gage Baska (145) got the Panthers back on track with a pin against Jared Parsons.
However, the 32-12 advantage that the Pirates had built would be hard to overcome. Pirates coach Reggie Burress said that his team needed to capture that early momentum.
“We knew we had to get out to the advantage in the beginning,” Burress said. “We had to fight hard, and see what happens in the end.”
Following another Panther pin — this one from Ben Crawford (152) — the deficit was cut to just eight points, as the Pirates maintained a 32-24 lead. Ben McDaniel (160) answered for the Pirates, pinning Ashton Kuhn.
Following the pin from McDaniel, Park Hill South’s Max Rosario (170) won via major decision over Drake Lacina to bring the Panthers within 10. Then, Cameron Gillespie (182) picked up a pin over Gabe Harmon to cut the deficit to just four points.
This set up a winner-take-all showdown in the 195 match between the Pirates’ John Owen and the Panthers’ Luke Hicks. Owen looked to be in control for the majority of the match. Eventually, he was pinned Hicks to the mat, as Burress and the rest of the Pirates’ bench jumped up in celebration with the Pirates taking the win.
“John Owen has a history of having big falls in big matches here at the high school,” Burress said. “I’m proud of John, and I’m real proud of the whole team effort.”
Despite the loss, Dunkin and the Panthers weren’t about to hang their heads.
“We’re young, and I saw a lot of fight,” Dunkin said. “We got down early, and we just kept fighting. I liked the fight in my kids.”