The Platte County wrestling team is looking to make it back to state this year after losing multiple state qualifiers from the 2021 senior class.
All three girl qualifiers have graduated and on the boys’ side, two of the seven state qualifiers will be back. Caden Hulett qualified in the 106-weight class, while Jake Fernandez was a state champion in a heavier class as they’re both juniors.
“We’ve got two qualifiers back with Caden – who won a match down there – and Jake Fernandez who was our 220-pound state champion, but he’ll be at 215 this year,” Platte County head wrestling coach Reggie Burress said. “Caden is looking to get on that medal stand towards the top and Jake is working hard to stay at the top.”
Platte County’s Caden Hulett made it to state in the 106-weight class last winter and is looking to bring back more hardware when this season comes to a close.
Senior 120-pounder Alexander Escaping-Fillmer is back in the lineup as Draiden Chilcoat and Peyton Nickell are two others who help fill out the senior class. Freshmen Cole Johnson, Quinn Lightle, Gabriel Wittel and Grant Fadler – along with 138-pound junior Shane Leary and 157-pound sophomore Darrell Smith – will be looking to make some noise for the Pirates this season.
“There’s a lot of chances for some kids who went to the bubble match last year in the district tournament to maybe punch their ticket to the state tournament and get down there and have a chance to place. We also have a good mix of younger kids who worked hard over the summer that I can see making big strides and coming on and doing great things; and we’ve got some freshmen who will be in the lineup that we expect a lot from,” Burress said.
For the Lady Pirates, freshman Karrington Friddell will be their 110-pounder, while seniors Haley Burge and Hannah Mand will be at the 115 and 120-weight classes for now. Junior EmmaLyn Burnett wrestled in districts last year and will be in the 125-weight class, junior Sarah Hamburg is set to be in the 130-weight class and freshman Giada Cucchiara has been picking up the techniques quickly in the 135-weight class.
“Since we lost three of our state qualifiers, we need to focus on consistency. We’re going to try to get plenty of matches here in the beginning of the year to give them a chance to wrestle a lot so we can see what they need to work on over time,” Burress said.
Sophomores Adrianna Ciccarelli, Caitlyn Roudebush and Alivia Juarez will be looking to make strides this season. Haley Moser and Nicole Fernandez will be in the upper weight classes as well.
“I think we can have a number of girls give themselves a chance to qualify for the state tournament. The way they’ve been working all summer, I see good things from them,” Burress said.