The annual trek to Wisconsin resulted in a trio of medalists for Platte County.

Taking part in the Cheesehead Invitational in Kaukauna, Wis., the Pirates finished 23rd overall, one spot ahead of Highway 92 rival Smithville.

The highest finish on the day went to Glen Gammill, who was fifth in the 285-pound class.

Gammill went 4-3 on the day, posting wins against George Colbert of DeKalb, Ill., and Abel Savage of Pewaukee, Wis. — both by pins — in pool matches. In the quarterfinals, Gammill lost by a pin against Justin Hull of St. Charles (Ill.) West. Gammill then won two of the next three to take fifth. He beat Lloyd Reynolds of Edwardsville, Ill., 3-2, but lost in a chance to wrestle for third. In his fifth-place match, Gammill won 5-2 against Connor Brown of Southeast Polk (Iowa).

Jaydon Walls (170) and Nolan Saale (152) were both seventh-place finishers for the Pirates.

Walls went 4-2, winning all three of his pool matches: He won by a 12-2 major decision against Noah Ross of Arrowhead (Hartland, Wis.); an 8-3 decision against Carter Maggio of St. Charles East and a 3-2 ultimate tiebreaker against Will Ahnen of Fennimore, Wis.

In the championship bracket, Walls lost to Pewaukee’s Joe Skienar and Walls lost his next match by a major decision. In the seventh-place match, Walls faced Ahnen again and won again, this time 5-4.

Saale won his first four, lost the next two and then ended with a win.

Saale posted a pair of wins by major decisions — against Nequa Valley’s Jake Mohler and Two Rivers’ Trevor Pasek — and won by 5-2 against Troy Nabbefeld of Freedom, Wis., in pool matches.

Saale lost by a 9-2 decision against Antonio Everett of Simley, Minn., in the quarterfinals and then dropped a match against Stoughton (Wis.) Gavin Model in the consolation bracket. In his final match, Saale won by medical forfeit against Drew Gvillo of Edwardsville.

Eli Rocha came close to getting to the medal stand, taking ninth in the 120 division.

Rocha went 5-2, falling in his final match against Cole Glazier of Albert Lea, Minn., by a 3-1 decision.

Kearney Girls Invitational

Park Hill South and West Platte took part in the inaugural Kearney Girls Invitational on Saturday, Jan. 5 at Kearney, Mo.

The Panthers had a pair of runner-up finishes, while West Platte had two third-place finishers.

Mystyque Anderson went 2-1 for Park Hill South. She pinned Cameron’s Hannah Burkhart, while winning by a medical forfeit against Julie Zimmer of St. Joseph Benton. Anderson lost by pin against Cameron’s Ashley Yamat.

Finley Bickford also took second for Park Hill South. She beat West Platte’s Grace Stevens by a pin in 56 seconds for her win. Bickford lost by a pin against Olivia Cummings of Smithville.

Stevens was third, losing to both Bickford and Cummings.

West Platte’s Lara Lieske took third, going 1-2. She posted a win by fall in 3:32 against Maryville’s Cameron Mackey for her lone win.

Sarah Stalcup was fourth for the Bluejays, going 1-3. She beat Truman’s Sierra Forbes-Rodriquez by a 13-8 decision.

Joe Crouthers Invitational

Park Hill took a mixed squad to the 58th annual Joe Crouthers Invitational on Saturday, Jan. 5 at North Kansas City High School.

The Trojans had three champions and finished fifth overall in the field.

Championships went to Cael Keck, Grayston DiBlasi and Phoenix Thomas.

Keck (106) got pins in three of his four matches, including a takedown against Staley’s Andy Lipp in the first-place match in 5 minutes, 39 seconds. The fastest win was an 11 second fall against Staley JV’s Gabe Dorsel.

DiBlasi (132) pinned Cooper Doolin of Blue Springs South in the quarterfinals and then pulled out a 4-3 win against Liberty’s Jacob Lynn in the semifinals. DiBlasi blasted Brandon Herrera of Liberty North by a 12-2 major decision in the finals. DiBlasi went 3-0 in pool matches, including two pins.

Phoenix Thomas (152) added the last title for the Trojans. Thomas went 5-0, ending with a 6-2 decision against Brevin Millican of Blue Springs South.

Thomas opened with a 12-9 decision against Liberty’s Charles Kirkpatrick and then won his next three matches by pins, taking down Liberty North’s Michael Schwalm, Ruskin’s Jonah Mosier and St. Pius X’s Carl Ragusa.

Justin Stock (170) and Antonio Pacheco (113) were both fourth-place finishers for Park Hill. Stock went 3-2 and lost to St. Pius X’s Eddie Omecene by a pin in the third-place match, while Pacheco had to forfeit his last two matches.

Logan Lasater (285) took fifth after going 4-2. He ended with a 8-7 decision against Winnetonka’s Dominic Mina. Chris Bizzle (195) finished sixth, falling to Harrisonville’s Trevor Campbell by a 6-4 decision in the fifth-place match. Bizzle went 2-3 on the day.

Mid-Buchanan Invitational

Mid-Buchanan, which feature three North Platte wrestlers on the roster, won the title with 243 ½ points – 99 more than runner-up Maryville at its home tournament on Saturday, Jan. 5 in Faucett, Mo.

Platte County JV took 11th and West Platte was 15th in a field that featured a majority of Class 1-2 schools or JV squads from larger schools.

Two local wrestlers made the finals: Thomas Tharp and Jerin Munn.

Tharp, from West Platte, lost to Mid-Buchanan’s Wyatt Callaway by a pin in the championship in the 285-pound class. Tharp won his first four matches leading up to that, beating Lafayette’s Brayden Addington, Lafayette JV’s Quentin Garrett, Albany’s Justin Dye and East Atchison’s Ashton Yeary.

Platte County JV’s Munn lost to Hamilton’s Elijah Harper by a 21-9 major decision in the champioship match at 170. Munn beat wrestlers from Stanberry and Lafayette, before besting teammate Ben McDaniel in pool matches.

Platte County JV’s Sean Vantol (182) and James Gladden (195) each took third, with Vantol beating teammate Forrest Boyton by injury default in his final match.

Jared Parson (132) and Andrew Bingham (126) were fourth-place finishers for the Pirates. Parson and Bingham each went 3-2. Parson lost to Maysville’s Caden Isreal, 5-2, while Bingham lost his last match by pin against Maysville’s Brendan Bertoncino.

CODY THORN/Citizen photo
West Platte’s Julian Trelow, left, battles Maryville’s Gaven Gray-Walker during a match in the 160-pound division on Saturday, Jan. 5 at the Mid-Buchanan Invitational held in Faucett, Mo.

West Platte’s Mason Taylor (182) was fifth, while Lucas Filger of Platte County JV and Julian Trelow of West Platte were both sixth.

Taylor won by a pin against St. Joseph Central JV’s Ben Hadle. Filger lost to Stanberry’s Mark Donaldson, 10-7, in the fifth-place match and Trelow went 3-2 and lost to St. Joseph Central JV’s Noah Schneider in the fifth-place match.

North Platte’s Haley Sampson, wrestling for Mid-Buchanan’s ‘C’ team, took sixth. Sampson beat Rock Port’s Brianna Maxwell by a pin for her lone victory, falling to South Harrison’s Timmy Williams by fall in the fifth-place match.

The other two North Platte students, Aaron Thomas (160, 2-2 overall) and Aden Woolard (152, 2-2) were 10th place for Mid-Buchanan.

Pleasant Hill Girls Tournament

Platte County took four wrestlers to the Pleasant Hill girls tournament on Saturday, Dec. 28 and left with a third-place finish in the team standings.

Three of the wrestlers took second, while KayLyn Munn brought home the championship.

Munn won all three of her matches by pins. She took down Monett’s Kinzey Stellwagon in the second period and did the same against Columbia Battle’s Anyha Cain.

Her fastest win was a fall against Raytown South’s Erin Prentice, winning in 2 minutes, 40 seconds.

Munn is ranked No. 6 in her weight class according to MissouriWrestling.com.

Avery Krahenbill, Natalie Crain and Sarina Bertram all were second for the Pirates.

Krahenbill went 2-1, starting with a win by decision against Markayla Lottie of Raytown South for the second time in two weeks. Krahenbill pinned St. Joseph Benton’s Lexi Petersen with 32 seconds left in the final period. Krahenbill lost by pin against Lee’s Summit North’s Lauren Echols.

Crain got a pair of pins in her first two matches. She took down Holden’s Samantha Radford (2:47) and Hannah Pennel of Diamond in 1:48, but Crain lost by a pin against Lebanon’s Antonia Cunningham.

Bertram went 2-1 as well, like Crain, winning two by pins. Bertram won in 3:16 against Tai Driver of Pleasant Hill and in 1:35 against Lebanon’s Brooke Peden. The setback came against Polo’s Abigail Bolling by a pin.

Lebanon won the team title, while Battle was second with 58 points, two more than Platte County.

Kansas City Stampede

Park Hill and Platte County took part in the Kansas City Stampede on Friday and Saturday, Dec. 21-22 at HyVee Arena in Kansas City.

Park Hill finished with 449 ½ points, coming in behind Liberty (second) and Tuttle, Okla. (first) in a standings with more than 40 teams. Platte County finished in a tie for 25th with Whitfield, a Class 1 power with 207 points.

The highlight, locally, were Park Hill’s Devin Winston taking first in the gold division and Jaydon Walls winning the silver division in the 182-pound class.

Winston opened with a pin against Ethan Hovis of Whitfield and followed with wins against Cayleb Atkins of Goddard, Kan. in the quarterfinals. Winston beat Triston Willis of Derby, Kan., by fall in the semifinals and then won 2-1 against Rocky Elam of Staley in the championship.

Walls dispatched Beau Barncastle of Creston by pin, won by 5-2 decision against Hunter McMann of Red Oak, 5-0 against Lebanon’s Jake Henson and then 5-0 against Marek Davis of Nixa in the finals.

Trey Crawford was the runner-up in the 138 gold division. The Park Hill standout fell to Ryder Ramsey of Tuttle, Okla., 5-2, in the JUI championship match. In the semifinals, Crawford beat former teammate Austin Kolvek of Liberty, 7-0. That was the second win this season against Kolvek, who transferred after last season.

Simon Tesfamarian took third for the Trojans, ending with a win against Fuji Chairez of Garden City, Kan., in the 285-pound class. Tesfamarian lost 2-1 in the semifinals to Teaguen Wilson of Perry, Okla., the eventual champion of the division. In that same class, Glen Gammill took 10th for the Pirates, falling to Matthew Smith of Baylor, Texas, in the ninth-place match.

Ashton Sharp (220) took fourth place in the gold division for Park Hill. He lost his final match against Christian Brothers College’s Al Wooten. Sharp fell to eventual champion Cade Lautt of St. James Academy in the semifinals, 5-1.

Nick Filger made the quarterfinals for Platte County, falling 7-5 to eventual champion Gabe Hixenbaugh of Thompson. Filger bounced back to take fifth in the 138 gold division.

Thompson opened his title run with a major decision against Park Hill’s Trey Safford, who took 13th.

RILEY CRAWFORD/Special to the Citizen
Park Hill’s Ethen Miller tries to pin Arkansas City’s Sammey Dickey during the Kansas City Stampede held last month at HyVee Arena.

Kal Miller (120) ended in fifth place, winning the consolation bracket with a 2-0 decision against Riley Weir of Sand Springs, Okla. In that same class, Eli Rocha was 11th for the Pirates, beating Thompson’s James Latona, 13-7, in the final match.

Ethen Miller took sixth place in 126 gold, topping Stillwater’s Carter Young in his final match. Miller made quarterfinals, losing to Seckman’s Kai Orine, the eventual champion.

Platte County’s Hunter Burge was ninth in the 126 silver, while teammate Omar Garcia was sixth in the 132 silver division.

In the 195-pound silver division, Park Hill’s Chris Bizzle was eighth and Gabe Harmon of Platte County took 13th. Bizzle lost to Liberty’s Jeremiah Cubbyaban in the quarterfinals.

Park Hill’s Blake Hopson (170) took 12th in the 170 gold, while Platte County’s Drake Lacina took 13th in the silver division. Hopson made the quarterfinals, losing to Troy Fisher of Goddard, 15-6.

Jack Vande Ven of Park Hill took 10th and Blaine Kuehn of Platte County was 11th in the 160 silver division.

In the 152 gold, Park Hill’s Carter Goslee took 11th and Platte Couinty’s Nolan Saale finished 15th.

Platte County’s Johnathan Owen took 14th in the 220 silver division, while Grant Stathopolous was 14th in 113 silver. Vincent Cesaro placed 15th for the Pirates in the 106 silver division.

In the girls portion of the Stampede, Platte County had a pair of runners-up.

Kaylyn Munn took second for Platte County. The freshman lost by a pin to Shay Esposito of Randall.

Avery Krahenbill was the runner-up after losing to another Randall wrestler. Candence Miller posted a 14-1 major decision against the Pirates.

Platte County girls 9, Raytown South 6

The Pirates picked up another win on the mat by winning two of three matches against conference foe Raytown South on Dec. 18.

Natalie Crain picked up a win by forfeit for Platte County, while Avery Krahenbill posted an 8-3 decision against Markayla Lottie.

Mackenzie Griswold got a forfeit win for the Cardinals.