BELTON, Mo. — Platte County went through equal phases of excitement and disappointment in the key round of the Class 3 District 4 tournament last weekend at Belton High School.
While sophomore Eli Rocha prepared to wrestled for his second straight individual title, there were eight consolation semifinal matches for Platte County to determine the final count of qualifiers for the Class 3 Missouri State Wrestling Championships. Ultimately, the Pirates went 4-4 and will send five to Mizzou Arena in Columbia, Mo.
In a season filled with injuries, departures, and most notably, inconsistency, Platte County faded from a top-four fixture in the district team standings to sixth. Pirates sophomore Jared Parsons went on to finish third at 145 pounds, while juniors Gabe Davis (138), Drake Lacina (170) and Jesse Schillinger were all fourth, meaning there will be a steep hill to climb for the traditional powerhouse to make noise at the state tournament, which will be wrestled Thursday, Feb. 20 through Saturday, Feb. 22.
“I think it’s all about just giving them the confidence and drive to go off of,” said Rocha, who beat Kearney senior Leyton Manley in the 132 final. “I feel like they can feed off my energy and kind of use that at state. That’s all I’m trying to do. I’m just trying go down there and hopefully my team and I do the best we can do down there.”
Platte County’s day included a fair share of inspiring stories.
Davis returned to action for the first time since having an emergency appendectomy less than a month earlier. He still commanded the No. 3 seed in the 138 bracket and reached the semifinals with two pins. However, in a rematch with Kearney junior Ben Locke, Davis lost an 11-0 major decision after being on the wrong end of a 4-2 decision earlier in the year.
ROSS MARTIN/Special to the Citizen
Platte County’s Gabe Davis celebrates after a victory against Lincoln College Prep’s Manuel Reyes during the Class 3 District 3 tournament on Saturday, Feb. 15 in Belton.
The loss put Davis in a familiar position — fighting for a state berth.
As a sophomore at 145, Davis reached the consolation semifinals and came up a win short. This time around, he led Lincoln Prep sophomore Manuel Reyes 4-0 before coming up with a pin in the third period to assure his placement.
Davis (13-20) then medically forfeited the third-place match to take fourth and avoid any unnecessary wear and tear.
“I’m in pain right now, but I’m feeling good to be back on the mat,” Davis said after finishing his tournament. “All I can do is thank my family, my coaches for trusting me, God for getting me back on the mat. Just three weeks ago, I was thinking my season was completely done. To be back on the mat today and place top four at districts and go to state? I’m feeling great.”
Parsons just recently returned from a concussion that kept him out of the final part of the Suburban Conference Blue Division schedule and Platte County’s final tournament. He entered districts unseeded and with a losing record but upset No. 4 seed Jonathan Tipton of Grain Valley with a pin in the quarterfinals, leaving Parsons in need of just one win to earn a state berth in his first year in the lineup.
After a loss to top-seeded eventual district champion Caden Green of Kearney, Parsons met up with Grandview junior Isaiah Watson. Parsons used a Granby roll and divethrough counter to come out on top of two different adventurous scrambles and ended up with a pin in the second period.
Parsons and the Platte County coaching staff had been working on the moves and fully embraced them in the right moment.
“It just kind of clicked, and I decided to commit to it,” said Parsons (10-16), who went on to win a 3-2 decision over third-seeded Ruskin senior Mujahid Smith in the third-place match. “You’ve kind of got to go with it — put your head down and just get done with it and get through.”
Entering as the No. 4 seed and a returning state qualifier, Lacina reached the district semifinals for the first time. He came away with a 5-0 loss by decision to Kearney senior Coby Aebersold — the top seed, eventual district champion, two-time state finalist and 2019 state champion.
Lacina earned a hard-fought 7-2 decision over Kansas City East senior Jasson Pineda to reach the third-place match and guarantee his second straight state berth. Lacina then lost a 6-5 decision to third-seed Belton senior Robert Woltkamp to end up fourth at districts for a second straight year.
“I wanted to go the distance with (Aebersold). That was my goal and I made it happen,” said Lacina (23-16), who placed fourth at 182 as a sophomore but dropped down a weight this year when the lineup opened up. “I learned from last year that I have a shot to go far, and it’s not just for fun. I mean it is for fun, but I’ve got to take it seriously.”
Schillinger ended up the only one of Platte County’s qualifiers to not reach the semifinals. In the first round, he beat returning state qualifier Dominic Mina of Winnetonka in a 5-2 decision, but in the quarterfinals, eventual district champion Keegan Bradley pinned him in the second period.
Sent to the backside, Schillinger won two matches by fall to reach the consolation semifinals and earn a pivotal rematch with Kearney sophomore Zach Olson. Their previous matchup ended with Olson scoring a quick pin, but this time around, Schillinger benefitted from a clasping penalty point to tie the score 1-1 late in the third period, and he added a reversal seconds later to take a 3-1 lead.
ROSS MARTIN/Special to the Citizen
Platte County’s Jesse Schillinger, right, is a first-time state qualifier.
Olson escaped with 26 seconds left but couldn’t score a winning takedown.
“I knew it was either do-or-die at that moment, and that’s why I brought that ‘A’ game,” said Schillinger (17-15), who advanced to the third-place match and lost by fall to Grandview senior and returning district finalist Kendall Thomas.
A transfer from Class 2 Osage, Schillinger is a first-time state qualifier in what’s been a season of acclimation. He started strong reaching the Gold Bracket at KC Stampede but struggled with consistency after the holiday break while his record hovered around .500.
“As soon as I moved up here, the first big culture shock was practice and it was just head-over-heels different from where I came from and it was the first immediate thing I loved,” Schillinger said. “It kind of happens this way for me every year. I always start off really good, hit kind of a slump and then at districts, I show it. I just had faith it would happen again, but I never let my work ethic go down.”
Rocha again took the lead for Platte County on the way to his second straight district title. As a freshman, he scored a minor upset of Kearney’s James Freitag to win the 120 championship, but this year, he entered ranked No. 1 in Class 3 and the overwhelming favorite.
As the top seed, Rocha needed only two matches to reach the final. He had a 16-1 technical fall over Raytown South’s Christophe Sebelski in the quarterfinals and a 37-second pin of Belton freshman Brady Littleton in the semifinals. Rocha then won a rematch with Kearney senior Leyton Manley in the finals, scoring a reversal in the second period for the only points in a 2-0 decision that was more dominant than the score indicated.
Rocha won their first matchup this season by major decision — nearly ending up with a technical fall.
“I approach every single tournament the same,” said Rocha, who improved to 34-4 on the season without a loss to an in-state opponent this year. “I come in knowing that I’ve gotta do what I do, and every single match, I’m trying not to change what I do (to the opponent). I should’ve noticed (the lack of offense against Manley) and adjusted to what he was doing. I didn’t adjust fast enough, and that’s on me.”
Unlike last year’s inspired run of consolation semifinals that helped send nine through to state, a more inexperienced Platte County team endured the ups and downs in an effort to make the most of a season where little went to plan.
Grant Stathopoulos (26-19), a junior and the third returning state qualifier on the postseason roster, opened the round at 113. He lost a quarterfinal matchup to Belton junior Antonio Rizzi in the closing seconds after briefly having taken a 6-5 lead with a takedown and three near-fall points. Stathopoulos was then dinged for a clasping penalty point that tied the score, and Rizzi scored the winning escape in a 7-6 decision with 11 seconds left.
Sent to the backside in one of the deepest brackets, Stathopoulos earned a rematch with Grain Valley freshman Dru Azcona in what would be the first of Platte County’s eight consolation semifinals. Stathopoulos started fast with a takedown and twice putting Azcona to his back for a 6-0 lead.
However, the match fell away from Stathopoulos in allowing the match’s final 10 points in a difficult 10-6 loss. He had gone 1-2 at 113 in his first trip to state as a sophomore.
“Grant’s match kind of broke my heart, and he deserves it. I wish he could redo it,” Lacina said.
Platte County sophomore Ben McDaniel (16-18) also led his consolation semifinal at 160. He went up 6-4 with the first three takedowns against Kearney sophomore Dylan Langford, the third seed in the bracket. Seeded fourth, McDaniel then gave up a takedown after missing on a shot and was turned to his back for the winning points in the closing seconds.
“This is all helping us build for next year,” Parsons said. “
Platte County’s Gabe Harmon and Johnathan Owen were seniors that made consolation semifinals looking for their first state trip.
A third-year member of the lineup and team leader, Harmon spent this year down from 195 and at a more natural weight of 182, making big strides. He entered unseeded and lost a tough 1-0 decision to Kearney senior Alex Evans in the opening round. Harmon then needed an ultimate tiebreaker to keep his season alive and win a 4-3 decision over Van Horn’s Keanu Sua and then pinned Belton’s Kalvin Cochran to get within site of the third-place match.
Harmon (15-22) hung tough early but ended up with a 9-3 decision loss to Capital City freshman Hurley Jacobs in the bubble match.
Owen (11-26) went through the backside after an opening round loss to eventual 195 district champion Derek Porter of Raytown South. Owen won decisions of 3-1 and 3-2 — the second with all three points in the final 10 seconds of his match with Belton’s Alex Hill — but lost by fall in the consolation semifinals to top-seeded Lincoln Prep sophomore Judah Christopherson after Derek Porter upset him in the semifinals.