Platte County senior Jake Fernandez won his second career state title at the Class 3 State Wrestling Championships at Mizzou Arena on Feb. 24.
COLUMBIA – Having all nine boys win at least one match and three walk away with five state medals, Platte County was three points shy of a fourth-place finish at the Class 3 State Wrestling Championship at Mizzou Arena on Feb. 24.
Platte County earned fifth place and Jake Fernandez (225) won his second state title in three seasons. The Lady Pirates sent two to state, with a sixth-place finish and a double elimination on opening day.
Jake Fernandez won a state title as a sophomore and third place as a junior and guaranteed himself a third state medal after pinning both his opponents on the opening day. He went on to become a 2-time state champion, being the last 215-pounder standing.
Fernandez came away with a 6-2 decision over Jacob Ruff (Warrenton) in the semifinals and a 1-0 decision over Samuel Murphy (McDonald County) in the championship. He ended his senior season with a remarkable 42 wins and only four losses.
Jaxson Shute was the only other Pirate to advance to the championship match, doing so as a 106-pound freshman. Shute dominated on the opening day, pinning both of his opponents en route to making it to the championship on day two.
The 106-pound Pirate was in a battle with Branson’s Ryzen Isringhausen, losing in a 4-2 overtime tiebreaker. The winning reversal happened with 25 seconds remaining to end Shute’s chance of a state title.
Ahead of his final appearance, senior Caden Hulett had never medaled at state in three tries. He faced an uphill battle early after losing his second match in the 120-weight class.
Hulett fought back from being down 2-0 against Reign Creech (Hannibal), forcing overtime and had the upperhand until Creech flipped him around and pinned the 120-pound Pirate. Hulett responded with three straight decision victories to make it to the third-place match where he came away with a 706 tiebreaker against Brody Kell from North Point.
Darrell Smith (165) had a rough start, getting pinned in his first match but responded in wrestlebacks to put him in position to medal. Smith lost by fall in the semifinals to Eli Homan (Helias Catholic), then pinned Owen Dalpoas (Vianney) in 2:08 to claim fifth place.
Shane Leary (157) just missed out on a top-5 finish, being pinned by Carl Junction’s Dexter Merrell in 1:35 in the fifth-place match. Leary lost his last two matches after starting off 3-1, ending with a 22-12 overall season record.
Grant Fadler (132), Jack Johnson (144), Evan MacCuish (150) and Cole Johnson (175) all lost two of three on the opening day, being eliminated. The Pirates’ fifth-place finish overall at state was their best since taking third place in 2018.
EmmaLyn Burnett led the way medaling in the 125-weight class for the Platte County girls. She made her way to a fifth-place matchup versus Katelyn Guth from Francis Howell Central and lost on a 7-4 decision.
Madeleine Stone made a name for herself in her first year wrestling in the 235-weight class, winning 25 of her 37 total matches. She lost two of her first three at state, not getting a chance to wrestle for a medal.