The Platte County boys’ wrestling team took fourth place in the Class 3 District 4 Wrestling Championship and had seven Pirates finish in the top-4 to qualify for state as individuals at Belton High School on Feb. 18.
Platte County finished with 131.5 points, only trailing Belton, Helias Catholic and Jefferson City. Jake Fernandez is the reigning champion in the 220-weight class and became a district champion in the 215-weight class.
Platte County’s Caden Hullett pins an opponent in the first round of the Class 3 District 4 Wrestling Championship at Belton High School on Feb. 18 before going on to finish in second place in the 113-weight class to make it to state for the second straight season.
Fernandez will now be a 3-time state qualifier and will enter this year’s state tournament with a remarkable 44-4 record. He went undefeated at districts, capping off the weekend with a 5:10 tech fall win over Winnetonka’s Jordan Colon.
Caden Hulett was the only other Pirate to reach the championship match, albeit in losing fashion. The 113-pounder won his first two matches with pins before taking down Smithville’s Tristan Waters on a 9-7 sudden victory in the semifinal.
The Pirate matched up with Kearney’s Ryder Shelton – who entered the match with a 37-3 record – and Hulett was pinned in 5:03. The sophomore will look for a better finish at state this go-round, after losing two of his three matches last winter.
Cole Johnson (175) qualified for state after being in third place, winning the final district match with a 6-4 decision win over Rodney Wilson (Jefferson City). Johnson fell in his second match on a 10-2 major decision to Logan Montoya (Helias Catholic) and bounced back with three consecutive wins to make it to the third-place match.
Shane Leary has a losing record on the season, but that didn’t stop the 132-pound wrestler from making it to the third-place match and qualifying for state. Leary lost that match to Helias Catholic’s Justin Wieberg in a 9-1 major decision.
Darell Smith (157) lost his first match of the weekend but bounced back with four straight victories – two were by pins and the other two were decided by decisions – to make it to the third-place match and clinch a spot in the state tournament. Smith was pinned by Helias Catholic’s Eli Homan in 3:24.
Evan MacCuish will also be headed to state, doing so in the 138-weight class. He finished in fourth place and has a 22-19 record on the season.
Grant Fadler (126) went 3-2 at districts and is now 26-16 on the season. Fadler made it to the third-place match and lost on a 4-0 decision to Elijah Teiberis (Jefferson City).