INDEPENDENCE – Having nearly one-third of its wrestlers do well enough to make it to state, it’s safe to say Park Hill had an impressive outing at districts on Feb. 17.
Park Hill 126-pounder Ryan Egstad went 2-2 at district at Fort Osage High School on Feb. 16 and 17.
The Class 4 District 4 Tournament was at Fort Osage High School and Park Hill finished in fourth place out of 16 schools. The Trojans finished the weekend with 117.5 points, only trailing Liberty, Staley and Fort Osage.
Park Hill had five of its 14 wrestlers who competed finish in the top-4 of their weight classes, which is the requirement to advance to state. Erik Egstad was the only Trojan district champion.
The 113-pounder is the reigning Class 4 State Champion in the 106-weight class, having success in the transition to a heavier weight class. The junior is officially a 3-time state qualifier and currently holds a 29-5 record.
Egstad won all three of his matches at districts by fall, each one taking longer than the one before. He capped off the weekend with a 3:03-pin over Staley’s Parker Leverknight.
Noah Johnson was the only other Trojan to reach the championship match as the other three state qualifiers all took third place at districts. Johnson is looking for redemption at state after going 1-2 as a 132-pound sophomore.
Johnson has also changed weight classes from a year ago, now wrestling against fellow 144-pounders and having won 25 of his 35 matches up to this point. He won his first three matches at districts before being pinned in 4:26 against David Gleason (Staley).
Jim Humphrey has one last high school tournament after the senior came out of districts in third place of the 190-weight class. He finished in sixth place at state last year and will look to end his high school career on a high note.
At districts, Humphrey won his first two matches before losing on an 8-5 decision to Liberty’s Donovan Hodges. Humphrey responded with a 2:14-pin over St. Joseph’s Central’s Jacob Poet and a 10-2 decision victory versus Lee’s Summit North’s Noah White.
Mason Brayfield (106) advanced past districts for the first time in his young career, having a rare loss in the semifinals. Entering the tournament with a 24-4 record on his sophomore season, he lost an 8-6 sudden victory to Gunner Dahms from Staley.
Brayfield bounced back with two major decisions to take third place. He took down Cale Martin from Blue Springs South and Gavin Shelton from Liberty in the process.
Sammy Mormino is officially a 2-time state qualifier in just as many years and hopes for a better outing this year, following an 0-2 record at Mizzou Arena a season ago. The 150-pounder won four of his five matches at districts to move to 19-10 on the year.
Mormino had back-to-back wins by fall before losing a 5-0 decision to Gavin Linsman (Liberty) in the semifinals. He ended the tournament with two major decision victories against Seth Hooper (Lee`s Summit North) and Greg Dillon (Blue Springs).
Park Hill 126-pounder Ryan Egstad went 2-2 at districts, falling short of a state berth and ending his season with an 11-17 record. Jake Arrington (157) lost his first and last matches – winning a pair between – to also be eliminated from postseason play, contributing six points.
Park Hill had a few other wrestlers score at districts without qualifying to state. Elijah Franco (165) scored four points, Jacob Conway (285) had three points and Davion Seymour (138) added one point.