In the aftermath of the Class 4 District 4 Boys’ Wrestling Championships, Park Hill had five individuals qualify for state and Park Hill South had one move on.
Park Hill finished in sixth place with 111 points and Park Hill South ended in eighth place with 57 points out of 16 total teams at Liberty North on Feb. 18. Dylan Taylor was the only Panther to make it past districts.
The 132-pounder received a bye and opened up the postseason with a 3:52 pin over Liberty’s Jacob Axsom but lost on a 4-1 decision to Oak Park’s Jamison Tunstill in the semifinals. Axsom bounced back with a 3-2 decision victory against Staley’s Kolton Reis to advance to the third-place match and secure a spot at state.
In that match, Axsom matched up with Park Hill’s Noah Johnson who won by fall in 2:11. Johnson’s only loss of the tournament came by a 2:42 pin against Dru Azcona (Grain Valley), who has only lost one match all season long.
Park Hill’s Jim Humphrey is one of five Trojans who are moving on to state after the senior finished in third-place of the 190-weight class in the Class 4 District 4 Championship at Liberty North High School on Feb. 18.
While Park Hill will be sending five wrestlers to state, only one of them – Erik Egstad – will be coming off a district title. The 106-pound wrestler has posted a 37-5 record on the season thus far and won all three of his district matches, two of which were pins.
After pinning Jervin Riddle lll (William Chrisman) in 33 seconds, Egstad defeated Kaison Schreier (Fort Osage) on a 6-0 decision to advance to the championship where he pinned Parker Leverknight (Staley) in 1:17. Egstad is coming off a fifth-place finish at state in 2022 and is looking to end higher this year.
Jim Humphrey (190) took third place at districts, with his sole loss coming in the semifinal to Staley’s Watson Reed on a 5:11 pin. Humphrey bounced back with two wins to close out the tournament, both of which were by decisions.
Ethan Vande Ven lost two of his three matches in the 2022 Class 4 State Wrestling Championship and will have a chance to redeem himself this year. The 150-pound wrestler is 28-14 on the season and is coming off a fourth-place finish in the Class 4 District 4 Tournament.
Sammy Mormino (138) is the last of five Trojans who will be representing at Mizzou Arena after he took fourth place at districts. Mormino won his first two matches – then lost two of his final three – as he will enter state with a 29-12 record.