KANSAS CITY – In one of the biggest high school wrestling tournaments in the early season, Park Hill and Park Hill South had some impressive moments at the KC Stampede at Bartle Hall on Dec. 16.
The Park Hill South boys weren’t there but Park Hill was and tied for 25th place with 78 points. The Lady Trojans claimed 21st place with 60 points and the Lady Panthers tied for 31st place with 34 points.
Erik Egstad is the reigning state champion in the 106-weight class and has since moved up seven pounds and has impressed early on. At the KC Stampede, he was the runner-up and moves to 9-1 on the season – being undefeated prior to his last match.
Egstad pinned his first three opponents and had an 8-4 decision victory over Liberty’s Cade Dunn in the quarterfinals. The Park Hill senior advanced to the championship – after a 2-0 sudden victory versus D.J. Clarke (Buford) – where he lost on a 6-1 decision to Michael Ruiz (Canyon Randall).
Park Hill 106-pounder Mason Brayfield entered the tournament without a loss and came away with a fourth-place finish and a 10-2 season record. His first loss came on an 8-6 decision to Jordan Bell from St. Pius X in the quarterfinals.
Brayfield fought his way back to the third-place match with a 5-2 decision win over Trevor Christenson (Basehor-Linwood). Cole Caniglia from Creighton Preparatory School pulled out a 9-4 decision to give Brayfield his second loss of the year.
Sammy Mormino came away with 8.5 points in the 150-weight class, winning his first two matches and then being pinned by Richard Rios (Westmoore). Mormino had a 12-1 major decision against Hannibal’s Koen Ramage and was then eliminated on an 11-6 decision loss to Piedmont’s Jayden Fuston.
Jim Humphrey went 2-2 in the 190-weight class to score seven points and Jake Arrington earned 5.5 points in the 157-weight class in four matches. Ethan Hall (215) and Jacob Conway (285) both went 1-2 at the tournament.
For the girls, Park Hill junior Angelina Vargas met up with a 14-0 wrestler in the first-place match after pinning the first four 125-pound opponents. Vargas was pinned in 5:20 by Taylor Ellis (Edmond North) to give the Lady Trojan her first loss after six wins.
Rylin Beatty’s tournament ended with a medical forfeit in her fourth 135-pound match. She had two pins and lost by fall to Emily Bischoff from Odessa before that.
Ava Myers only wrestled in four matches, failing to win or lose any back-to-back in the 105-weight class. After receiving a first-round bye, 190-pounder Bryanna Priest-Tapia lost two of her next three matches but earned six points with a win by fall over Ava Huske (Alma-Wabaunsee).
Nellie Dantzscher (100) was double eliminated after four matches and Reilly Kastner (130) was double eliminated after three matches. Alice Keefe, London Cozart and Miranda Grantham all competed for Park Hill but failed to earn a point.
Park Hill South had six of its nine wrestlers score, but none made it to the quarterfinals. Lucia Henriquez had the best outing, scoring nine points and winning three in a row – all by pins – in the 140-weight class.
Germara Guillory moves to 9-3 on the season in the 145-weight class after going 2-2 at the tournament. Guillory wasn’t the only Lady Panther who went 2-2 as Temperance Lowe (125) and Molly Drake (135) did as well.
In the 110-weight class, Eva Estrada went 1-2 along with Graciella Ortiz in the 170-weight class. Abigail Monaco (120), Ella Christensen (155) and Ashanti Williams (235) also competed at the KC Stampede.