LATHROP – West Platte 113-pounder Canton Wilkins wrapped up the Class 1 District 4 Boys’ Wrestling Tournament with a third-place finish at Lathrop High School to take third place on Feb. 17.
West Platte 113-pounder Canton Wilkins earned third place in the Class 1 District 4 Tournament at Lathrop High School on Feb. 17.
Out of the 12 West Platte wrestlers, Wilkins is the only one that moved on past districts and will have his first state appearance next. The Blue Jays tallied 45 points on the weekend.
At the same time elsewhere, North Platte was competing at Excelsior Springs High School in the Class 2 District 4 Tournament. There are 10 athletes who go to school in Dearborn and wrestle for Mid-Buchanan and nearly half of them kept their season alive with a top-4 finish at districts.
Wilkins entered the Class 1 District 4 Tournament with 25 wins and 16 losses, opening with a bye and back-to-back wins by fall. Stanberry’s Evan Gregory pinned Wilkins in 36 seconds, but the Blue Jay ended on a high note, beating Lone Jack’s Trayton Hook on an 8-4 decision.
West Platte had six athletes score points – albeit with two losses and being eliminated from the postseason – led by Matthew Haynes with seven points in the 215-weight class and 138-pounder Jhett Chandler scoring six points.
Garrett Moritz ended the year with a 15-28 record in the 190-weight class, going 2-2 at districts and earning five points. Colton DePetre (132) and Ryan Handgen (144) both scored four points each and Brody Scott (165) ended with three points.
All the way at Excelsior Springs, Mid-Buchanan finished in fifth place out of 15 teams with 110.5 points. North Platte is sending four wrestlers to state: Cooper Kirkham (132), Ryder Coons (138), Colton Kirkham (175) and Owen Stockbauer (215).
Cooper Kirkham is a first-time state qualifier, taking third place at districts and currently holding a 27-12 record. Each of his matches resulted in decisions with his sole loss being in the semifinals to Ryne Marcum (Excelsior Springs) by a score of 3-2.
Coons had the same finish in his weight class at districts and is the reigning Class 2 132-pound Champion and is officially a 4-time state qualifier. He lost to Deagan Pasley from Savannah in the semifinals on a sudden victory and fought his way back to the third-place match.
Coons had a 5-0 decision over William Brewer from Cameron to move on to take on Trevor Green from St. Michael the Archangel. Coons came away with a 6-0 decision victory.
Colton Kirkham moved up 10 pounds this year after a fifth-place finish at state as a junior 165-pounder. He had that same finish as a sophomore 160-pounder and joins Coons in elite company as a 4-time state qualifier.
Colton Kirkham has been tough to bear this season, entering the postseason with 33 wins and two losses, pinning his first two district opponents to make it to the championship match. The North Platte senior was in a battle with St. Michael the Archangel’s Lucas Estes and lost on a 6-0 decision, becoming the runner-up.
Stockbauer made it to the championship match at districts, falling in 5:03 to Cooper Burnsides (Savannah). The 215-pounder earned two of his three postseason wins by fall, moving to 29-6 ahead of state.
Stockbauer will be making his third appearance at state, coming off a fourth place finish a season ago. The senior will look to make the most of his opportunity at the Class 2 State Tournament, which is on Feb. 21 and 22 at Mizzou Arena in Columbia, MO.