Before the season started, Liberty head wrestling coach Dustin Brewer admitted that this year’s Blue Jays team may not be as experienced as the last six teams that won state championships.
Even with that being said, that doesn’t mean Liberty isn’t a top tier team.
The Blue Jays competed in one of the biggest wrestling tournaments of the high school season – the Kansas City Stampede. The tournament featured wrestlers from Missouri, Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Iowa, Colorado, Florida, Georgia and others.
Liberty was in a tight three-team race with Buford of Georgia and defending Oklahoma state champion Stillwater. The Blue Jays ended up taking third as a team with 175.5 points. Buford was second with 177.5 and Stillwater took home the tournament team championship with 178.5.
St. Pius X also took home a team trophy as it took eighth with 141.5 points.
Liberty didn’t have anyone who won their bracket but had six wrestlers finish in the top eight of their respective weight classes. That included Mesen Bindel (second place, 215 pounds), Dominic Stinson (sixth, 190), Roman Stewart (fifth, 144), Cade Dunn (seventh, 132), Will Pfeifer (sixth, 126) and Rowdy Angst (eighth, 113).
Four wrestlers from Missouri won their weight bracket.
North Point’s Brody Kell (138), who is ranked No. 2 in Class 4 in his weight class according to the MissouriWrestling.com poll, won a lot of close matches including a 4-1 victory over Fort Osage’s Antonio Martinez in the quarterfinals where he got a takedown in overtime to win it. In the championship match, he edged Bryor Hooks of Stillwater 2-1 by getting an escape in the second overtime and riding out his opponent in the third overtime.
“We were both defensive wrestlers, so once we got to double overtime, it was about who wanted it more,” Kell said. “I don’t think I really had a strategy. I kind of just had to hold down his legs well because he was getting up pretty good.”
Odessa’s Jet Brown (157), a two-time state champion, showed why he’s one of the best pound-for-pound wrestlers in the state as he navigated a tough bracket. He defeated St. Pius X’s Landen McDowell 10-3 in the semifinals before taking down Millard South’s Brady Danze 20-2 to seal his golden belt buckle.
“I came in and was super excited to get some good matches in,” Brown said. “You just have to love this sport. Colin Rutlin got hurt yesterday, so he had to forfeit. That was pretty upsetting.
“I felt like I did pretty good. There are some small things I need to fix. I just don’t need to hang out in ties as much. I just need to keep moving.
Defending state champion Carter Brown (215) of Lafayette Wildwood made a tough bracket look easier than it actually was. He won all his matches by pin or tech fall leading up to the championship match with Bindel. In that one, he won 11-2 to take first place.
“I think it’s a pretty good tournament,” Brown said. “There are teams coming in from a lot of different places. It’s not that bad compared to Ironman or Super 32, though.
“I need to work on not getting tired. That’s been one of my main problems this year, gassing out.”
Junior Kyler Kuhn (285) of St. Pius X had a standout tournament and had a pair of close calls on his way to the championship bout. In the third round, he edged Edmond North’s Maddox Gregg 4-2 and in the semifinals he snuck by Jackson’s Brysen Wessell 3-0. In the final match, he got a takedown in overtime to win 5-2 over Dowling Catholic’s Brady Hagan out of Iowa as he took first.
Below are summaries of the top finishers from Missouri of other weight brackets:
106: Ozark’s Parker Hansen began his bracket with a 5-0 record with four pins to set up his title match against Cruz Gagnon of Dowling Catholic in Iowa. Hansen dropped a 11-0 decision to take second place.
113: Francis Howell Central’s Colton Gray finished in fifth place as he went 6-2 in the tournament and defeated Francis Howell North’s Wyatt Dannegger 2-0 in the fifth place-bout.
120: Fort Osage senior Kaison Schreier was battling through a foot and knee injury in this tournament. Schreier bumped down to the 120-pound weight class after wrestling at 126 earlier in the season. He earned a tech fall victory in his first round match but grinded out three wins by decision from there, including a 4-2 victory against Hannibal’s Austin Brown, a former state champion and a runner-up last season.
Schreier then fell 9-2 to Nebraka’s Cruzer Dominguez out of Creighton Prep Academy in the championship.
126: Lafayette Wildwood’s Riley Sumner fell to St. Pius X’s Jordan Bell 6-0 in the quarterfinals, but got his revenge in the consolation finals and beat Bell 10-1.
132: Dunn finished in seventh place after winning his final match against Seckman’s Carson Owens by disqualification.
144: Even Stewart, a defending state champion, had a stiff challenge at the tournament. He went 7-2 and ended his day with a pin of Lake Highland Prep in Orlando, Fla.
150: Seckman’s Chance Ruble hung tough with Edmond North’s Garrison Sartain in the championship match but ultimately fell 5-2 and took second place.
165: Odessa’s Lake Waters took sixth place after falling in the semifinals to Randall, Texas’ Daniel Acosta 2-1 in the semifinals and going 0-2 in the consolation bracket.
175: Smithville’s Tristan Waters made it to the semifinals where he lost to Baschor-Linwood’s Titus Norman by pin. He defeated St. Michael The Archangel Catholic’s Cole Sackett 7-1 in the consolation semifinals before defeating Belton’s Quinten Attebury 11-2 in the third-place match.
190: Ft. Zumwalt North’s Deacon Moran fell to Stillwater’s Lika Hamiti by tech fall in the semifinals to be moved to the consolation bracket. From there he won by a 16-1 tech fall over Stinson and took down Neosho’s Chase Kivett 7-1 in the third-place match.
