Class 3 Boys State Tournament Recap

03/03/2025 9:18 AM

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COLUMBIA — According to some of the wrestlers on the St. Pius X (Kansas City) boys wrestling team, they had heard from others that it would be a lot more difficult for them to win a team championship after being bumped up to Class 3.

Last season, the Warriors won the first state championship in their program’s history in the Class 1 Missouri State High School Wrestling Championships. Due to MSHSAA rules, the Warriors had to bump up two classes because of their recent success.

The increase in difficulty of competition didn’t stop them, though. The Warriors won their second consecutive state title in dominating fashion. They ran away with the team title by scoring 201.5 points. Hillsboro was a distant second place with 154.5 points, Whitfield took third with 110.5 and Platte County was fourth with 103.5.

St, Michael The Archangel Catholic just missed out on a team trophy as it took fifth with 98.

“We just have to ignore the naysayers and do what we do,” St. Pius senior Gable Gross said.

Added St. Pius sophomore Jordan Bell: “Last year we were Class 1 and we whopped everyone and some people were saying, ‘Oh, you’re just Class 1, that doesn’t mean anything. Now we are Class 3, and we are doing the same thing. No one can really say anything now.”

Bell (113), Gross (157), Noah Gonzalez (165), Jackson Rotterman (215) and Kyler Kuhn (285) all won state individual titles for the Warriors. Dylan Hall (120, sixth), Andrew Garcia (126, fifth), Luke Cline (132, third) and Dillan Chism (138, third) all contributed to the team score, as well, earning state medals.

Below is a recap of the championship matches and the list of medalists:

106: It was an emotional day for St. Michael The Archangel junior Landon Lane.

He broke down into tears as he hugged his coaches following his championship match with Hillsboro freshman Carter Pryor.

It wasn’t because he lost. He won his match with Pryor 4-0 to clinch his second state title of his career. It was because he had his father, Charlie Lane, was on his mind. His father lost his life to cancer on Sept. 4, 2024.

After the match was over, he pointed one of his fingers to the sky.

“I had some personal stuff happen with me, so this championship was really special to me.” Lane said. “I was pointing up for my dad.”

Medalists:

1st Place – Landon Lane of St. Michael the Archangel
2nd Place – Carter Pryor of Hillsboro
3rd Place – Daemen Duemmel of Helias Catholic
4th Place – Brayden Robinson of Kearney
5th Place – Cade Crawford of Platte County
6th Place – Nathan Donovan of Warrenton

113: Jordan Bell is a fan of Shedeur Sanders, a quarterback that is entering the NFL draft in April and is the son of Football Hall of Famer cornerback Deion Sanders. Bell mimicked a celebration Sanders did after wins by flashing a gold watch to the fans in attendance. He was able to do that after winning by tech fall, 17-2 over Ft. Zumwalt South senior Kanyon Shurtz in his championship match. This was Bell’s second state title.

“I was trying to be like Shedeur Sanders,” Bell said. “I thought the celebration was cool. I like Shedeur’s mentality, so that why I decided to go with that. The mentality is ‘I don’t care who I am going against. I am going to go out there and wrestle my match.’”

Medalists:

1st Place – Jordan Bell of St. Pius X (Kansas City)
2nd Place – Kanyon Shurtz of Ft. Zumwalt South
3rd Place – Evan Litzsinger of Hillsboro
4th Place – Nolan Londe of Whitfield
5th Place – Zayden Teson of Warrenton
6th Place – Landon Tomlinson of DeSoto

120: Platte County sophomore Jaxson Shute came up clutch when it mattered most. He faced defending state champion Austin Brown of Hannibal in the championship match of his weight class. He was trailing 4-2 late in his match but he got a key takedown to win 5-4 and earn his first state title.

Medalists:

1st Place – Jaxson Shute of Platte County
2nd Place – Austin Brown of Hannibal
3rd Place – Brenton Drummond of DeSoto
4th Place – Parker Lutz of St. Michael the Archangel
5th Place – Carter Foglesong of Carl Junction
6th Place – Dylan Hall of St. Pius X (Kansas City)

126: Farmington junior Aiden Hahn had a tough matchup in the finals as he had to take on two-time state champion and Hillsboro junior Carter Wallis in the title match. He came up big, get an escape, takedown and near fall in the third period to earn a 11-3 major decision and a state championship.

Medalists:

1st Place – Aiden Hahn of Farmington
2nd Place – Carter Wallis of Hillsboro
3rd Place – Manny McCauley of Warrenton
4th Place – Jaylen Civil of Warrensburg
5th Place – Andrew Garcia of St. Pius X (Kansas City)
6th Place – Camdon Kunkel of Carl Junction

132: Kearney junior Ryder Shelton had his hopes of being a four-time state champion dashed last season after he lost in the championship match to Wallis at 120 pounds. He got redemption on Saturday as he took a 14-2 win over Whitfield senior Yashua Amen to finish his high school career with three state championships.

“Last year, I was knocked off being able to be a four-time state champion,” Shelton said, “so it was nice to get back this year and reset the bar. It felt really good to be back on top. I felt good the whole tournament. I put everything together at the end of the year.”

Medalists:

1st Place – Ryder Shelton of Kearney
2nd Place – Yashua Amen of Whitfield
3rd Place – Luke Cline of St. Pius X (Kansas City)
4th Place – Luke Patterson of Windsor (Imperial)
5th Place – Brock Webb of Pacific
6th Place – Jordan Penick of Hillsboro

138: Farmington senior Presely Johnson was in disbelief following his title bout with Whitfield senior Caleb Carter. He got a takedown in overtime to break a tie and win 4-1 to earn his first state title.

“It hasn’t even sunk in yet,” Johnson said. “God is great. He has blessed me with all these amazing opportunities to get better, coaches and teammates.

“I didn’t get to my offense as quick as I should have. I went out there and was smart and got takedowns when I needed to.”

Medalists:

1st Place – Presley Johnson of Farmington
2nd Place – Caleb Carter of Whitfield
3rd Place – Dillan Chisam of St. Pius X (Kansas City)
4th Place – Rowdy Narron of St. Michael the Archangel
5th Place – Drake Brinkley of Hannibal
6th Place – Chad Benwell of Holt

144: Hillsboro senior Jackson Tucker said some people doubted him. That’s because he has been dealing with a shoulder injury for nearly three years, something he’s had to battle through since his sophomore season. He’s still managed to establish himself as top wrestler in the state despite the injury. On Saturday, he ended his career with his third state title after pinning Whitfield junior Jackson Bassett in the championship match.

“A lot of people doubted me because of all the injuries,” Tucker said. “For two and a half years now, I have had a really bad shoulder problem. Last year, it got to a point where I was wrapping it and I had a brace. I really couldn’t move it. It was to hold the shoulder in place so it wouldn’t pop out.

“I had to take the whole summer off. I had surgery and had another accident with that shoulder. They put an ankle bone in there from someone who passed away to fill some of that bone. It has had been almost a year before I wrestled again and I got do what I love again.”

Medalists:

1st Place – Jackson Tucker of Hillsboro
2nd Place – Jackson Bassett of Whitfield
3rd Place – Cooper Moore of Bolivar
4th Place – Colin Weiss of Ft. Zumwalt South
5th Place – Deegan Mitchell of Jefferson City
6th Place – Blaine Turpin of Kearney

150: Whitfield senior Rome Tate ended his high school career on a good note. He had two state medals coming in but no state championships. That changed after he earned a 9-0 victory over Platte County senior Evan McCuish.

Medalists:

1st Place – Rome Tate of Whitfield
2nd Place – Evan MacCuish of Platte County
3rd Place – Tanner Davidson of Marshfield
4th Place – Brody Narron of St. Michael the Archangel
5th Place – Wyatt Hendrix of Hillsboro
6th Place – DeMarkus Lyddon-Allen of Capital City

157: Gross overcame a 3-1 deficit against St. Michael freshman Cole Sackett. He got an escape and takedown with just 18 seconds left in regulation to capture his second straight state title following a 5-3 victory.

“I got a late takedown to go up by two,” Gross said. “Everyone was nervous because it was a buzzer beater but I got the job done.”

Medalists:

1st Place – Gable Gross of St. Pius X (Kansas City)
2nd Place – Cole Sackett of St. Michael the Archangel
3rd Place – Aleksandr Careaga of Helias Catholic
4th Place – Boston Howard of Holt
5th Place – Darrell Smith of Platte County
6th Place – Kamron Watson of Hazelwood East

165: Gonzalez dreams of being a four-time state champion were dashed last season after he lost to Marceline senior Conner Quinn in the championship match in the Class 1, 157-pound division. He bounced back this season and made it to the finals of the Class 3, 165-pound division and took down Smithville junior Tristan Waters 4-2 to end his high school career with three championships.

“I came in at 14 years old and one my first state title as a freshman,” Gonzalez said. “It was an amazing feeling. This time is amazing, too, since I came off a year I didn’t get the job done. It made this one more special.”

Medalists:

1st Place – Noah Gonzalez of St. Pius X (Kansas City)
2nd Place – Tristan Waters of Smithville
3rd Place – Eli Homan of Helias Catholic
4th Place – Trey Ladymon of Union
5th Place – Lucas Tennyson of Pacific
6th Place – Lane Weiss of Farmington

175: Bolivar senior Mason McCurry had a close call in the quarterfinals against Belton’s Quinten Attebury as a late reversal got him a 14-13 victory in that one. He had another tight battle in the championship match with Carl Junction senior Tony Stewart, and he got a takedown with 38 seconds left in the match to win 4-2.

Medalists:

1st Place – Mason McCurry of Bolivar
2nd Place – Tony Stewart of Carl Junction
3rd Place – Levi Huck of DeSoto
4th Place – Ali Mohsen of Parkway Central
5th Place – Quinten Attebury of Belton
6th Place – Mason Evans of Marshall

190: Kearney sophomore Carter Temple remembered what some said to him earlier in the season when he fell to Carl Junction junior Marcus Lopez-Durman 2-1 in the Kansas City Stampede Tournament. He used that as motivation as he once again faced the Carl Junction junior in the championship match at state. This time, Temple came out on top, getting a takedown and near fall in overtime to win 11-5.

“I lost to him earlier in the season, and I had a lot of people telling me some stuff,” Temple said of his match with Marcus Lopez-Durman. “I felt good to get that win back.”

Medalists:

1st Place – Carter Temple of Kearney
2nd Place – Marcus Lopez-Durman of Carl Junction
3rd Place – Tyce Jones of Marshfield
4th Place – Alex Bogart of McDonald County
5th Place – Dirk Rivera of Ft. Zumwalt East
6th Place – Andrew Lumsden of Vianney

215: Rotterman was looking forward to facing tougher competition after his team’s move to Class 3. He rose to challenge and he ended his career with his second state championship after a 17-1 tech fall over Platte County junior Cole Johnson.

“We were excited to take the step up to Class 3 and face better competition,” Rotterman said. “I also had some tough opponents today. This championship feels almost as good as the first one.”

Medalists:

1st Place – Jackson Rotterman of St. Pius X (Kansas City)
2nd Place – Cole Johnson of Platte County
3rd Place – Haze Middleton of Smithville
4th Place – Jameson Lyons of Belton
5th Place – Stevan Benhumea of McDonald County
6th Place – Dylan Johnson of Festus

285: St. Pius sophomore Kyler Kuhn blocked a takedown and hung on for dear life near the end of his match with Helias Catholic sophomore Zyan Knollmeyer. He didn’t surrender the takedown and he was able to hang on for a 5-3 victory to secure his first state title.

Medalists: