COLUMBIA — St. Pius X Kansas City won the state championship in Class 1 last year, which resulted in the Warriors bumping up all the way to Class 3.
So far, the Warriors have taken on the challenge and have done well against more difficult competition. They currently sit in first place after Day 1 of the Class 3 Missouri State High School Wrestling Championships Friday at Mizzou Arena, scoring 90 team points. Hillsboro is not too far behind them as it sits in second place with 83.5 points. Whitfield is third with 52 and Platte County is fourth with 48.5.
Kearney is just outside the top four as it is in fifth with 47.5, and Helias Catholic is in sixth with 45.5.
Jordan Bell (113), Dylan Hall (120), Andrew Garcia (126), Dillan Chism (138), Gable Gross (157), Noah Gonzalez (165), Jackson Rotterman (215) and Kyler Kuhn (285) all advanced to the semifinals for the Warriors, setting up their team in a good position to take the team state title.
Below is a summary of who made it to the semifinals in their weight class and their matchups:
106: Hillsboro freshman Carter Pryor had a strong showing in his first state tournament so far. He won by tech fall, 15-0, against Platte County freshman Cade Crawford to advance to the semifinals. In the next round, he will take on Kearney sophomore Brayden Robinson, who snuck by Ft. Zumwalt South junior Mason Pullen after a 7-5 decision.
In the other semifinal, Helias Catholic sophomore Daemen Duemmel will face off with St. Michael The Archangel Catholic junior Landon Lane. Duemmel pinned Pacific junior Mason Link in just 51 seconds, while Lane won by fall over Warrenton junior Nathan Donovan in 1:07.
“I was just going out there and getting stuff done,” Duemmel said. “I had some good high crotches and low singles. On top, I got some tilts and armbars.”
113: Whitfield freshman Nolan Londe had a strong state tournament debut as he took down Hillsboro junior Evan Litzinger in the quarterfinals by pin in 5:20. In the semis, he will face Ft. Zumwalt South senior Kanyon Shurtz, who got a pin with 9 seconds remaining in regulation over McDonald County junior Eberson Perez.
On the other side of the bracket, Warrenton sophomore Zaydon Teston will meet up with St. Pius X sophomore Jordan Bell. Teson took a 13-7 decision in his match with Farmington sophomore Ryan Monroe. Bell, a defending state champion, had little trouble advancing past the quarterfinals as he pinned DeSoto freshman Landon Tomlinson in 42 seconds.
“I wrestled pretty good,” Bell said. “Coach Omar challenged me to go out there and get pins because if this wasn’t a state tournament, I would be getting a lot of takedowns and tech falls. I tried to get a few takedowns in before getting the job done.”
120: St. Puis X sophomore Dylan Hall has found some success at the Class 3 level after his Warriors were in Class 1 last year. He earned a 4-1 victory over James Penick of Hillsboro in the quarters to seal his spot in the semifinals. In that round, he will meet up with defending state champion and Hannibal junior Austin Brown, who beat another defending state champion, Parker Lutz of St. Michael, 6-3 in his quarterfinal bout.
“I have wrestled him three times this year, and I always come out on top,” Brown said. “He got me in neutral, I am not going to lie, though.”
In the other semifinal, Carl Junction senior Carter Foglesong will see Platte County sophomore Jaxson Shute. Foglesong pinned Brayden Milberg of Pacific in just 35 seconds. Shute advanced to semifinals after winning 4-1 over DeSoto junior Brenton Drummond.
126: Farmington junior Aiden Hahn, who finished in third place at 106 pounds last season, will have a chance to get a state championship this season. He won by fall in 2:30 over Carl Junction junior Camdon Kunkel to advance. In that bout, he will take on St. Pius X senior Andrew Garcia, who pinned Helias Catholic sophomore Alex Wieberg in just 48 seconds.
On the other side of the bracket, Warrenton senior Manny McCauley punched his ticket to the semifinals following a 17-2 tech fall victory in the quarterfinals in his match with Kearney sophomore Landon Westfall. In his next match, he will see defending state champion Carter Wallis of Hillsboro. Wallis won by fall in 38 seconds over Warrensburg junior Jaylin Civil in the quarters.
132: Pacific junior Brock Webb said he is feeling good about his chances of winning a state championship. He is two wins away from doing so as he pinned McDonald County junior Robinson Yoshino in 2:46. He will have to get by Kearney senior Ryder Shelton, a two-time state champion, in the next round. Shelton got a 15-0 tech fall in his match with Ladue Horton Watkins junior Robert Caito.
“I knew going in that I had to be dominant and strong on top,” Webb said. “I kept on having to push the pace and it worked out. I got the inside cradle. That’s my baby.”
Whitfield senior Yashua Amen is looking for his first state title and he, too, is two wins away from accomplishing that. He took a 13-4 major decision of St. Pius X freshman Luke Cline to advance. He will see Windsor Imperial senior Luke Patterson in the next round. Patterson edged Camdenton senior Finnegan McNitt 10-9 in the quarters.
138: Farmington senior Presley Johnson was a runner-up last season in the 126-pound weight class, and he will look for his first state title this season. He took a 12-8 decision over Warrenton senior Noah Lohrmann to clinch his spot in the quarterfinals. He will see Hannibal Drake Brinkley in the next match. Brinkley edged Marshfield sophomore Mac Mohnen 4-2 to keep his chances of a state championship alive.
“It was a tough match. I fought through and came out with the win,” Brinkley said. “I got to my whizzer a lot and I held on for dear life.”
The other semifinal will feature Whitfield senior Caleb Carter and St. Pius X senior Dillan Chism. Carter got a 23-5 tech fall over Capital City senior Jeremiah Austin, while Chism took a 21-11 major decision over Hillsboro senior Kaden Larkin.
144: Hillsboro senior Jackson Tucker will be going for his third state championship. He set himself up to do just that as he won by tech fall, 19-3, in his quarterfinals match with Ladue Horton Watkins sophomore Darron Bell. He will see unbeaten Bolivar senior Cooper Moore, who won 10-2 over Ft. Zumwalt junior Colin Weiss.
Whitfield junior Jackson Bassett also made it to the semifinals after getting a pin in 3:32 against DeSoto sophomore Dominic Eakins. Bassett will take on Kearney senior Blaine Turpin in the semis. Turpin took a 6-0 decision against Jefferson City junior Deegan Mitchell.
“My opponents inn my first two matches were super strong,” Turpin said. “It was hard to move them. I got the takedowns I could get and played defense. I was safe with it.”
150: Hillsboro senior Wyatt Hendrix made his way to the semifinals as he pinned Carl Junction sophomore Aaron Dillingham in 1:45. He will see Platte County senior Evan McCuish in the next round. The Pirate senior won 5-0 over Capital City’s DeMarkus Lyddon-Allen in the quarterfinals to keep his hopes of a state championship alive.
Whitfield senior Rome Tate and Marshfield senior Tanner Davison will match up in the other semifinal. Tate advance after a 10-1 major decision over St. Michael junior Brody Narron. Davidson got a takedown and near fall in the final 6 seconds of his match with Smithville’s Brennen Green to win 12-6.
“My first match, my shots worked well,” Davidson said. “I really focused on those coming into the tournament. This last one, the kid was taller and lankier, so it was harder to get shots on him. He kept taking shots, but he didn’t capitalize on them.”
157: St. Michael freshman Cole Sackett had a stellar debut in his first state tournament. He won 11-1 over Kyeler Aders of Farmington to advance to the semifinals. In that bout, he will see Holt senior Boston Howard, who got a pin in 4:58 against Darrell Smith of Platte County.
The other semifinal will see Aleksandr Careaga of Helias Catholic take on St. Pius X senior Gable Gross. Caraga won a defensive battle with Rockwood Summit sophomore Donovan Brown and won 1-0. Gross edged Hazelwood East senior Kamron Watson 5-4 to move on.
“He liked to shoot from a distance,” Careaga said of Brown. “I have been working on my shot defense this year and just catching them in a headlock.”
165: Smithville Tristan Waters will be looking for his first state championship as he will be in the semifinals after winning by fall over Pacific junior Lucas Tennyson. Waters will see Union senior Trey Ladymon in the next bout. The Pacific senior took a 17-1 tech fall over Whitfield freshman Marko Tagle in the quarterfinals.
On the other side of the bracket, Helias Catholic junior Eli Holman will battle with St. Pius X senior Noah Gonzalez. Holman, who took third last season, will need two wins to get his first state championship. He won by tech fall, 15-0, against Farmington junior Lane Weiss to advance. Gonzalez, a two-time state champion, will look for his third. He set himself up with a chance to do that as he won 15-0 in the quarterfinals over Hannibal freshman Hayden Paxton.
175: DeSoto sophomore Levi Huck advanced to the semifinals and will look for his first state title. In the quarterfinals, he earned a 17-1 tech fall against Parkway Central’s Ali Moshen. He will go up against Carl Junction senior Tony Stewart, who grinded out a 4-0 win over Ruskin senior Logan Taylor.
At the bottom of the bracket, Marshall senior Mason Evans will face off with Bolivar senior Mason McCurry. Evans won by fall in 1:38 against Camdenton sophomore Treyvontay Haire. McCurry got a reversal in the last 3 seconds of his match with Belton’s Quinten Attebury and won a 14-13 thriller in the quarterfinals.
“I have been kind of hearing how much of a tear Quinten has been on and how much he was going to win it,” McCurry said. “I really came into this match laser focused. He slammed me a little bit and I had a mental battle going on. I got gassed near the end, but I managed to eek it out at the end.”
190: McDonald County senior Alex Bogart punched his ticket to the semifinals after he edged Festus senior Owen Gardner in the semifinals. His next match will be against defending state champion Carter Temple of Kearney, who earned a 18-1 tech fall over Marshfield senior Tyce Jones.
At the bottom of the bracket, Ft. Zumwalt East senior Dirk Rivera will go against Carl Junction junior Marcus Lopez-Durman. Rivera took a 10-0 major decision against Platte County junior Cooper Hammontree in the quarters, while Lopez-Durman pinned Hillsboro sophomore Brandon Bequette in 2:53.
215: Platte County junior Cole Johnson had not placed in his first two state tournament appearances. He will this time as he clinched a state medal and a semifinal berth after winning 8-3 over Jefferson City junior Luke Jenkins. Johnson will take on Smithville junior Haze Middleton in the next round. Middleton won by fall in 2:38 over Stevan Benhumea in the quarterfinals.
Belton junior Jameson Lyons will take on defending state champion Jackson Rotterman of St. Pius X on the opposite side of the bracket. Lyons won a competitive match as he took a 10-7 decision against Festus senior Dylan Johnson. Rotterman pinned Helias Catholic sophomore Brock Lepage in 1:35.
285: Hillsboro junior Griffin Morris clinched his spot in the semifinals in quick fashion as he pinned McDonald County’s Miguel Melendez Cassia in 34 seconds. He will see St. Pius X sophomore Kyler Kuhn next. Kuhn won by fall in 2:19 against Hilcrest senior Andrew Neer.
Ft. Zumwalt South Junior Rudd will be in the other semifinal of the bracket. He made it to the final four by getting a pin over Kansas City Northeast sophomore Amanono Sua. Rudd will take on Helias Catholic sophomore Zyan Knollmeyer in the next round. Knollmeyer won 4-3 in overtime over St. Michael junior Brodie Purtle.
