Class 4 Boys State Tournament Recap

03/03/2025 9:41 AM

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COLUMBIA — The Liberty boys wrestling team is on an incredible run.

The Blue Jays have now tied Whitfield, Oak Park and Maplewood-Richmond Heights for the second longest streak of winning consecutive state championships with six as they ran away with first place with 187 points in Saturday’s Class 4 Missouri State High School Wrestling Championships Saturday at Mizzou Arena.

Ritenour has the most consecutive state championships with 14 from 1948 to 1961.

“It’s been amazing,” Westpfahl said. “In a situation like this, you can just be yourself and your team is going to take care of the rest. You can just make a good personal goal and then your team is happy because of the team title.”

Devon Harrison (132), Roman Stewart (144), Westpfahl (190) and Trenton Bindel (285) all won state titles for Liberty. Others to earn state medals were Cade Dunn (126, fifth), Ross Davis (138, second), Donovan Hodges (175, sixth) and Masen Bindel (215, second).

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

106: Francis Howell North sophomore Wyatt Dannegger won his first state championship and ended his season with a 35-0 record after getting a pin over Staley senior Gunner Dahms in the finals.

“I wasn’t expecting the pin,” Dannegger said. “I got his back down then I got his other shoulder down and it went the way I wanted it to. I had a boot in and I got the power half.”

Medalists:

1st Place – Wyatt Dannegger of Francis Howell North
2nd Place – Gunner Dahms of Staley
3rd Place – Kosta Hatzigeorgiou of Christian Brothers College
4th Place – Caden Brayfield of Park Hill
5th Place – Max Rowe of Lafayette (Wildwood)
6th Place – Marztian Ioanis of Neosho

113: Fort Osage junior Kaison Schreier wasn’t challenged in his bracket. He had two pins and a tech fall leading up to his championship match with Park Hill junior Mason Brayfield. He was tough on top, getting a pair of two-point near falls as Schreier cruised to a 12-0 win and a state title.

“I have been working on it a lot,” Schreier said of his top game (he had four points on near falls against Brayfield). “I have been training for Folkstyle for awhile and I have really progressed on top.”

Medalists:

1st Place – Kaison Schreier of Fort Osage
2nd Place – Mason Brayfield of Park Hill
3rd Place – Lucas Meier of Northwest
4th Place – Waylon Burress of Christian Brothers College
5th Place – Jackson Tenny of Lafayette (Wildwood)
6th Place – Dorrian Clark of Seckman

120: Park Hill senior Erik Egstad had to get through a stacked bracket to win his second state title. He had some top-shelf wrestlers in his division including Staley senior Parker Leverknight, Hickman sophomore Hogan Benter, Lafayette Wildwood sophomore Riley Sumner and Francis Howell Central junior Chase Gray. He survived the gauntlet and ended his day with a 8-1 decision over Benter in the championship match to take first place.

Medalists:

1st Place – Erik Egstad of Park Hill
2nd Place – Hogan Benter of Hickman
3rd Place – Riley Sumner of Lafayette (Wildwood)
4th Place – Chase Gray of Francis Howell Central
5th Place – Carson Owens of Seckman
6th Place – Grady Rice of Jackson

126: Columbia Hickman senior Hank Benter aimed to be a four-time state champion since his freshman season with his team. That goal became a reality on Saturday as he pinned Staley senior Zayne Reynolds in the championship match in 2:13.

“I had high expectations for my wrestling career,” Benter said. “From the beginning, it was my goal to win four state title, and today, I got that done.”

Medalists:

1st Place – Hank Benter of Hickman
2nd Place – Zayne Reynolds of Staley
3rd Place – Keaton Hurst of Ozark
4th Place – Calum Brown of Lafayette (Wildwood)
5th Place – Cade Dunn of Liberty
6th Place – Nathaniel Provost of Ft. Zumwalt North

132: Liberty senior Devon Harrison has always been one of the top wrestlers in the state but struggled to win championship matches in the state tournament. His first five seasons resulted in runner-up finishes, but he finally broke through for his first state title on Saturday as won by a 19-3 tech fall over Hickman freshman Quincey Crawford.

“This was about as special as it could be for anybody,” Harrison said. “This is the most special moment of my career.

Medalists:

1st Place – Devon Harrison of Liberty
2nd Place – Quincey Crawford of Hickman
3rd Place – Kade King of Jackson
4th Place – Dalton Lilledahl of Francis Howell
5th Place – Caleb Frankenberger of Lafayette (Wildwood)
6th Place – Kelton Shaffer of Neosho

138: Parkway South sophomore Camron Duffield was a runner-up last season but pushed through to a state championship this time around. He defeated Davis 24-8 for a tech fall in the title bout.

Medalists:

1st Place – Camron Duffield of Parkway South
2nd Place – Ross Davis of Liberty
3rd Place – Caden Harrington of Ozark
4th Place – Brody Kell of North Point
5th Place – Brady McMurtry of Hickman
6th Place – Keaton Overcast of Republic

144: Stewart lost Christian Brothers College Colin Rutlin earlier in the season by a 14-6 major decision. It was his only loss against a Missouri wrestler for the season. He got his revenge on Saturday as he defeated Rutlin 8-4 in the championship match.

“I just stuck to the basics and made sure I didn’t do any dumb stuff like last time,” Stewart said. “At the Kansas City Stampede, I was stupid and tried a high flyer and he put me straight on my back.

Medalists:

1st Place – Roman Stewart of Liberty
2nd Place – Colin Rutlin of Christian Brothers College
3rd Place – Leo Buchheit of North Point
4th Place – Caleb Caldwell of Willard
5th Place – Jackson Paulsen of Blue Springs
6th Place – None

150: Fort Osage senior Colby Gray arguably had the toughest path to a state championship. He had to face No. 3-ranked Kaden Purler of North Point in the quarterfinals, had to take on Seckman sophomore Chance Ruble, ranked No. 2, in the semifinals before meeting with No. 6-ranked Reed Wilson of Nixa in the finals. Gray beat them all by decision and took down Wilson 4-0 in the finals to win his first state championship.

“I saw my path last Sunday morning and started preparing for those guys,” Gray said. “I knew I could do it. I worked with the coaching staff for each induvial match, and I just had to go out there and do what I know to do.

Medalists:

1st Place – Colby Gray of Fort Osage
2nd Place – Reed Wilson of Nixa
3rd Place – Chance Ruble of Seckman
4th Place – Jordan Fincher of Hickman
5th Place – Aidan Schoen of Lafayette (Wildwood)
6th Place – Kaden Purler of North Point

157: Staley senior David Gleason has established himself as not only one of the best wrestlers in Missouri, but in the entire United States. He missed his entire sophomore season with an injury. In his final two seasons following the injury, he has compiled a 76-4 record and two state titles. This season’s championship ended with a 15-4 major decision over Rolla senior Kayden Kinder.

Medalists:

1st Place – David Gleason of Staley
2nd Place – Kayden Kinder of Rolla
3rd Place – Carter Howard of Neosho
4th Place – Taryn Nichols of Hickman
5th Place – Grady Mortensen of Lee`s Summit West
6th Place – Jeremiah Drake of Lafayette (Wildwood)

165: Hickman sophomore Luke Hayden is now halfway to being a four-time state champion. After edging Staley senior Merrik Murray in the semifinals, he pinned Park Hill senior Sammy Mormino in 1:27 in the finals to take first place.

Medalists:

1st Place – Luke Hayden of Hickman
2nd Place – Sammy Mormino of Park Hill
3rd Place – Tyler Abell of Rock Bridge
4th Place – Merrik Murray of Staley
5th Place – Lincoln Howard of Neosho
6th Place – Collin Conley of Francis Howell North

175: Fort Osage junior Isaac Ward doesn’t show a lot of emotion when he’s in the ring. He looks calm, cool and collected any time he’s in the circle and it’s helped him become one of the best wrestlers in the state. His demeanor remained the same in his championship match with Hickman sophomore Beau Waldron as he got a takedown in overtime to 4-1, getting his first state title in the process.

“I try to keep my chill because it’s wrestling, anything can happen,” Ward said. “As long as I keep my cool, I should be fine. I was down in one of my matches and managed to stay calm. That approach helps me stay focused.”

Medalists:

1st Place – Isaac Ward of Fort Osage
2nd Place – Beau Waldron of Hickman
3rd Place – Samuel Golden of Francis Howell Central
4th Place – Joah Moore of Jackson
5th Place – Kaymon Rhone of Neosho
6th Place – Donovan Hodges of Liberty

190: Liberty senior Peyton Westpfahl had his toughest match in the semifinals. He faced off against former teammate Trey Craig of Christian Brothers College. Craig was with Liberty for his first two years of high school before transferring, so he was familiar with how Westpfahl liked to wrestle. The Liberty senior still managed to win that match with Craig 4-1 before winning by a 17-1 tech fall over Neosho junior Chase Kivett in the championship bout to earn his second straight state title.

“It was a little bit different,” Westpfahl said of his match with Craig. “He was my training partner for about two years. He knew everything I was going to do and could feel out everything, so that made it pretty tough.”

Medalists:

1st Place – Peyton Westpfahl of Liberty
2nd Place – Chase Kivett of Neosho
3rd Place – Trey Craig of Christian Brothers College
4th Place – Deacon Moran of Ft. Zumwalt North
5th Place – Sutton Ivy of Kirkwood
6th Place – Blake Lively of Lebanon

215: Lafayette Wildwood sophomore Carter Brown didn’t give up a single point in his title match with Liberty’s Masen Bindel. He won 10-0 to capture his first state championship.

Medalists:

1st Place – Carter Brown of Lafayette (Wildwood)
2nd Place – Masen Bindel of Liberty
3rd Place – Porter Talbot of Willard
4th Place – Chase Hicks of Republic
5th Place – Ruben Arvizu of Ozark
6th Place – Triston Abram of Christian Brothers College

285: Liberty senior Trenton Bindel has wrestled Liberty North senior Elmotie Williams. It has been a one-sided matchup leading up to Saturday’s title match as Williams had won the last five matches between the two. But this time, Bindel came through when it mattered most and broke the hex Williams had over him. He got an escape in the ultimate tiebreaker round to win 3-2 and win his first state championship.

“It was a testament of all the hard work that we put in,” Bindel said. “We work harder than anyone else in the state and we don’t one match determine whether win or lose in the state finals or not.”

Medalists: