Michael Smith
COLUMBIA, Mo. — If the Liberty wrestling team wasn’t a dynasty before, it certainly is now.
The Blue Jays continue to be the unstoppable freight train in Class 4 and they won their fifth consecutive state team title Saturday at the Missouri State High School Wrestling Championships at Mizzou Arena.
Liberty ran away with the team title as it scored 188.5 points. Lafayette Wildwood took second place with 139.5 points, Staley was third with 118.5 and Columbia Hickman took fourth with 113.5.
Liberty had four state champions including Hunter Taylor (120), Peyton Westpfahl (170), Isaiah Hung (215) and Gavin Linsman (150). The Blue Jays had five others who won state medals.
“The coaches are amazing, the best I could ask for,” Taylor said of head coach Dustin Brewer and the assistants. “My teammates are even better. We are always pushing each other to win. At the end of the day, we all get along and we are all friends.
106: Fort Osage sophomore Kaison Schreier dominated his division all season and it all culminated with a state championship. After not placing at state last season, Schreier came back with a vengeance, defeating Northwest sophomore Eli Porter 16-1 in the championship.
“This is a good feeling and a good atmosphere for sure,” Schreier said. “I thought I wrestled fairly well, but I could have set up my shots better. I just need to get in the room and keep working.”
Below is a summary of the championship matches of each weight classes and a list of all of the medalists:
State medalists:
- 1st Place – Kaison Schreier of Fort Osage
- 2nd Place – Eli Porter of Northwest (Cedar Hill)
- 3rd Place – Riley Sumner of Lafayette (Wildwood)
- 4th Place – Gunner Dahms of Staley
- 5th Place – Mason Brayfield of Park Hill
- 6th Place – Tanner Putt of Carthage
113: Columbia Hickman junior Hank Benter is now one win away from joining the four state championship club/ He got his third on Saturday following a second period pin of Neoshop freshman Anthony Stotts.
“I felt good about how I did,” Benter said. “There are things I could have done better, but I got to my moves and got the fall.”
State medalists:
- 1st Place – Hank Benter of Hickman
- 2nd Place – Anthony Stotts of Neosho
- 3rd Place – Erik Egstad of Park Hill
- 4th Place – Chase Gray of Francis Howell Central
- 5th Place – Cade Dunn of Liberty
- 6th Place – Calum Brown of Lafayette (Wildwood)
120: Liberty senior hunter Taylor was rarely challenged by any wrestler in the Missouri area. That trend continued Saturday as he got a 16-1 tech fall victory over Parkway South freshman Camron Duffield to take his third straight state title.
“I just wrestled how I like to wrestle and stayed on my attack,” Taylor said. “I just kept going forward.”
State medalists:
- 1st Place – Hunter Taylor of Liberty
- 2nd Place – Camron Duffield of Parkway South
- 3rd Place – Caleb Frankenberger of Lafayette (Wildwood)
- 4th Place – Nathaniel Provost of Ft. Zumwalt North
- 5th Place – Zachary Bleess of Grain Valley
- 6th Place – Hogan Benter of Hickman
126: Lee’s Summit North senior Charlie Dykes worked hard to get to this point and he finally got his first state championship. After finishing fourth as a sophomore and as a runner-up as a junior, he defeated Liberty junior Devon Harrison 1-0 in a defensive battle to take first place.
“I feel like I did great, but I couldn’t have done any of this without my teammates and my coaches,” Dykes said. “No disrespect to anyone in my bracket. I thought they were al great wrestlers.”
