Mason Brayfield knows the tradition of Park Hill every time he walks into the practice room.
The list of standouts that won state titles is plentiful and he hopes he will have a chance to get his name up there soon.
He continues to take the step forward to high school success by doing well in the summer.
At the U.S. Marine Corps Junior National, he finished sixth in the junior division Greco 113-pound bracket to wrap up his fourth All-American honor last month.
Brayfield has now been seventh, sixth, seventh and eighth in previous trips to Fargo.
“It takes a lot away from my summer, just like training the whole summer, just for that tournament,” he said.
Mason was in the same bracket as his brother Caden in Fargo
Mason reached the semifinals in Greco. His path there included:
- 8-0 TF vs. Dontae Majors of Tennessee
- 8-0 TF vs. Alex Orr of Utah
- 8-0 TF vs. Adam Husseini of Virginia
- 9-0 TF vs. Andre Rice of Illinois
Kaleb Pratt from Illinois posted an 11-1 tech fall — scoring the final 11 points in the match. Pratt would win the national title in his next match.
“It was close in the beginning, but I just couldn’t get to my stuff,” Brayfield said.
The next match, against Cameron Jackson of California, Brayfield led 5-2 early before eight straight points from Jackson preceded a pin late. A tech fall loss to Jose Cordero of Tennessee ended his run.
Brayfiel expects to wrestle in the Fall Brawl to get ready for the 2025-26 season. He spent a lot of this summer working out with various gyms to just prepare himself, rotating between Victory, Greater Heights and Mo West Wrestling.
He said he worked closely with Park Hill assistant coach John Erneste this summer to get better. Erneste was a state champion wrestler at Park Hill before a distinguished career at Missouri.
Brayfield hopes to follow in that path — win a state title and find a spot to wrestle in college. He said he’s already gotten interest from some Division II schools in Iowa and Colorado.
“(At Park Hill) we’re held at a very high standard by our coaches. They expect nothing but the best from us. They are pushing to make sure we’re getting a little bit better every practice. I mean, it helps us a lot, staying on us and making sure we do the right things on and off the mat.”
Brayfield has been a two-time state medalist for the Trojans. He was a state runner-up at 113 in Class 4 in March. He was 39-6 this year and four losses came to Kaison Schreier from Fort Osage, including in the title match.
The year prior, he was fifth after reaching the semifinals at 106.
He expects to be at 120 pounds this season with the goal of winning that state title.
According to MSHSAA, there have been 61 state championships won by the program.
“I mean, it would be amazing for me to finally see my name on that wall when you walk in that right state champion,” he said. “There are so many great people in that room, just knowing that was part of them would be amazing. I’ve been close a lot, but that’s my main goal, to win state and bring my brother along with me too.”
