COLUMBIA – Going into the 2025-26 season, it was clear Liberty was going to be challenged for the Class 4 state title.
While Liberty still has a good amount of top-level talent, Columbia Hickman has seen by many to be on the same level as the Blue Jays as it had 10 wrestlers ranked in the top 10 of their respective weight classes according to our rankings.
Liberty was in danger of having their six-year streak of winning state titles snapped, especially since one of their top wrestlers, junior 157-pounder Cooper Kirkham went down in the second round with a broken leg.
In fact, the Blue Jays didn’t have a single competitor win their bracket at the Class 4 Missouri State High School Wrestling Championships Saturday at Mizzou Arena. However, they had wrestlers get it done in the consolation bracket to help win a seventh consecutive state title, scoring a 161.5 team points, edging Hickman, which had 159 points.
“This team has been gritty all year, and they have worked their butts off,” Liberty head coach Dustin Brewer said. “I am really proud of them. When Cooper went down, it was a blow. We knew we had to keep going and make up for the points he would have scored for us. Our guys kept pushing and scored enough points to make a difference.”
St. Pius X, which was wrestling at the Class 4 level for the first time, took third with 132.5 points. Christian Brothers College took fourth with 106.5.
Liberty had four wrestlers finish as runner-ups including Rowdy Angst (113 pounds), Will Pfiefer (126), Roman Stewart (144) and Ross Davis.
Other medalists for the Blue Jays included John Cox (120, fourth place), Cade Dunn (132, third), Donovan Hodges (175, fifth) and Masen Bindel (285, third).
Below is a summary of the championship matches and a list of state medalists:
106: Seckman sophomore Kaeman Orine got a reversal with 29 seconds left to take a 5-4 lead against Ozark freshman Parker Hansen, and that was the difference in a 5-4 decision.
State Medalists:
1st Place – Kaemen Orine of Seckman
2nd Place – Parker Hansen of Ozark
3rd Place – Alex Hall of St. Pius X (Kansas City)
4th Place – Max Lindquist of Timberland
5th Place – Marztian Ioanis of Neosho
6th Place – Gavin Kell of North Point
113: Francis Howell North junior Wyatt Dannegar rode out Liberty sophomore Rowdy Angst in the second period and got an escape in the third as he earned a 1-0 victory for his second straight state title.
State Medalists:
1st Place – Wyatt Dannegger of Francis Howell North
2nd Place – Rowdy Angst of Liberty
3rd Place – Max Rowe of Lafayette (Wildwood)
4th Place – Dominic Marchack of Hickman
5th Place – Caden Brayfield of Park Hill
6th Place – Taiga Kwon of Ozark
120: St. Puis X freshman Cruz Enderle burst onto the high school wrestling scene and won his first state title in a breakout season as he won 4-2 against Park Hill senior Mason Brayfield thanks to a second-period takedown.
State Medalists:
1st Place – Cruz Enderle of St. Pius X (Kansas City)
2nd Place – Mason Brayfield of Park Hill
3rd Place – Kosta Hatzigeorgiou of Christian Brothers College
4th Place – John Cox of Liberty
5th Place – Graidy Rice of Jackson
6th Place – Henry Baker of Rock Bridge
126: Fort Osage senior Kaison Schreier earned a 10-2 major decision against Columbia Hickman freshman Aidan McMurtry in the semifinals before getting three take downs of Liberty senior Will Pfiefer in the championship match of the 126-pound weight class to win 12-1, capturing the third state title of his career.
“I thought I moved my feet pretty well,” Schreier said of his match with Pfiefer, “and just faking and I had great movement. On top, I did a lot of great riding and executed pretty well.”
State Medalists:
1st Place – Kaison Schreier of Fort Osage
2nd Place – Will Pfeifer of Liberty
3rd Place – Jordan Bell of St. Pius X (Kansas City)
4th Place – Riley Sumner of Lafayette (Wildwood)
5th Place – Aidan McMurtry of Hickman
6th Place – Dalton Lilledahl of Francis Howell
132: Ft. Zumwalt North junior Carson Burkemper earned his first state title of his career as he won a high-scoring battle with Seckman sophomore Carson Owens 11-7.
State Medalists:
1st Place – Carsten Burkemper of Ft. Zumwalt North
2nd Place – Carson Owens of Seckman
3rd Place – Cade Dunn of Liberty
4th Place – Michael Poulette of Christian Brothers College
5th Place – Hogan Benter of Hickman
6th Place – Caleb Frankenberger of Lafayette (Wildwood)
138: Farmington Aidan Hahn got a key takedown in overtime with 16 seconds left to capture his second state title following a 4-1 win against North Points junior Brody Kell, who made his state championship match debut.
State Medalists:
1st Place – Aiden Hahn of Farmington
2nd Place – Brody Kell of North Point
3rd Place – Jaxson Shute of Platte County
4th Place – Antonio Martinez of Fort Osage
5th Place – Colton Wilson of Ozark
6th Place – Kelton Shaffer of Neosho
144: In what may have been the match of the night, senior Miller Sipes went to an ultimate tiebreaker against Liberty junior Roman Stewart. Sipes managed to ride out Stewart for 30 seconds and win 3-2 for his first state championship.
State Medalists:
1st Place – Miller Sipes of Staley
2nd Place – Roman Stewart of Liberty
3rd Place – Quincey Crawford of Hickman
4th Place – Patrick Provost of Ft. Zumwalt North
5th Place – Keaton Overcast of Republic
6th Place – Lincoln Stearns of Waynesville
150: Blue Springs junior got a big win in the quarterfinals over No. 1-ranked Seckman junior Chance Ruble following an 8-6 decision.
From there, that propelled him to a pin in 19 seconds against St. Pius X sophomore Luke Cline in the semifinals and an overtime takedown Liberty sophomore Ross Davis in the championship as he won that one 4-1 to claim his spot at the top of the podium.
“This is what we train for,” Paulsen said. “It’s all a part of the process. It’s been my goal my whole year.
State Medalists:
1st Place – Jackson Paulsen of Blue Springs
2nd Place – Ross Davis of Liberty
3rd Place – Chance Ruble of Seckman
4th Place – Luke Cline of St. Pius X (Kansas City)
5th Place – Tyson Forbes of Hazelwood West
6th Place – Connor McBride of Marquette
157: Christian Brothers College junior Colin Rutlin raced out to a 10-1 lead against Lee’s Summit West senior Grady Mortensen before getting a pin in 3:07 to claim his first state title.
State Medalists:
1st Place – Colin Rutlin of Christian Brothers College
2nd Place – Grady Mortensen of Lee`s Summit West
3rd Place – Landen Mcdowell of St. Pius X (Kansas City)
4th Place – Carter Howard of Neosho
5th Place – Tyler Abell of Rock Bridge
6th Place – Paxton Hughes of Liberty (Wentzville)
165: Hickman senior Jordan Fincher was the favorite to win his weight class since the beginning of the season. He showed why in his championship match against Ft. Zumwalt North senior Cole Aguirre as he took a 10-1 major decision for his first state title.
State Medalists:
1st Place – Jordan Fincher of Hickman
2nd Place – Cole Aguirre of Ft. Zumwalt North
3rd Place – Sjoeren Aumua of Grain Valley
4th Place – Lincoln Howard of Neosho
5th Place – Mike Williams of St. Louis University High
6th Place – Jeremiah Clines of Northwest
175: Hickman junior Luke Hayden is now one state title away from being in rarefied air. He earned No. 3 in his match with Lafayette Wildwood senior Carter Welsh. He trailed 2-0 going into the third period, but got an escape and then a takedown with 24 seconds left to hang on to a 4-2 win.
State Medalists:
1st Place – Luke Hayden of Hickman
2nd Place – Carter Welsh of Lafayette (Wildwood)
3rd Place – Tanner Faulkner of Christian Brothers College
4th Place – Cole Dillon of Francis Howell North
5th Place – Donovan Hodges of Liberty
6th Place – Kaymon Rhone of Neosho
190: Christian Brothers College senior Trey Craig ended his high school career with his first state championship. He earned a penalty point and got an escape against Hickman junior Beau Waldon as he escaped with a 2-1 victory.
State Medalists:
1st Place – Trey Craig of Christian Brothers College
2nd Place – Beau Waldron of Hickman
3rd Place – Deacon Moran of Ft. Zumwalt North
4th Place – Chase Kivett of Neosho
5th Place – Cy Wilmes of Blue Springs South
6th Place – Isaac Ward of Fort Osage
215: Lafayette Wildwood junior Carter Brown didn’t waste any time claiming his second straight state title. He pinned North Kansas City junior Kobe Rhymes in just 41 seconds.
State Medalists:
1st Place – Carter Brown of Lafayette (Wildwood)
2nd Place – Kobe Rhymes of North Kansas City
3rd Place – Maddoxx Jones of Liberty (Wentzville)
4th Place – Barrett Lawless of Lee`s Summit North
5th Place – Joseph Camelin of Waynesville
6th Place – Kaden Updike of Oakville
285: St. Pius X junior Kyler Kuhn proved he could hang with Class 4 competition, too. Last season, he won the Class 3 heavyweight title. He had a tight battle this time with Jackson senior Brysen Wessell and Kuhn got an escape in the ultimate tiebreaker to win 3-2.
State Medalists:
1st Place – Kyler Kuhn of St. Pius X (Kansas City)
2nd Place – Brysen Wessell of Jackson
3rd Place – Masen Bindel of Liberty
4th Place – Noah Patton of Lee`s Summit West
5th Place – Albert Reinberg of St. Louis University High
6th Place – Carter Atagi of Blue Springs
