The St. Michael The Archangel Catholic wrestling team was in control.
The Guardians were in the lead in team points during the majority of Saturday’s Class 3 District 4 tournament last week at Belton High School.
It seemed like they were in a great position to take first place, however, late in the tournament, Kearney started to surge. After St. Michael wrestlers fell in matches at 165 and 190 pounds in the championship round, the Bulldogs got the two pins they needed.
Carter Temple (215 pounds) and J.D. Romero (285) both got pins in their respective championship matches, which was good enough for 12 points resulted in a tie for first with Kearney and St. Michael as both teams finished with 221.5 points.
Smithville took third with 154.5 points and Winnetonka was fourth with 112.5.
Kearney and St. Michael are among the three teams along with Helias Catholic which are contenders to win a state championship in Class 3 this season, and a win at the district tournament could have been a statement win for either team.
It turns out, the Guardians and Bulldogs are evenly matched.
“St. Michael was in the lead during the entire weekend, and at no point were we in the lead,” Kearney head coach Jake Hill said. “This was the most complete tournament we have had all season. I told our guys that it was going to take every one of us and it did.”
Temple was a big part of that, getting a key pin to make the first-place tie possible. He said that his team has exceeded expectations.
“At the beginning of the season, not a lot of people thought we would be able to win a district title and go on to state,” Temple said. “I am super proud of the team and how far we have come.”
For St. Michael head coach Matt Infranca, it was a little disappointing not winning the district championship outright.
“I thought some stuff could have been cleaned up,” Infranca said.
Tyler Bell (106), Landon Westfall (120), Phoenix Shelton (132) and Kale Davis (157) joined Temple and Romero as Bulldogs who won their bracket. Brayden Robinson (113, second place), Kendhal Davis (150, second) and Kale Tucking (175, fourth) also qualified for the state tournament.
St. Michael saw four of its wrestlers take first including Landon Lane (113), Parker Lutz (126), Austin Stevick (144) and Rowdy Narron (150). Luke Bulloc (106, second), Prestley Hartwig (138, second), Brody Narron (157, second), Cole Sackett (157, second) and Brody Purtle (190, fourth) all finished in the top for of their weight division to punch their ticket to state, as well.
Below is a summary of the championship matches of each bracket and the list of state qualifiers:
106: Bell won by fall in 1:25 against Bulloc to take first place. The match was the first of five head-to-head matchups between a Kearney and a St. Michael wrestler.
State qualifiers:
1st Place – Tyler Bell of Kearney
2nd Place – Luke Bulloc of St. Michael the Archangel
3rd Place – Josh Medina of Lincoln College Prep
4th Place – Preston Baker of Winnetonka
113: Lane made quick work of Robinson, getting a pin in 1:15 using a chicken wing into the bar to win his bracket.
“I am feeling great. I am as confident as ever,” said Lane, a two-time state champion.
State qualifiers:
1st Place – Landon Lane of St. Michael the Archangel
2nd Place – Brayden Robinson of Kearney
3rd Place – Hunter Iverson of Smithville
4th Place – Aaron Roberts of Winnetonka
120: Westfall dominated his bout with Winnetonka senior Braiden Loyd as he got a pin in 1:44 to earn his spot atop the podium.
State qualifiers:
1st Place – Landon Westfall of Kearney
2nd Place – Braiden Loyd of Winnetonka
3rd Place – Cameron Russell of William Chrisman
4th Place – Darren Faustlin of Van Horn
126: Lutz reached an important milestone in his championship match. He earned a 23-6 tech fall win against Winnetonka senior Tyree Broom to notch his 150th career win.
“That was amazing,” Lutz said. “I didn’t even know that was my 150th win until it was over. I was just focused on my takedown count for the season. That put the exclamation point on the district championship.”
State qualifiers:
1st Place – Parker Lutz of St. Michael the Archangel
2nd Place – Tyrre Broom of Winnetonka
3rd Place – Ravion Davis of Belton
4th Place – Nathan Warchola of Grandview
132: Shelton grinded out a 7-4 decision against Warrensburg senior Dayton Dunn to earn a No. 1 seed for the state tournament.
State qualifiers:
1st Place – Phoenix Shelton of Kearney
2nd Place – Dayton Dunn of Warrensburg
3rd Place – Locardo Mwamba of Northeast (Kansas City)
4th Place – Cooper Heitman of Smithville
138: Warrensburg Jaylen Civil was tied at 15-15 at one point with Hartwig, but he got some key takedowns and a near fall at the end of the match to win 26-17.
State qualifiers:
1st Place – Jaylen Civil of Warrensburg
2nd Place – Presley Hartwig of St. Michael the Archangel
3rd Place – Dominick Paige of Van Horn
4th Place – Haydin Jackson of Smithville
144: Stevick continued his breakout season as he earned a 10-2 major decision against Winnetonka junior Landon Sherman.
“This whole season, I have been confident,” Stevick said. “I was eager to get here and I was confident I would get the No. 1 seed. I wanted to show everyone what I could do.”
State qualifiers:
1st Place – Austin Stevick of St. Michael the Archangel
2nd Place – Landon Sherman of Winnetonka
3rd Place – Justus Griffith of Warrensburg
4th Place – Olivin Chavez of Marshall
150: Rowdy Narron earned his 100th career win following a 15-0 tech fall win in 3:48 against Kendahl Davis.
“I have been working for this all year,” Narron said of his 100th career win. “I had a feeling I was close, but I wasn’t checking it.
“I felt was going after it and making it my match and my pace.”
State qualifiers:
1st Place – Rowdy Narron of St. Michael the Archangel
2nd Place – Kendahl Davis of Kearney
3rd Place – Tate Cook of Warrensburg
4th Place – Jordan Baar of Belton
157: Kale Davis said he was in the hallway outside the gym getting focused for his match and didn’t watch his brother match in the bout prior. It appeared the decision paid off as he dominated his match to get a pin in 5:43 against Brody Narron.
“I wrestled the whole match my way,” Davis said. “I didn’t freak out when I gave up the first takedown. I did a great job overall.”
State qualifiers:
1st Place – Kale Davis of Kearney
2nd Place – Brody Narron of St. Michael the Archangel
3rd Place – Cannon Hutchcraft of Smithville
4th Place – James Edmiston of Winnetonka
165: Belton senior Quinten Attebury was in a battle with Sackett as the bout went to overtime, but he outscored his opponent 5-1 to take a 12-8 overtime win.
State qualifiers:
1st Place – Quinten Attebury of Belton
2nd Place – Cole Sackett of St. Michael the Archangel
3rd Place – Edgar Orozco of Raytown
4th Place – Lane Dunfee of Marshall
175: Smithville senior Tristan Waters improved his record to 42-2 after he earned a 15-0 tech fall in 3:33 against Lincoln College Prep senior Phillip Fiagan.
State qualifiers:
1st Place – Tristan Waters of Smithville
2nd Place – Phillip Fiagan of Lincoln College Prep
3rd Place – Jared Meineker of Belton
4th Place – Kale Tucking of Kearney
190: Smithville senior Haze Middleton pinned Belton senior Jameson Lyons in 3:26 to win his bracket.
State qualifiers:
1st Place – Haze Middleton of Smithville
2nd Place – Jameson Lyons of Belton
3rd Place – Vershawn Dudley jr. of William Chrisman
4th Place – Brodie Purtle of St. Michael the Archangel
215: Temple showed why he is a two-time state champion and he made quick work of Smithville sophomore Owen Beasley, getting a pin in 51 seconds to take first.
“I thought it went really well,” Temple said of his championship match. “I was trying to sharpen the iron and wrestle aggressively. I am happy with how it went and I am ready for next week.”
State qualifiers:
1st Place – Carter Temple of Kearney
2nd Place – Owen Beasley of Smithville
3rd Place – Logan Perrin of William Chrisman
4th Place – Davone Rollins of Ruskin
285: Romero started from the top position against Sam Pilkington in the second period and caught his opponent making a mistake and hooked both of his arms and forced him to the mat for a pin in 2:15.
“He’s a good wrestler,” Romero said. “I have wrestled him before. He’s a good guy. I felt get near up when I got to my collar tie, so I went to my ankle pick and it worked. When I was on top, he went for a sit out, but he didn’t get his hip out, so I pulled him back and got his head.”
State qualifiers:
1st Place – JD Romero of Kearney
2nd Place – Samuel Pilkinton of Raytown
3rd Place – Jaylen Mitchell of Van Horn
4th Place – Laawk Ali of Winnetonka
