Michael Smith
The Pleasant Hill wrestling team is ranked No. 1 in Class 2 for a reason.
The Roosters showed why in Tuesday’s tri dual with two other Kansas City powerhouses – St. Michael The Archangel Catholic (ranked No. 5 in Class 2) and St. Pius X (ranked No. 2 in Class 1).
They have won the team state championship the past two years and got an early season test in their quest for a third straight title.
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The Rooster had five wrestlers who went 2-0 on the night as Pleasant Hill edged St. Michael 39-34 and topped St. Pius 47-35 at St. Pius X High School.
St. Michael snuck past St. Pius in their matchup 42-36.
“We didn’t make a statement tonight,” Pleasant Hill coach Jeff Wyatt said. “We have to get better and that falls on me. I have to get these guys ready to wrestle.
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- St. Michael’s Austin Stevick (126)
- St. Michael’s Parker Lutz (106)
- St. Pius X’s Jackson Rotterman (175)
- St. Pius X’s Marco Dalakishvili (138)
- St. Pius X’s Noah Gonzalez (132)
- St. Pius X’s Kavan Slater (165)
“These are going to be the type of matchups that we see at state this year. St. Pius is in Class 1 right now but they are going to be in Class 2 next year.”
One of the wrestlers to step up for the Roosters was Aiden Minor (126 pounds), who edged St. Michael’s Austin Stevick 7-5 and pinned St. Pius’ Jack Neer in just 25 seconds.
“He had a tough match in the first round,” Wyatt said of Minor. “Then he did what he needed to two in that second match. He is a 120-pounder who wrestled up today. He’ll be down to 120 and that is more of his natural weight class.
The other Pleasant Hill wrestlers to finish the night undefeated were Garrett Lyons (157), who got a 16-1 tech fall victory and a first-period pin; three-time state champion Sam Ewing (144), who got a pin and a forfeit; Lane Snyder (150), who got two-first period pins, including one in a marquee matchup with St. Michael’s Lucas Estes and Bryden Bush got two pins, one in the second period and one in the first.
For St. Michael, Stevick got the win that essentially gave the Guardians the team victory over the Warriors as he pinned Neer in 47 seconds.
“It felt good,” Stevick said. “It was a nice win, especially coming off the loss. I am really good at bottom. I think I got a switch over from bottom, which led to the pin.”
Freshman Parker Lutz (106) also stepped up for the Guardians as he got a forfeit win and earned a 10-1 major decision over Victor Schmalz of Pleasant Hill.
“I feel like I wrestled (well),” Lutz said. “It felt really good to have the team there to support me and keep me going.”
The other St. Michael wrestlers to finish 2-0 were Sampson Stillwell (285), who got a forfeit victory and pinned Pleasant Hill’s Sam McDowell-Driskell in 4:07; Brodie Purtle (190), who got a pin against Pleasant Hill’s Cole Ketchum and also won by forfeit and Jack Abraham (120) got both of his wins by forfeit.
St. Pius sophomore Noah Gonzalez (132) had a big day as he earned a 7-1 decision against former state champion Lucas Barry and pinned Gannon Lyons 43 seconds.
“It was a pretty good match. I liked how I stayed on top of him,” Gonzalez said of his match with Barry. “I would have liked to score more but it was good that it was competitive.”
St. Pius senior Kavan Slater (165), a transfer from Park Hill South, like Gonzalez, had a strong showing. He had a win by forfeit and a 17-2 tech fall win over Brayden Bass of Pleasant Hill.
“I felt like I wrestled pretty (well),” Slater said. “I have some stuff to work on. Everyone has stuff to work on. Next match I have, I hope I can do more.”
Also going 2-0 for the Warriors were Andrew Garcia (106), who had a pin and a 5-0 decision; Marco Dalakishvili (138), who had a forfeit and a pinfall victories; and Jackson Rotterman (175), who had a pair of pins in the first period.
