Michael Smith
The high school wrestling career of Platte County senior Jake Fernandez could not have ended much better than it did.
He won his second state championship at the Missouri State High School Wrestling Championships last month in the Class 3 215-pound weight class following his 1-0 victory over McDonald County senior Sam Murphy in the title bout.
Interviews:
- Interview: Coner Tindle, Blue Springs (285): 2024 Metro Classic
- Interview: Jake Fernandez, Platte County (215): 2024 Metro Classic
- Interview: Brayden Bush, Pleasant Hill (190): 2024 Metro Classic
- Interview: Alex Hutchcraft, Smithville (157): 2024 Metro Classic
- Interview: Lane Snyder, Pleasant Hill (150): 2024 Metro Classic
- Interview: Gavin Linsman, Liberty (144): 2024 Metro Classic
On Tuesday, he had a chance to go out with a bang in the annual Metro Classic at the Mabee Fieldhouse on the campus of Avila University.
Fernandez was one of four competitors on Team Missouri as he and his teammates took on Team Kansas in a dual that featured some of the best wrestlers from both states in the Kansas City metro area.
Missouri had a 29-19 lead going into his match against Olathe East’s Michael Costello. After a tight contest going into the third period, Fernendez got a takedown and a pin at the 5:19 mark as his victory sealed a 37-22 win.
“It’s just been super fun so far,” Fernandez said. “I love representing my state. It was a good experience for me. I thought I wrestled OK. I thought I should have wrestled better at the beginning.
“I don’t think my career could have ended in a better way. I wrestled my butt off for my entire career. I am happy with how it turn out.”
Team Missouri coach Bobbe Lowe of Blue Springs was happy with how the team score turned out as he said his squad pulled off an upset win.
“I think most thought Kansas was going to win. Their team had a few more accomplishments on paper,” Lowe said. “We had a lot of kids stepped up and scored bonus points and they didn’t give up bonus points. Those are the things that win you duals when you have good teams.”
Following Fernandez’s win, Blue Springs senior Coner Tindle got a bit of redemption.
Tindle has been ranked in the top 6 of the Class 4, 285-pound division on MissouriWrestling.com for the majority of the 2023-24 season.
In the Class 4 District 4 boys wrestling tournament in February, he had a loaded bracket that featured five of the six ranked heavyweights in Missouri. Tindle made…
