Park Hill added another strong chapter to its wrestling tradition at the MSHSAA State Wrestling Championships by earning three state medals, including a second straight runner-up finish for senior Mason Brayfield at Mizzou Arena on Feb. 28.
Mason Brayfield became a back-to-back runner-up wrestler in Class 4 at 120 pounds.
Brayfield capped his high school career with his third consecutive top-five state medal and second straight Class 4 runner-up finish at 120 pounds.
He opened with a dominant 16-0 technical fall over Battle’s Finn Wilson, then edged Christian Brothers College’s Kosta Hatzigeorgiou 7-6 in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, Brayfield handily dealt with Liberty’s John Cox in a 12-1 major decision to reach the championship match for the second year in a row.
In the title bout, Brayfield battled St. Pius X’s Cruz Enderle in a tightly contested match. After a scoreless first period, Enderle scored an escape and a takedown to take a 4-0 lead before conceding a pair of stalling penalties in the third period.
Brayfield settled for a runner-up finish for the second straight season to conclude his Trojan career, also adding 20.5 team points. The finish marked his third straight podium appearance as a senior.
Park Hill also saw success from junior Caden Brayfield at 113 pounds. He placed fifth to score 12 team points. After opening with an 11-0 major decision over Ozark’s Taiga Kwon, he dropped a quarterfinal match before rallying through the consolation bracket.
Junior Caden Brayfield earned a fifth-place medal at 113 pounds in Class 4.
Caden Brayfield earned victories over Northwest’s Eli Porter and St. Pius X’s Dalton McDaniel to reach the consolation semifinals. He ultimately secured a top-five state medal with a 9-1 major decision over Kwon in their rematch.
On the girls side, senior Reilly Kastner became a back-to-back state medalist with a third-place finish at 130 pounds in Class 2. She was the Trojans’ lone representative from the girls team.
Reilly Kastner concluded her Trojan career with a second state medal by taking third in Class 2 at 130 pounds.
Kastner began her tournament with a 17-7 major decision over Lindbergh’s Quinn Hope. After a major decision quarterfinal defeat, she pieced together an impressive four-match run in the consolation bracket on Day 2.
Kastner recorded a second-period pin over Francis Howell North’s Jillian Hoelting, a 15-6 major decision against Waynesville’s Destany Oster and a 9-2 decision over Francis Howell Central’s Kaitlyn Sparkman to reach the third-place match. She finished her career emphatically in a rematch with Hope, pinning her in 1:32 to claim third place and 20 tally points.
Senior 165-pounder Noah Johnson contributed seven team points on the boys side after winning the district title the previous week pounds, opening with a pin before earning another pin in the consolation bracket. Sophomore Louis Van Batavia added four team points at 215 pounds with an opening-round pin before losing out in a 25-13 major decision in the quarterfinals and a 4-3 decision in his consolation opportunity.
By the tournament’s end, Park Hill walked away with three medalists — a runner-up, a third-place finisher and a fifth-place finish — to keep the Trojans a consist force throughout the state.