Amid a field of 11 local wrestlers who punched their ticket to the state tournament, Park Hill’s Noah Johnson and Platte County’s Jaxson Shute shined the brightest as champions of the District 4 Class 4 Championships held at Park Hill High School Feb. 20-21.
Johnson’s first-ever district title came on his home mat as the No. 2 seed at 165 pounds. He opened the tournament with two quick victories, pinning his first opponent in 66 seconds and taking just 51 seconds to win his quarterfinal match.
“It feels good to finally win districts,” Johnson said. “It means I’m going to get a better spot at state; probably a better opportunity to place now because I’ll have an easier way to get to the finals.”
Park Hill senior 165-pounder Noah Johnson won his first district title on Feb. 21 after posting a 4-0 record to begin his postseason journey.
With a spot in the district finals — a height he had never reached previously — Johnson battled his way to overcome No. 3-seeded Justice Williams of Liberty. After trailing 7-4 in the third period of his seminal match, Johnson managed to tie it up with a takedown before quickly working a nearfall as he closed out a 9-7 decision.
In the championship match against No. 4-seeded Sjoeren Aumua of Grain Valley, Johnson fell behind after an early takedown before eventually breaking his way free to earn an escape. Johnson battled from the ground throughout the second period but remained within two points going to the final round.
“I’ve got to put it on the line,” Johnson said of his approach to the final round. “I’m down, I’ve got to go for something, and I did and it worked out.”
The match-altering moment came when Aumua came out overaggressively to start the third period, in which Johnson flipped Aumua to the ground for a takedown to take a 4-3 lead. As the clock ticked under 35 seconds remaining, Johnson picked up a nearfall before a stalling penalty.
As Johnson went for the killshot, it nearly presented an opportunity for Aumua to get back into the match, but Johnson managed another escape and eventually took the district championship match with a 9-6 decision.
“Our team didn’t do as good as we thought today, so I was like, ‘I’m going to do it for the boys,’ and I’m going to win it for them,” Johnson said. After doing exactly that, Johnson moves on to the Class 4 State Tournament as the No. 13 seed and is trying not to get psyched out ahead of his tournament opener against No. 14-seeded Ben Wirth of Lee’s Summit North.
Shute led the way for a Platte County team that impressed in its debut at the Class 4 level, finishing fourth of 16 teams. The junior became a three-time district champion after earning his first Class 4 district title at 138 pounds — jumping up four weight classes from his freshman year and three weight classes from last year.
Platte County’s Jaxson Shute became a three-time district champion, winning his first since moving up to Class 4.
After receiving a bye in the opening round, Shute needed just 57 seconds to pin Zane Phelps of Oak Park. Returning to the mat the next day, Shute used up 75 seconds before pinning Park Hill South’s Wyatt Toigo.
Shute’s championship match required a grueling effort against top-seeded Antonio Martinez of Fort Osage. After a stalemate to start the match, Shute earned a point as the second period expired.
With plenty of work left to do, Martinez took Shute to the ground, but calls for a takedown were not answered as Shute managed his way out of it. Shute continued to battle his way around Martinez’s aggressive approach to close out the 1-0 decision.
“It feels a little better than last year because I’m up three weight classes and wrestling bigger and better guys,” Shute said. “I feel like the biggest difference is the handfighting. You’ve just got to stay in the match and wrestle through every position.”
Shute has been battling with a torn labrum, causing him to miss a chunk of the season between December and January. While battling through it for now, he expects to have surgery once he gets back from state.
“It’s been very long,” Shute said. “Just from doing all the rehab and physical therapy and getting back into shape. I feel like it’s been a good season.”
Platte County got five more wrestlers qualified out of the district tournament, including 215-pound district finalist Cole Johnson. The senior opened his tournament with a quarterfinal pin in the second period before taking a 4-3 decision against Park Hill’s Louis Van Batavia, but ultimately fell to North Kansas City’s Kobe Rhymes in the championship match in a 10-4 decision.
Platte County’s Cooper Hammontree punched his ticket to state with a sudden-death victory before finishing third at 190 pounds.
The Pirates also qualified Chase Hulett and Cooper Hammontree as third-place finishers, as Hammontree punched his ticket to state with an emotional sudden-death victory against Liberty North’s Spencer Deuschle. Hammontree won his 190-pound third-place match via pin late in the match after Hulett won his 144-pound third-place finish via sudden victory.
Platte County’s state roster was rounded out by Grant Fadler (150 pounds), who had to win four straight to extend his career after losing his district opener, and Jack Johnson (165 pounds), who responded to his semifinal defeat by taking a major decision to extend his season an extra week. Cade Crawford (113 pounds) also came within a win of punching his ticket to state, but fell to Park Hill’s Caden Brayfield in the consolation semifinals.
Park Hill South’s lone representative at state will be 138-pound senior Wyatt Toigo, who finished fourth in the district. After succumbing to a semifinal pin against Shute, Toigo bounced back with a 14-8 decision against Aiden Bowman of Blue Springs before a medical injury forced him to forfeit a shot for third place.
While an underwhelming showing at this year’s district tournament, Park Hill will still send four total boys to the state tournament, including 120-pound district runner-up Mason Brayfield. The senior dominated his way to the championship match before losing a 3-0 decision to Cruz Enderle of St. Pius X.
The Trojans also qualified Caden Brayfield (113 pounds) as a third-place medalist, battling back from a semifinal defeat to win a major decision and technical fall. Louis Van Batavia is Park Hill’s final state qualifier as a third-place finisher, also bouncing back from a semifinal defeat to win back-to-back 7-1 decisions.
The 11 local wrestlers will make the trip to Columbia this weekend, where they will wrestle in the 96th MSHSAA Boys Wrestling Championships at Mizzou Arena Feb. 27-28.