Platte County faded back to fourth place in the Gardner-Edgerton Invitational on Saturday, Dec. 2, unable to come away with any individual titles.
Cody Phippen (113 pounds), Blake Bills (120 pounds), Austin Kincaid (132 pounds) and Sage Smart (220 pounds) all reached the finals but lost by decision in the final round. The Pirates went into the championship bouts in third place but dropped a spot in the 15-team field featuring squads from six states after going 0-4.
A two-time state champion for Platte County, Phippen had two pins and a forfeit to get into the finals. Kobey Pritchard, a senior from Southeast Polk (Iowa), took the title with a 9-6 decision.
Bills lost 4-2 to Blake Gonzalez of Broken Arrow (Okla.) in the 126 final. He dominated two pool matches with a first period pin and 8-3 decision before winning a 10-2 major decision in the championship bracket semifinal.
A 2016 state medalist, Kincaid had three pins to reach the 132 final opposite of Reece Witcraft of Broken Arrow (Okla.). Witcraft won 12-6. Smart — a 2017 state runnerup — wrestled up a class while cutting weight after football season and lost 4-0 to Broken Arrow’s Zach Marcheselli.
Platte County only had one other wrestler in the championship bracket. Dakota Schmidt, a senior, had two first period pins lasting a combined 33 seconds in 182 pool matches but lost 10-3 to Cade Lautt of St. James Academy (Kan.)’s Cade Lautt in the semifinals.
Schmidt came back to win an 8-6 decision in the third-place match over Eli Jansen of Omaha Skutt (Neb.).
Lone Jack Kickoff Classic
A shorthanded West Platte squad finished sixth out of 13 varsity teams in the final standings Saturday, Dec. 2 in Lone Jack, Mo.
Eric Rodriguez, a junior, went 5-0 and remained undefeated on the season while winning the 120 bracket. He recorded four first period pins in his four pool matches and then won an 8-1 decision over Spencer Gosselin of St. Michael’s in the championship.
Julian Trelow also reached the championship match after going 2-1 in a 152 pool. He then recorded a 22-7 technical fall against Deonta Johnson of Hogan Prep in a semifinal and being pinned in the third period of the championship match.
Gavin Raney (third, 126) won the other medal for West Platte, which brought just six wrestlers.
Lone Jack 24, West Platte 16
The two teams split six head-to-head matches in a dual Thursday, Nov. 30 in Weston, Mo.
West Platte received pins from Trelow (152) and Rodriguez (120) along with a 15-5 major decision for senior Brayan Rodriguez. Lone Jack won the dual with three pins plus a forfeit.
There were seven open weight classes.