The Park Hill boys and girls wrestling teams celebrated their 12 seniors on Jan. 14 before a dual against Park Hill South.
The dimmed lights signaled the big occasion in Park Hill’s new gym, setting the stage for the two rivals to split dual results. Park Hill South took the girls matchup 48-30 before the Park Hill boys ruthlessly defeated the Panthers 62-18.
On the boys side, the senior trio of Mason Brayfield, Noah Johnson and Sammy Mormino secured senior night victories to guide the Trojans past their district rival.
Brayfield’s win at 120 pounds came against Gianni Macias in the third match of the night, getting a technical fall to give Park Hill a lead they would never let up. Prior to the 120-pound match, Park Hill South had taken an early lead when 106-pounder Anthony Paul pinned Jesse Kao before Caden Brayfield evened the score by pinning Noah Bernard in 59 seconds.
Caden and Mason Brayfield’s victories kickstarted a four-match winning streak for Park Hill, which included underclassmen Dax Folsom and Kennan Beatty putting the hosts up multiple scores. South got back into the dual with a pair of lengthy wins via pin from Wyatt Toigo at 138 pounds and Tommy Wolfgeher at 144 pounds to get back within striking distance.
From then on, it was all Park Hill as they won the final seven matches. Sam Miller got the Trojans back on track with a major decision at 150 pounds, followed by a Grant Armentrout pin inside four minutes at 157 pounds against Vincent Farrell.
Noah Johnson was among the Park Hill seniors who earned Senior Night wins.
Park Hill finished things off in style, using the one-two punch of Johnson and Mormino to put on the finishing touches as Johnson pinned Logan Jackson in 41 seconds at 165 pounds before Mormino took just 32 seconds to pin Reid Brown at 175 pounds. Park Hill South did not compete in the final three matches, giving William Newman (190 matches), Louis Van Batavia (215 pounds) and Jacobi Guinn (285 pounds) victories via forfeit.
The girls began the evening with Park Hill South never trailing in their triumph over Park Hill, beginning when Alexandria Pike took an uncontested victory to start things off at 100 pounds. Park Hill quickly answered when Alice Keefe used 33 seconds before pinning Anya Desai at 105 pounds.
Park Hill South showed lowerweight dominance with four consecutive wins from Annaelise Monaco via fall at 110, Kensley Bolek via forfeit at 115, Abigail Monaco via fall at 120 and Dillan Piersel via fall at 125. Park Hill came battling back to tie the dual up at 30-30 with four straight wins of their own via fall from Reilly Kastner at 130, Yara Omar at 135, Evelyn Hall at 140 and Ashli Gamez getting her senior night victory at 145.
The Panthers ended the Trojans’ run when Julia Smith earned a first-round pin against Marlie McNerney at 155 pounds to give the visitors the advantage. South’s victory concluded with uncontested wins for Chikako Kotani at 175 pounds and Hailey Clingan at 235 pounds.
Local wrestlers medal at conference tournament
Four high school wrestlers from the Park Hill School District have been tabbed among the best in the area after earning medals at the Greater Kansas City Suburban Conference Tournament held Jan. 16-17 in Belton.
The girls junior duo of Alice Keefe and Reilly Kastner earned third-place finishes for Park Hill. Evelyn Rosas settled for a fourth-place medal for Park Hill South, which added a third-place medal on the boys’ side with senior Tommy Wolfgeher.
Keefe wrestled four matches at 105 pounds throughout the tournament, opening with a bye before winning her quarterfinal via technical fall in 2 minutes, 16 seconds, but falling to Belton’s Jackie Penaloza in the semifinal. Keefe found more success throughout the consolation side of the bracket with a pair of first-round pins to earn her third-place medal and contribute 17.5 points for Park Hill.
Kastner won a 130-pound conference medal for the second straight year, posting a 4-1 record to contribute a team-high 20 points en route to a third-place finish in Belton. She opened the tournament in style with a pair of pins inside the first minute before losing a 4-1 decision in her semifinal, but Kastner bounced back to earn two more first-round falls in the consolations.
Park Hill South’s Rosas finished fourth at 135 pounds, contributing 17 points for the Panthers. The junior opened the tournament with a revenge result by pinning Park Hill’s Yara Omar, who had beaten Rosas in a dual earlier in the week. A quarterfinal defeat sent Rosas to the consolation side, where she bounced back with three consecutive wins via fall before dropping her third-place match.
Wolfgeher contributed 14.5 points at 144 pounds to lead the Panthers’ boys side, beginning with a win via 7-3 decision in his quarterfinal matchup. After losing a 6-3 decision in the semifinal, Wolfgeher bounced back well, winning his consolation semifinal via technical fall and getting a major decision to claim a third-place medal.
The South boys scored additional points from Gianni Macias (120 pounds), Walker Toigo (126 pounds), Wyatt Toigo (138 pounds) and Vincent Farrell (157 pounds). Wyatt Toigo led the pack with a 3-2 record, with Macias, Walker Toigo and Farrell each adding a single win in their opening matches.
The South girls also scored points from junior Julia Smith (155 pounds) and freshman Grace Agron (125 pounds), who both added 7 points by posting records of 2-2 at the tournament. Sophomore Dillan Piersel also contributed 4 points with her pin late in her win in consolation round two.
Park Hill freshman Evelyn Hall (140 pounds) provided 4 points for the Trojans in her consolation round three victory via fall over Winnetonka’s Alana Severado. The tournament provided the programs with a look against a variety of local competition, setting up for a final stretch of the regular season before the district tournament, which is slated for Feb. 13-14 for the girls and Feb. 20-21 for the boys.