District champion Giada Cucchiara led Platte County as three girls advanced past the Class 2 District 4 Wrestling Tournament last weekend.
In the familiar confines of Platte County High School, the Pirate trio of Cucchiara, Charley Sims and Ava Blankenship all booked their tickets on Feb. 15 after two tough days of wrestling.
The trio have extended their seasons and will compete at the state tournament from Feb. 27-March 1 at Mizzou Arena in Columbia. The Pirates placed second overall in the district with 146.5 points as a team, falling just shy of Fort Osage’s 154.5 score.
Cucchiara was crowned the district champion of the 135 weight class, earning 24 team points for the Pirates. After missing last year, the junior is returning to the state tournament for the first time since her freshman season.
It took Cucchiara just 47 seconds to win her quarterfinal via pin against Liberty North’s Iyana Reyes on Day 1. To begin Day 2, Cucchiara edged out Ashley Slade of Central (St Joseph) with a 2-1 decision in the semifinal. The junior earned a glorious podium finish after defeating Heaven Jobe of Liberty via pin at 1:49 in the first-place match.
Sims booked her first ticket to Columbia after falling just short last year, losing in the 2024 district semifinal and consolation at 115 pounds. She wrote a different story this year with 23 points and a second-place finish as a junior.
On Day 1, Sims pinned Dillan Piersel of Park Hill South 49 seconds in to set up a quarterfinal pin of Oak Park’s Drew Goode at 3:32. She defeated Elena Moore of North Kansas City in the semifinal with a 13-2 major decision on Day 2, but fell in the first-place match to William Chrisman’s Maya Saldivar via major decision 17-3.
Blankenship will be wrestling at state as a freshman after a breakout campaign. She also delivered 22 team points for the Pirates as she finished second in districts, wrestling at 140 pounds.
On Day 1, Blankenship worked rapidly in the quarterfinal as she pinned Tiana Thorn of Liberty North in 19 seconds. On Day 2, she qualified for the finals after a forfeit win in the semifinals but was defeated by Fort Osage’s Madison Lightner in the first-place match.