By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
COLUMBIA - Jade Brundige had battled Mid-Buchanan's Delanie Smith twice in the 2024 season, including in the district title match two weeks prior.
Both of those matches ended in Smith victories. It appeared, for a little while, that Thursday's 115-pound state title between the two at Mizzou Arena in Columbia was headed that way again.
Brundige, a state champion last year at 100 pounds, overcame an early 4-1 deficit, tied the match at 4-4 with an escape and takedown in the second period and was rewarded a near fall at the end to beat Smith 6-4.
"Throughout the season, (Smith) was the one who always won," Brundige said. "But, I told myself, 'Those are matches that are in the past. Right now, focus on what you can do.'"
Smith (42-2) nearly had a reversal to tie the match and send it to sudden death, but time had just run out.
Brundige, a sophomore and the first female state wrestling champion in her school's history, has now gone to the top of the podium in each of her first two trips to state.
"I just had to keep reminding myself that I want this," she said. "You've put the work in. There's a lot of preparation that goes into something like this. So, just keep telling yourself 'you got this' and just go after it and get it."
On the boys' side, the Lafayette Fighting Irish can now say that they've had a state wrestling champion in each of the last three years.
After Jay Greiner had won at 160 and 165 pounds in the last two years respectively, senior Jackson Perkins added to the Irish legacy.
The senior and 190-pounder defeated No. 1 ranked Jace Renfro of Seneca, 7-4, in the title match Thursday evening, becoming the fourth state champion in Lafayette boys' history.
Perkins, a Benedictine (KS) wrestling commit, caps off an outstanding senior campaign with a 52-1 record. He improves off a third place finish at state last year in the 175-pound class.
"I just feel so happy," he said. "No other way to describe it. I went down to my knees in happiness. Went up to my parents and hugged them. No better feeling."
Perkins, the No. 2 ranked wrestler in the state in his class, took early control with two takedowns in the first period. One more takedown with 13 seconds left sealed the deal.
"I did everything my coaches said," Perkins noted. "We watched so much film on (Renfro) and...I knew everything he was doing. I was able to shut him down and work my stuff."
While coaches Jason Greiner and Josh Walters got him over the finish line, Perkins credited his first ever coach. His father, Jack - a Central High School Hall of Famer, who placed sixth at state twice and was a freestyle state champion in wrestling himself.
"Since fifth grade, he was my coach," Jackson said. "He was my high school coach until we moved. Now, I have two more wonderful coaches who have added on and improved what was already there."
Other area results
Class 1 girls
190 pounds - Plattsburg’s Kenlee Fish comes home 3rd with a pin in her final match. She ends the season at 37-7.
235 pounds - Gallatin’s Miah Parker finishes 5th as a freshman, ending her season at 24-7.
Class 1 boys
106 pounds - Gallatin's Eli Sperry comes home a state runner-up, nearly completing a comeback, but falling 6-5 in his title match. He ends the season at 37-2. Sperry is a two-time state medalist, placing 4th last year.
144 pounds - Maysville’s Draken Bennett finishes 4th. Bennett ends his senior year at 42-8. He’s a two-time state medalist, placing 5th last year at 138.
150 pounds - Maysville’s Carter Harms finishes 6th. He ends his freshman season at 34-18.
165 pounds - Maysville's Brendan Barton comes home as a state runner-up, ending his senior year at 28-8. Barton is a three-time state qualifier and now two-time medalist, improving off of a sixth place finish last year.
215 pounds - Maysville's Max Heintz was pinned in the first period of his title match, coming home with a silver medal. Heintz was a state runner-up last year as well. He ends his senior season with a 40-9 record.
Class 2 boys
106 pounds - Savannah's Lawson Francis finishes 3rd as a freshman. His record is 50-7. He lost in semifinals, but won his medal match with a pin in the first 59 seconds.
"Biggest thing was pry just having my mind right," Francis said on recovering from a loss Thursday morning. "I feel like if my mind wasn't right, I don't think I'd have been able to make it to the third place match."
126 pounds - Mid Buchanan's Spencer Cunningham is a three-time state medalist. He comes home third in 2024 as a junior, ending his season at 33-6.
Cunningham went 3-0 in wrestlebacks after falling in quarterfinals.
126 pounds - Savannah's Creighton Cook comes home sixth. He's 41-17. Cook is now a two-time state medalist. He placed sixth last season at 120 pounds.
144 pounds - Benton's Ethan Nash finishes fourth. He ends his senior year at 36-7.
150 pounds - Plattsburg's Caden McLallen comes home sixth. A two-time state qualifier, McLallen ends his junior year at 21-11.
157 pounds - Lafayette's Elias Chapin comes home third. The junior is 46-12. He lost his first round match on Wednesday and went 4-0 in wrestlebacks.
"I've never even made it to the bubble match in districts," Chapin reflected. "To have that much growth and the coaches are just really good. I can say everything, but...I'm happy. I'm excited for next year."
175 pounds - Mid-Buchanan's Colton Kirkham is now a two-time state medalist, as he finished third. He ends his senior year at 40-4.
215 pounds - Savannah's Cooper Burnsides defeated Mid-Buchanan's Owen Stockbauer for third place in a 1-0 decision.
Burnsides is now a three-time state medalist. Stockbauer has medaled fourth each of the last two years. He ends his senior campaign with a 32-8 record.
"I'm still happy with what I did," Burnsides said, after finishing as a state runner-up last season as well. "Finishing top three is really good. And I'm glad I got the chance to go here."
285 pounds - Plattsburg's Dakota Rankin finished fifth. A two-time state medalist, Rankin ends his senior year at 30-10.
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