By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
The defending state champion Mid-Buchanan boys' wrestling team will have a great chance to defend their title this week in Columbia, as the Dragon boys qualified 13 wrestlers for state after sending a school record 12 to the championships last season.
Mid-Buchanan won the Class 1 District 4 title Saturday, which was hosted by the Dragons in Faucett. The Dragons dominated with 286 points, beating second place Lathrop by 159.5 points.
Mid-Buchanan had seven individual district champions to solidify the victory. Lathrop qualified five wrestlers for state, while Maysville qualified four in Class 1.
Class 1 District 4 results
106
Mid-Buchanan's Spencer Cunningham is a district champion as a freshman, boasting a 30-2 record. Lathrop's Gabe Provin finished second also qualified for state. Also qualifying was North Andrew's Mattox Sybert, who finished third.
113
Mid-Buchanan's Dallas Grippando is a district champion and goes onto state. Maysville's Cooper Berry finished second and Lathrop's Gabe DeShon finished third to qualify as well.
120
Mid-Buchanan's Ryder Coons is onto state for a second straight year after finishing second.
126
North Andrew's Dawson Fansher, who medaled 5th at state last year, is heading back this season after winning his second straight district title. Mid-Buchanan's Clancey Woodward is also onto state after finishing third in this bracket. Woodward qualified for state last year at 113 pounds and finished second.
132
Keaton Coots of Lathrop placed second, while Maysville's Draken Bennett placed third to qualify for state.
138
Lathrop's Jaiden DeFries won a district championship, while Plattsburg's Hofmeister placed second and Mid-Buchanan's Clayton Rotterman placed third to make state. Peyson Chandler of West Platte placed fourth to qualify as well.
145
Kaleb Jestes of Maysville is a district champion, while Lathrop's Quentin Umbaugh, Mid-Buchanan's Zander Kountz and Plattsburg's Caden McLallen placed 2nd-4th respectively to qualify for state as well.
152
Mid-Buchanan's Nathan Hyde is a district champion and is onto state for a second straight season. Brendan Barton of Maysville, Drysin Dotson of Lathrop and Wyatt Moran of Plattsburg all placed 2nd-4th to make state as well.
160
Mid-Buchanan's Colton Kirkham is a district champion, while West Platte's Cameron Williams placed second to make state.
170
Zach Kelly of Mid-Buchanan won a district title, while Coy Sobotka of Maysville placed third to make state.
182
Denton Biller of Mid-Buchanan placed second, while West Platte's David Brown placed fourth to qualify for state.
195
Wade Stanton, a three-time district champion and state champion at 182 pounds last year, is onto state yet again after winning his bracket Saturday. His record is 40-2. Lane Scott of West Platte placed second to make state as well.
220
Mid-Buchanan's Owen Stockbauer placed second, while Plattsburg/East Buchanan's Caleb McCartney qualified for state by placing third.
285
Mid-Buchanan's Seth Cruz is a district champion, while Stanberry's Austin Colvin, and Plattsburg/East Buchanan's Trevor Rush placed second and third respectively to make state.
Class 2 District 4 results
Cameron finished second as a team in the tournament held at Excelsior Springs. The Dragons, who wound up with five state medalists last season, qualified eight wrestlers for state this season. Savannah qualified six for the state meet.
106
Dylan Pratt of Cameron placed third while Savannah's Creighton Cook placed fourth to make state.
113
Cameron's Caleb Husch, who placed second at state last year, is a district champion this year and will go back to the state meet. Savannah's Gage Schottel, who medaled 6th at state in 2021, is going back to for a second sraight year after placing second in districts.
120
Cameron's Ryker Smith, who placed second at state last season, is headed back to the state meet after winning a district title Saturday.
126
Cameron's Tanner Riley is a district champion and will take his 46-3 record to the state meet.
132
Savannah's Bryson Damgar, who medaled 4th at state last season, placed fourth at districts Saturday to get back to the state meet.
138
Cameron's Brecken Gates is onto state for a second straight year after placing second in districts.
145
Benton's Bishop Rush is onto state for a second straight year after placing second at districts. Savannah's Chance Phillips is also headed to state after placing third. Cameron's Chase Short is also state bound after a 4th place finish.
160
Lafayette's Jay Greiner (57-1) will shoot for his third consecutive state medal as he finished second districts Saturday, taking his first loss of the season in a 3-2 decision in the title match against Pleasant Hill's Zach Redwine. Greiner has medaled second at state each of the last two seasons.
170
Maryville's Drew Spire is onto state after a fourth place finish in districts. Spire qualified for state last season as well.
182
Savannah's Cooper Burnsides placed third in his bracket to qualify for state as a freshman.
195
Cameron's Paul Viena is onto state with a third place finish at districts.
220
Savannah's Preston Larkin is onto state with a fourth place finish.
285
Maryville's Kort Watkins (3rd) and Cameron's Cole Henderson (4th) each punched their ticket to state.
State wrestling is back in Columbia this year at Mizzou Arena, going on Feb. 17-19. Championship bouts for all classes, boys and girls, are on Feb. 19, starting at 4:30 p.m.
A full list of area girls' state wrestling qualifiers can be found here.
You can follow Tommy on Twitter @TommyKFEQ and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.