Park Hill wrestling coach Bill Erneste has an old nickname for the district wrestling tournament.
“It’s a physical seeding meeting for the state tournament,” Erneste says. The idea is simple: You can’t win anything at the district meet. Yes, it’s nice to stand atop the pedestal and have first-place bragging rights at the end of the day. And for some, a berth in the state tournament can feel like a state title. But the idea for most wrestlers is to advance to the state meet. And if you make it through — and earn a solid seed — the district tourney can feel like a success. On Saturday at the Class 4, District 4 meet at Raymore-Peculiar, Erneste could call his team’s performance a success. The Trojans had seven individual champions while rolling to the team title. In all, Park Hill had 11 wrestlers finish in the top four in their weight classes and qualify for the Missouri Class 4 state tournament. “Every coach wants 14 (to qualify),” Erneste said. “Eleven is an acceptable number. … We believe we’re getting better. We believe we have a chance. We know that Blue Springs is the front-runner. We’re just trying to do everything in our power to win a state title.” Fortunately for Park Hill, Blue Springs was at the District 3 meet in Jefferson City, and the title parade commenced when freshman Ke-Shawn Hayes, 44-3, won at 106 pounds. “I was a little bit nervous at first,” Hayes said. “And then I started wrestling, and the nerves calmed down a little bit.” Park Hill’s run continued. Sophomore John Erneste picked up the title at 113. Freshman Hunter Roberts won at 120. Freshman standout Colston DiBlasi finished first at 126. Junior Russell Coleman place first at 132. Senior Derrick Rens was a surprise winner at 138 after a thrilling overtime win over Lee’s Summit North’s Chad Homan. Finally, Bill Erneste praised senior Connor Shene for his work in winning the title at 145.“Connor Shene stepped up, and Derrick Rens knocked off a kid who was seeded ahead of him,” Bill Erneste said. “Great senior leadership there.” Meanwhile, Park Hill South junior Chase Gray (182) and senior Nick Gillespie (195) took home first-place finishes, lifting the Panthers to second-place in the team category. And Lee’s Summit West seniors Matthew Lemanowicz (152), Andrew Bestgen (170) and Evan Boehm (285) helped the Titans finish third with individual titles. Boehm, a defending Class 4 state champ, pinned Rockhurst’s Ben Boyd in the finals, while Lemanowicz stayed perfect at 47-0. “I worked hard all offseason,” said Lemanowicz, who finished third at 140 last year. “I knew I put in the time. And I’ve been doing all the right things.”In the remaining weight classes, Winnetonka junior Casey Bryan took the title at 160, and William Chrisman senior Danny Klick, 45-3, escaped with the title at 220. It was a moment to savor for Klick, who began wrestling only last year in an effort to supplement his mixed-martial arts pursuits. “I figured it would help me with that,” Klick said. “And then wrestling kind of took off.”Now the focus turns to the state tournament, where Klick will face opponents with five or 10 more years of wrestling experience. Still, the goal — for all of Saturday’s qualifiers — remains the same. “I think I can compete with all of them,” Klick said. “So, I think I got a pretty good shot of at least placing.”Read more High School
Posted on Sat, Feb. 11, 2012 10:09 PM
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Park Hill wins district wrestling title, qualifies 11 for state
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To reach Rustin Dodd, call 816-234-4937 or send email to rdodd@kcstar.com. Follow him at twitter.com/rustindodd.
