AMES — The likelihood of facing a ranked opponent at the Jack Mendenhall Invitational is usually high, and such was exactly the case for those competing in the 18-team event Saturday.
Class 2A Perry finished 14th in the 18-team field with 57 points, with West Des Moines Valley (231), Cedar Rapids Prairie (146) and Indianola (142) — all Class 3A squads — securing the top three team spots.
Fifth-ranked Kaleb Olejniczak (113 pounds) and sixth-rated Zach Thompson (120) each finished as a runner-up for the Bluejays, with Zach Stewart (132) earning fourth place. Olejniczak and Thompson each faced two ranked opponents and Stewart three as they battled their way through their weight class brackets.
Olejniczak (23-4) opened with a pin of Boone’s Joey Pena in 1 minute, 26 seconds and with a 15-2 major decision over Omaha Skutt Catholic’s Joseph Orsi. He advanced to the finals with a 9-5 win over OA-BCIG’s Kurtis Krager, who is ranked fourth in Class 1A. Third-ranked Kobey Pritchard of Indianola denied Olejniczak the title by scraping by on a 7-5 decision.
Thompson (23-4) recorded a 14-1 major decision over Nicholas Stoltenberg (OSC) before winning a 3-2 decision over sixth-ranked Noah Hughes-Reily (VAL) in the semifinals. Fifth-ranked Shea Ruffridge of Pocahontas Area edged Thompson, 2-1, in the finals.
Stewart (24-5) pinned Ezra Dirkx of Carroll in 2:53 before fighting hard and losing a 3-0 decision to top-ranked Jake Watters of Dowling Catholic. Stewart tallied decisions of 4-2 against Stone Mendez (OSC) and scored a clutch 9-7 win over 3A No. 5 Trenten Wennermark (CRP) to reach the third-place match, where he dropped a 6-2 decision to 3A fourth-ranked Lance Runyon (IND).
While not placing, Justin Stammer (9-13 at 138) finished 2-2 with a decision and a major decision while Miguel Gonzalez (1-4 at 145) won his first varsity match with a 3-2 decision over Luke Ferguson of Nevada to offset a pair of losses.
Erick Funez (142), Adan Medina (170), Juan Campos (195) and Tyler Soll (285) were all 0-2 for the Bluejays, who left the 106, 126, 160, 182 and 220 weight divisions uncontested.
Perry will host Creston/Orient-Macksburg and Winterset Thursday before entertaining a large field Saturday at the annual Perry Invitational.
