Perry welcomed Ballard, Greene County and Humboldt on a frigid Thursday evening for a wrestling quadrangular that was much more than a competition on a mat.
The Bluejays had chosen to devote the evening to raising awareness of, and funds for, Make-A-Wish Iowa. The team sold “weight class sponsorships” for each of the 14 individual divisions, with t-shirts sold, a bucket collection taken and donations accepted.
A total of $3,515 dollars had been raised prior to the collection of the bucket brigade, in which the Perry cheerleaders went among the crowd asking for donations.
Other events included honoring senior wrestlers Kaleb Olejniczak (138 pounds), Justin Stammer (152), Jered Narber (170), Chien Doan (170) and Luke Holtorf (285), with managers Kasandra Medina and Kitzya Soto and cheerleaders Jocelyn Fuentes, Katerina Munoz and Jamileth Sarceno also saluted. Recognition was also given to the Junior Jays wrestling squad, with the Perry Pulse Dancers performing after the first round of action.
Perry opened action by suffering a 55-19 loss to Humboldt, with Ballard posting a 45-26 win over Perry before the hosts upended Greene County, 46-26. Humboldt topped Ballard, 57-21, and Greene County, 56-21, with Ballard a 61-12 winner over Greene County in the other duals.
Olejniczak was the lone Bluejay to win all three of his matches. He recorded pins in 45 seconds and in 3 minutes, 9 seconds while scoring an 18-3 technical fall in 3:01. Ranked second at 138, Olejniczak is now 37-1 this season and is now 170-20 overall, just four wins shy of tying 2018 graduate Zach Thompson for most career victories at Perry.
Stammer (152) was 2-1 with a decision and a major decision, with Holtorf 2-1 with pins in 14 seconds and 35 seconds. Each lost to a ranked foe, with Stammer topped by No. 2 145 pounder Joey Busse of Humboldt, who stepped up a weight class, and Holtorf by third-ranked heavyweight Justin Jones of Humboldt.
Perry 106-pounder Cole Nelson was 2-1 with a forfeit and a 43-second pin. His loss came to Cole Nelson of Humboldt, with a 7-1 decision by the Wildcat junior knocking off the Bluejay Cole Nelson, a freshman.
Riece Graham won a decision and scored a pin in 1:22 to finish 2-1 at 113, with Jacob Nelson 2-1 at 132 with a major decision and a decision while Bryan Funez ralled for a 3-1 win in sudden victory I while also recording a pin in 2:12 to finish 2-1 at 145 pounds.
A thrilling moment came in the opening dual at 220 pounds when Perry freshman Sebastian Hernandez avoided being pinned and instead turned the tables to record a pin in 1:55 for his first varsity win. He finished 1-2 for the evening, as did Cole Snyder, who had a pin at 1:45, with Alex Fickbohm 1-2 with a win by forfeit at 126.
Tanner Burgin (120), Erick Funez (160) and Narber (170) were all in action three times, but no member of the trio was able to record a win.
Perry did not contest any of their three duals at 195 pounds.
The Bluejays were able to have 11 junior varsity matches during the quadrangular. Jeb Stewart earned a tech fall at 132 and tallied a pin at 138, with Wilber Ramirez posting a pin at 152 while Ever Tobar (145) and Amos Barrios-Munoz (160) each won by decision. Also in action for the JV Jays were Bryan Rivas, who was 1-1 with a decision at 120, while Doan (170), Jason Zepeda (170), Jose Flores (160), Carlos Gonzalez (220) and Rylee Ray (195) were stopped from claiming wins.
Perry will return to action Saturday at the Raccoon River Conference tournament, with Bondurant-Farrar hosting.
