COUNCIL BLUFFS — The Perry wrestling team spent Friday and Saturday at the Mid-America Center while competing in the 35-team Council Bluffs Classic, considered one of the premier weekend tournaments in the Midwest.
The two-day event draws teams from Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas and Missouri and featured over 1,400 total matches on 10 mats. More than 70 ranked wrestlers were in action during the tournament.
The Bluejays sent 11 wrestlers to the tourney, leaving the 132, 220 and 285-pound classes open. Some of the expected varsity grapplers were unable to participate because of injury or illness, allowing others to gain valuable experience. Four Jays reached the Gold bracket (top 16), with Eli Saemisch finishing ninth at 170 pounds, Adan Medina 12th at 182, Kaleb Olejniczak 13th at 106 and Troy Jahnke 15th at 152. Jacob Thompson (145 pounds) entered the tourney, but was forced to resign by medical forfeit after being injured during his third match.
Perry’s 93 team points put the Bluejays 31st in the 35-team field, but it was the experience, and not the results, that mattered most to head coach Trevor Kittleson.
“Most of our kids got seven matches in this weekend, and I thought all of our kids gave a great effort this weekend,” he said. “It is hard not to learn things, either good or bad, about yourself when you are continuously put to the test seven times in 28 hours. This tournament is very unique in the fact that the kids get so many matches, and not only that, but the majority of them are against opponents of similar skill level no matter what that level is.”
Saemisch (11-3) finished 5-3 at the tourney to place ninth. Excluding a victory by injury default in his final match, each of his trips onto the mat were decided by fall, with the senior winning in, respectively, 2 minutes and 34 seconds, 3:32, 1:22 and 4:27.
Olejniczak (10-2) was 4-2. He won by fall and then by major decision after drawing a first-round bye. A narrow 2-0 loss and an even tighter 1-1 setback in ultimate tiebreaker followed, but the freshman responded strongly, finishing with an 18-3 technicall fall victory and a 3-2 decision to place 13th.
Jahnke (6-7) was 3-4 with a pair of wins by pinfall in finishing 15th, with Medina (7-7) recording a 3-5 mark with a trio of wins via pin en route to a 12th-place finish.
Other Bluejays in action included Mana Martinez (3-4) at 113 (22nd place), Fernando Catalan (2-5) at 120 (22nd place) and Bryan Catalan (0-7) at 126. Miguel Gonzalez (1-6) competed at 138, Tanner Darr (3-10) was 1-6 in placing 24th at 160 while Juan Campos (2-4) was 22nd at 195 pounds.
Thompson (6-7) opened the tourney with a loss by fall and rebounded with a pinfall victory before suffering an injury and bowing out.
Perry will join Fort Dodge St. Edmond for a triangular at Carroll Thursday, then compete in the always-tough Waukee Duals Saturday. The Bluejay JV will spend Saturday at the North Polk Invitational, with both weekend events capping the pre-holiday portion of the schedule.
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