BONDURANT — The first action of 2018 turned out to be a real test for the Perry matmen, as Van Meter/Earlham scored a 57-23 win over the Bluejays before Perry fell to host Bondurant-Farrar by a 43-32 final.
“Tonight was a hard-fought night,” Perry head coach Mark Weber said. “Came away 0-2 as a team, which is a rough way to come back after the break, but I think it is eye-opening to the work we have ahead of us. Many guys fought hard, but realized that the journey is just beginning and they need to use every single opportunity that they get to improve.”
“Unfortunately there were a lot of junior varsity wrestlers who did not get matches due to the small opponent lineups,” he added. “The JV will be going to Des Moines North this weekend, so everyone will get matches, which is exciting for them. We will be taking the majority of our varsity wrestlers to Ames to battle it out in a tough tournament.”
Kaleb Olejniczak (126 pounds), Jacob Nelson (132) and Zach Stewart (138) each won by pin against VM/E, with Perry’s remaining points coming when Zachary Thompson (120) won by technical fall.
Thompson, Olejniczak, Jered Narber (152) and Cole Snyder (170) each won by fall against B-F, with Stewart winning by tech fall while Wilbur Ramirez (145) won a 12-8 decision.
Thompson now has 148 career victories as he nears the impressive 150-victory plateau. Kane Seeley holds the Perry all-time win record with 156 triumphs.
While justifiably high on the accomplishments of senior standouts Thompson and Stewart and junior star Olejniczak, Weber has remained focused on seeing the entire squad continue to show improvement.
“The great thing about the sport of wrestling is that it will never lie … if you need to be humbled, it will humble you,” he said. “If you are getting lazy, someone will catch you sleeping, but if you are constantly focused and fighting in every situation, you will get your hand raised often.”
“Wrestling is a great teacher for life, and that is what I want every single guy on this team to learn,” Weber said. “We will continue to fight and get better every chance we can get.”
