Sixteen teams joined the host Bluejays for the annual Perry Invitational Saturday, and while only six of the 14 grapplers in action for the hosts reached the podium, and while the hosts placed just 12th in the team standings, head coach Mark Weber said he was quite pleased with the effort of his squad.
“As a coach, and as a coaching staff, we want to see guys wrestling hard and see guys who are continuing to get better,” he said. “I saw both of those things today. There were some great efforts today, and not just from the top guys, which is what you would expect.”
Those “top guys” include fifth-ranked Kaleb Olejniczak (113) pounds, sixth-rated Zachary Thompson (120) and up-and-coming Zach Stewart (132), who finished first, second and third, respectively, in their various weight classes.
“Kaleb came back from a closer call than expected in the semifinals to completely dominate the finals, and that was great to see,” Weber said. “There are still a few little things to tweak, but he is looking very good and is wrestling with confidence.”
Olejniczak (29-4) won by fall and then by decision to reach the semifinals, where he had to battle hard to earn a pin over West Marshall’s Hunter Pfantz (19-6) in 5 minutes, 7 seconds. He went on to completely control Class 1A No. 10 Remington Meeker of Logan-Magnolia, 6-1, to stand atop the podium.
Sixth-ranked Thompson (30-5) recorded a pair of falls before scoring an 11-0 major decision over Eagle Grove’s Derek Graham (25-9) in the semis.
That set up a showdown with Webster City’s second-ranked Drake Doolittle (25-2) in a rematch of the 2016 title bout, won by Thompson when Doolittle was called for an iillegal move. This time the match was even after two periods at 2-all, but Doolittle managed to score twice late and claim a 7-3 victory.
“It was a great match for two periods, and we took the down position and thought we could get a point for an escape but we were unable to get out (escape) for a point,” Weber said. “I was pleased with (Thompson’s) ankle-pick and how he drove through on that for a take down. Zachary will learn from this and use it, I am sure.”
Stewart (29-6) was third at 132 in an emotional day for the junior. He dropped a 4-2 decision to Matthew Jordan of Des Moines East, the fifth-ranked grappler in 3A at their weight. Jordan had defeated Stewart at Waukee in December and dropped the Perry matman into the consolation round with his win.
Decisions of 5-1 over Brady Bruce (15-9) of St. Ansgar and of 9-6 over a George Appleseth (28-4) of Panorama put Stewart into the third-place match against Jordan. This time Bluejay earned revenge, grabbing a 4-3 lead and then risking a move late that resulted in three additional points and an emotional win.
“That was a real hard-fought match,” Weber said. “Zach took a gamble and it paid off. It was a great win for him over a good kid.”
Weber stressed that his focus at this point of the season is building confidence, and, he said, the best way to do that is to work hard, then go out and beat good wrestlers.
“Zach (Stewart) ought to have his confidence go up after today, and I know Kaleb and Zachary are confident in themselves,” Weber said. “We had other guys get really big wins for themselves today, too.”
One of those wins came at 138 pounds, where freshman Ever Tobar (3-2) opened with a loss, received a pair of byes, then cashed in with two wins by fall to place seventh.
Tyler Soll (18-14) recovered from an opening round loss to score three pinfall wins and place seventh at 285, which, Weber said, “showed he (Tyler) was going out there and battling hard.”
Adan Medina (10-9) finished eighth at 170 pounds and drew praise from Weber for “a great attitude and some real guts.”
Soll, Medina and 195-pounder Juan Campos — who did not place — all drew praise from Weber for their leadership example.
“Juan works hard, is accountable, respectful and very coachable and just has a great attitude,” the coach said. “Adan and Tyler are that way, too. They never complain and go about things the right way, and I can tell you the coaches really appreciate that.”
Others in action for the Bluejays were Jacob Nelson (126 pounds), Miguel Gonzalez (145), Erick Funez (152), Cole Snyder (160) and Cesar Ramirez (182). Tucker Strough (106) also competed, and while not placing did add four team points by scoring a win by fall in the second-round of the consolation bracket.
Sergeant Bluff-Luton won the team title with 182 points, with Dowling Catholic second at 160 and Webster City third at 146.5 Panorama (128) was fourth, with Des Moines East (122.5), Eagle Grove (121), Woodward-Granger (108), Saydel (102), Logan-Magnolia (100), Van Meter (99.5), Carlisle (99), Perry (86), St. Ansgar (83), South Hamilton (58), Carroll (52), Des Moines North/Hoover (45.5) and West Marshall (40.5) completing the field.
Perry will resume action Thursday when they join Des Moines Lincoln for a triangular at Carlisle. The Bluejays will then compete in the Williamsburg Invitational Saturday.
