Senior Tanner Vermaas won the 182-pound weight class and freshman Cody Fisher placed second at 195 to pace the Woodward-Granger wrestlers at Saturday’s Perry Invitational.
Sergeant Bluff-Luton scored 182 points to top the 17-team field, with Dowling Catholic (160), Webster City (146.5), Panorama (128) and Des Moines East (122.5) completing the top five. Eagle Grove (121) was sixth, with W-G (108) finishing seventh.
Eight Hawks finished on the podium, with Vermaas improving to 30-1 overall and Fisher to 30-5 after their matches on the Perry mats.
“Tanner and Cody are both starting to put the hammer down at the right time of the season,” W-G head coach Dave Smeltzer said. “Tanner has been to the big house and knows what it takes. I told the two of them to push each other at practice to get better both physically and mentally and it is working.”
Vermaas, ranked fourth in Class 2A, opened with a bye before pinning Reide Meeker of Logan-Magnolia in 60 seconds. An 8-3 decision over Elijah Dirkx of Carroll sent the Hawk standout to the finals, where he wasted little time in pinning Kyle Benson (29-5) of Sergeant Bluff-Luton, claiming the title in just 29 seconds. The win was the 140th of his career.
Fisher also received a first-round bye. He pinned Dominick Kirkpatrick of Saydel in 1 minute, 4 seconds and Dalton Holmes of Panorama (30-4) in 3:12 to reach the finals, where he drew Class 3A No. 2 Kaden Sauer of Dowling. Sauer won by fall in 64 seconds to leave Fisher as the runner-up.
“Cody is growing every time he steps on the mat as a freshman at 195, which is tough to do,” Smeltzer said. “He is very good at staying in position, using good technique and capitalizing on his opponents mistakes. I am excited to see what the next several weeks has is store for them (Fisher and Vermaas).”
Cole Carman (18-18) placed fourth at 138 pounds and Austin Scharlau (28-10) fifth at 152, with Colt Palmer (18-18) sixth at 126 and Gabriel Yingst (20-18) sixth at 145. Placing eighth were both Hunter Pierce (24-13) at 106 and Alex Kirton (16-17) eighth at 285, with Tyler Lawernson (12-20) scoring four points with a pinfall win despite not finishing on the podium.
Also in action, but unable to scratch out a victory, were Dilynn Lewiston (113 pounds), Tate Lettow (120), Jayden Dorenkamp (132), Cale Pritchett (160) and Thomas Govig (170).
W-G returns to action Monday when they join West Central Valley for a triangular at Gilbert, with a trip to the Interstate-35 Tournament scheduled for Saturday.
