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LEON — Thirteen Creston/O-M wrestlers placed in the top three — including six champions — as the Panthers rolled to the team championship of the Dan Christensen Invitational Friday night at Central Decatur High School.
Only 126-pounder Carson Wheat, forced to injury default in the consolation round with a back injury, didn’t place in the top three for the dominant Panthers.
Creston/O-M is ranked second behind Albia in tournament rankings by The Predicament, and first by IAwrestle.com. Friday’s outcome was a statement for the Panthers, even with a less than full strength Albia squad participating.
“I thought we’d probably be in pretty good shape when a couple of Albia’s kids didn’t wrestle, but I did not anticipate that much point-wise,” said Panther coach Darrell Frain.
Creston/O-M accumulated 300.5 points and Albia was a distant second with 193.5 and three individual champs. Pleasantville (104.5) won a close battle for third with Moravia (99.5), Panorama (99) and Van Meter (94).
“We got a lot of guys seeded high and we had lots of pins, which is something we’ve really been trying to push,” Frain said. “I guess we’ll find out this week for sure how we’re doing with that.”
Important week
The Panthers host Denison-Schleswig and Glenwood in a conference double dual Tuesday, with the much-anticipated dual between state-ranked rivals Glenwood and Creston/O-M concluding the event, slated to start sometime between 7:30 and 8 p.m.
On Friday and Saturday the Panthers again participate with top teams from several states in the Kansas City Stampede at Hale Arena, 1701 American Royal Ct. Kansas City, Mo.
Frain said his team showed the ability to wrestle on back-to-back days by claiming the Central Decatur title one night after taking a double dual in Atlantic also involving Clarinda.
“We got home about 1 a.m. (Saturday) and went in and practiced again at 7:30,” Frain said. “It’s always tough to wrestle your first match Saturday morning in Kansas City right after our toughest matches of the season on Friday night, so we’re getting them ready for that situation.”
He was pleased with his team members meeting or exceeding their seeds in amassing 300 points Friday night.
Winning championships were Wyatt Thompson (138), Mitchel Swank (145), Cameron Leith (160), Jackson Mikkelsen (182), Seth Maitlen (195) and Kadon Hulett (220).
Finishing second were Kelby Luther (120), Trevor Marlin (132) and Joey Huntington (152). Third-place finishers were Cade Vicker (106), Jacob Goodson (113), Brody Frain (170) and Cody Tanner (285).
Thompson and Maitlen remained undefeated for the season and were not challenged Friday night.
Thompson (10-0) pinned Moravia’s Nicholas Martin in the 138-pound finals.
“He really hasn’t been threatened yet,” Frain said. “Next week will be big for him.”
Maitlen (10-0) won a 20-5 technical fall over Isaac Benton of Van Meter in the 195-pound finals.
“Seth and Kadon (9-1) were never really threatened either,” Frain said. Hulett pinned Central Decatur’s Trace Carson in the finals in 3:42.
Swank looked dominant as the No. 1 seed at 145, pinning Kale Baird of Davis County in the finals in 56 seconds.
“Mitchel gets after it. He’s powerful and explosive, and really showed that Friday,” Frain said.
Moving up
Leith improved to 10-1 for the year and gained revenge in the process by taking a 4-0 decision from Wayne’s Blayde Baker.
“The kid in the finals pinned him at the John Harris Tournament last year and knocked him out on the first night,” Frain said. “He caught him that night in a headlock. Cam wrestled smart in this one. He’s looking as good as anybody for us right now.”
Like Leith, Mikkelsen seems to have reached a new level this season, improving to 10-2 with his 3-1 decision over Albia’s Ben Mason in the 182-pound finals.
“The Albia kid was the No. 1 seed,” Frain said. “I think Jackson got some confidence Thursday night in beating Atlantic’s (Drake) Roller, and carried that over to Friday. He won by a tech fall, a pin and the 3-1 decision in the finals. The Albia kid is no slouch. Last year we felt Jackson was right on the edge, losing some close matches in those type of matchups. He’s winning a lot of those this year.”
The Panther coach said Luther wrestled well in reaching the 120-pound finals, but faced an early deficit in the finals that he couldn’t make up in losing an 8-4 decision to Van Meter’s Nate Vento.
Two-time state placewinner Briar Cochran derailed Marlin in the 132 finals by a technical fall. Joey Huntington had a good third period but it wasn’t enough in a 12-4 loss to Albia’s Blake Lawless in the finals at 152.
Albia’s nationally-ranked 106-pounder, freshman Aden Reeves, moved up to 113 where Goodson took third. Likewise, Vicker had solid wins at 106 including a pin in the third-place match against Red Oak’s Cam Vanderhoof.
Brody Frain (8-4), filling in for state champion Chase Shiltz at 170, came from behind to pin Mount Ayr’s Cal Daughton in the third-place match. Tanner won his third-place match at heavyweight over Panorama’s Dalton Bennett by a fall in 3:22.
Frain said Shiltz will be medically evaluated today in regards to availability to return for Tuesday’s double dual.
Also taking place Tuesday will be a performance by the young cheerleaders (kindergarten-fourth grade) during the break between duals. They were scheduled to practice today with the high school wrestling cheerleaders.
Dan Christensen Invitational
Team scoring (champions) — 1. Creston/O-M 300.5 (6); 2. Albia (3) 193.5; 3. Pleasantville (0) 104.5; 4. Moravia (1) 99.5; 5. Panorama (0) 99; 6. Van Meter (1) 94; 7. (tie) Davis County (0) and Red Oak (0) 89; 9. Central Decatur (1) 86; 10. Martensdale-St. Marys (1) 82; 11. (tie) Chariton (1) and Knoxville (0) 81; 13. Wayne (0) 70; 14. Mount Ayr (0) 65; 15. Centerville (0) 53; 16. Twin Cedars (0) 19.
106 — 1. Wyatt Dale (CD) pinned Storm Little (Alb), 3:16; 3. Cade Vicker (C/O-M) pinned Cam Vanderhoof (RO), 1:42; 5. Allen Parlier (Mor) pinned Davin Veach (Way), 3:53; 7. Alex Tuma (VM) pinned Logan Major (M-SM), :27.
113 — 1. Aden Reeves (Alb) tech fall Josh Tibbits (M-SM), 18-3 (5:09); 3. Jacob Goodson (C/O-M) major dec. Cade Costlow (VM), 15-2; 5. Tucker Darrah (MA) pinned Cole Worthington (Knox), :50.
120 — 1. Nate Vento (VM) dec. Kelby Luther (C/O-M), 8-4; 3. George Appleseth (Pan) pinned Ethan Wagner (Cent), 3:27; 5. Davan Gorring (DC) pinned Quentin Gregg (MA), 1:10; 7. Casey Clark (Mor) by injury default over Cole Haines (TC).
126 — 1. Dylin Harberts (Char) pinned Danny Nordquist (Pan), 1:20; 3. Stetson Baker (Way) pinned Quinn Corcoran (VM), 1:09; 5. Michael Gomez (RO) dec. Chandler Craig (M-SM), 9-6; 7. Jaron Draper (Cent) by injury default over Simon Ball (DC).
132 — 1. Briar Cochran (Mor) tech fall over Trevor Marlin (C/O-M), 18-3 (2:13); 3. Walker Henderson (DC) dec. Joe Hollinrake (Knox), 6-0; 5. Alex Selberg (RO) pinned Elliot Ness (CD), 1:16; 7. David Morris (Alb) dec. Vincent Girardi (M-SM), 11-4.
138 — 1. Wyatt Thompson (C/O-M) pinned Nicholas Martin (Mor), 3:03; 3. Dominick Morris (Alb) dec. Josh Morgan (Cent), 6-4; 5. Marcus Daughton (MA) pinned Kaleb Stogdill (Pan), 1:17; 7. Luke Jones (CD) pinned Wilston Wuthrich (DC), 2:40.
145 — 1. Mitchel Swank (C/O-M) pinned Kale Baird (DC), :56; 3. Clay Selberg (RO) pinned Dallas Price (Mor), 1:39; 5. Hunter Clark (Way) dec. David Williams (TC), 8-5; 7. Nick McDaniel (Char) dec. Riley Spaur (Knox), 4-2.
152 — 1. Blake Lawless (Alb) major dec. Joey Huntington (C/O-M), 12-4; 3. Kade Kelso (CD) dec. Sawyer Phillips (Pleas), 11-3; 5. Thomas Bentley (RO) pinned Cody Ray Smith (Knox), 3:46; 7. Jacob Martin (Mor) dec. Colton Golwitzer (VM), 6-5.
160 — 1. Cameron Leith (C/O-M) dec. Blayde Baker (Way), 4-0; 3. Cael Lester (Pleas) dec. Tyler Van Houten (Pan), 11-9; 5. Michael Ullestad (Knox) dec. Luke Mellott (RO), 7-6; 7. Trevor Kromray (Alb) pinned Tommy Somers (Char), 5:49.
170 — 1. Logan Schumacher (M-SM) pinned Dylan Henderson (DC), 1:21; 3. Brody Frain (C/O-M) pinned Cal Daughton (MA), 4:24; 5. Coby Meyer (Knox) dec. Luke Sinclair (Alb), 2-0; 7. Austin Flesher (Pleas) pinned Lyndon Bright (RO), 4:00.
182 — 1. Jackson Mikkelsen (C/O-M) dec. Ben Mason (Alb), 3-1; 3. Evan Mann (Pleas) pinned Connor Runyon (Way), 7-5; 5. Kade Warren (Cent) by forfeit over Cameron Brown (Knox); 7. Colin Bruce (RO) pinned Robbie Vaught (M-SM), 1:16.
195 — 1. Seth Maitlen (C/O-M) tech fall Isaac Benton (VM), 20-5 (6:00); 3. Tim Good (Char) pinned Jacob West (Alb), 2:45; 5. Lane Gehringer (M-SM) by forfeit over Jordan Beal (Knox); 7. Dalton Holmes (Pan) dec. Justin Wehling (MA), 6-3.
220 — Kadon Hulett (C/O-M) pinned Trace Carson (CD), 3:42; 3. Chaz Clark (Pleas) dec. Quinton Castell (Mor), 9-3; 5. Trever Blackford (Alb) dec. Taylor Good (Char), 5-4; 7. Chase Bellon (Knox) pinned Dillon Strange (M-SM), 5:15.
285 — 1. Carter Isley (Alb) pinned Will Anthony (Pleas), 1:45; 3. Cody Tanner (C/O-M) pinned Dalton Bennett (Pan), 3:22; 5. Josh Cox (MA) pinned Louie Chickering (DC), 2:54; 7. Keanu Cowman-Myers (TC) pinned Kaleb Bootman (CD), :43.