PACKWOOD – The Montezuma wrestlers got to see how they might fare with this year’s larger lineup in their first invitational meet on Saturday, Dec. 6.
The answer was, “pretty darn good!”
The Braves placed third in a 12-school field at the Bill Rex Invitational, hosted by Pekin High School.
Eight Braves wrestlers made it to the awards stand, meaning they were one of the top six wrestlers in their weight class.
Leading the way was senior Braxton Plants, who cruised to the championship in the 215-pound class.
Plants had a first round bye and pinned his next man in 37 seconds to move into the championship bout. There he scored a 21-5 technical fall in 3:44 over Chance Angle of North Mahaska.
Taking a second place finish was Wesley Ross at 126 pounds. He scored pins in 21 and 50 seconds to take him into the championship match. There, he dropped a 12-5 decision to Lee Jirack of Van Buren County.
Taking third place finishes were Wylie Walters at 132 pounds and Ethan DesRochers at 138.
Walters scored an opening round pin, then lost in the semifinals. He scored a pin in 5:44 in the wrestlebacks to secure third place.
At 138, Ethan DesRochers scored a pin in his first bout, but lost in the semis. DesRochers pinned Zach Luedtke of Cardinal in 1:58 in the match for third place.
Owen DesRochers got a fourth place finish at 157 pounds. He also scored a first round pin to advance in the championship bracket, then lost, and took a 10-0 defeat in the match for third place.
Taking fifth places for Montezuma were Karson Ross at 106 pounds and Jaxson Young at 113.
Karson Ross opened with a bye, then lost a match. In the wrestlebacks, he lost via pin. That put him in the match for fifth place, where he scored a 22-seconds pin of Kamden Heemsbergen of Davis County.
Jaxson Young started with a 10-6 loss to Chris Guzman of Chariton. In the wrestlebacks, he had a first round bye, before facing Guzman again for fifth place. This time, Young pinned Guzman in 3:01.
Finally, 285-pounder Isaac Wedgewood was sixth in his weight class. He had a bye through the first round, scored a pin, then lost by a fall, and wound up being pinned in the fifth-place match.
Competing for the Braves, but not earning place finishes, were Cael Cheney at 138, Cade Lowry at 144, Kaden Baetsle at 150, Connor Hervey at 165, and Yudiel Gonzalez at 175.
Montezuma had no entry at 120 or at 190, but put two in competition at 138 pounds.
Bill Rex Wrestllng Invitational
at Pekin High School
Team points – 1, North Mahaska, 206.5; 2, Albia 173. 3. Montezuma 149. 4, Chariton 123. 5, Wayne 116. 6, Moravia 106. 7, Davis County 104. 8, Lynnville-Sully 90. 9, BGM 89. 10, Van Buren 86.5. 11, Cardinal 44.5. 12, Pekin 41.