Pekin takes second, E.V. ninth at Waco Invitational

The Pekin Panthers continued their success this season by taking home yet another plaque for the trophy wall, while English Valleys finished up in ninth place. 14 teams in total attended the Waco tournament on January 13.

Starting out in the 106-pound weight class, Pekin had Tyler Gillum and English Valleys had Keegan Cope competing. Gillum had a bye in the first round, then wound up falling into the consolation bracket after being pinned in the quarterfinals. From there he had another bye, beat his opponent in the consolation semifinals, but then lost in his next match, which earned him a sixth-place finish. Cope wound up losing both of his matches, with a bye in-between on the consolation side, and didn’t place.

Timmy Stecklein of E.V. competed in the 113-pound weight class next. Stecklein received a bye before being pinned in the quarterfinal match. From there on he received another bye on the consolation side, and then was pinned in the consolation quarterfinals. Stecklein did not place.

Seth Thompson of E.V. competed in the 120-pound weight class, and produced some of the better results for the Bears. After receiving a bye, Thompson was able to pin his man early on in the first period, sending him to the semifinals. His lone loss of the day came via a sudden victory, after he and his opponent were tied at four points, and needed overtime to decide a winner. Thompson bounced back in the third-place match, pinning his man in under two minutes.

Michael Jones of Pekin did not place in the 132-pound weight class. Jones received a bye to start, then lost in the quarterfinals. Jones made quick work of his opponent in the consolation quarterfinals, pinning him at the 30 second mark, but then fell again in the consolation semifinal round.

Tugg Hill and Cael Baker of Pekin competed in the 138-pound weight class bracket, with Baker taking fifth-place. The two teammates wound up wrestling each other in the consolation quarterfinals. It was all smiles from both boys but Baker was able to move on by pinning Hill in under 40 seconds. Baker then proceeded to beat both of his opponents late in the respective matches, ending up in fifth.

Hunter Conger of Pekin followed by Baker with a fifth-place finish in the 145-pound weight class. Conger had a bye to start, then lost to send him to the consolation side. There he beat his first opponent in a 13-3 decision, his second opponent early in the third period, and his final opponent in a 12-9 decision.

Keaton Baayen and Seth Bingham of Pekin competed in the 152-pound weight class. Bingham didn’t place after losing his first match, receiving a bye, and then losing in the consolation quarterfinals. Baayen saw great success in his matches, beating his first two opponents in just over one total minute. He was also one of two Pekin wrestlers to win his 100th match of his career. Baayen went on to beat his next opponent late in the third period, and wrapped up his day with a 8-6 decision, putting him in first-place.

Jordan Hixson of Pekin competed in the 160-pound weight class. Hixson received a bye to start his day, then pinned his opponent early on in the second period. He then won a high scoring match with a 20-16 decision, before being pinned in the middle of the first period of the first-place match. Hixson made it to the podium however, taking home second-place.

Kaden Baker and Logan Kealey of Pekin and Caleb Peach of E.V. competed in the 170-pound weight class. Baker had the best finish of the three, taking second place, while Peach took third and Kealey did not place. Baker and Peach faced off in the semifinal round, with a classic match going down to the wire. Baker was just able to get past Peach, coming out on top of a 8-7 decision. Baker was then on the losing end of a 7-4 decision, while Peach finished his day with a 11-8 decision. Baker was the second Pekin wrestler to achieve his 100th win of his career earlier in the day.

Skyler Juhl of Pekin and Cael Hester of E.V. competed in the 182-pound weight class. Juhl wound up with a fourth-place finish, after following up a bye with a quick 50 second pin. He then lost his next two matches, both late in the second period. Hester also received a bye, but then lost in a 3-6 decision, sending him to the consolation side. From there he didn’t face an opponent until the semi-finals, in which he won late in a 9-8 decision, a match he trailed most of the way. Hester was then pinned in the second period of the fifth-place match.

John Fisher of E.V. and Mason Juhl of Pekin competed in the 195-pound weight class, with Fisher taking home first-place. Fisher took down his first opponent in the first period and then went late into the third period to beat his next man. In order to take first place, Fisher would have to beat Juhl, which he did in a 14-1 decision. The loss still resulted in a second-place finish for Juhl.

Kaden Pollock and Ethan Cooksey of Pekin, along with Noah McCammant and Bentley Schott of E.V. competed in the 220-pound weight class. Schott and Pollock each had a bye, then lost, setting up a match between the two of them. Schott went on to win that match with a second period pin, but then lost in the second period of the consolation semifinals. Cooksey also had a bye before being sent to the consolation side, which he dominated, to wind up with a fifth-place finish. McCammant beat his first two opponents relatively easily, before losing and being sent to the third-place match. There he won in a 4-0 decision, sending him to the podium.

Daniel Tapken was the final wrestler from E.V. as he competed in the 285-pound weight class. Tapken won his first match early in the second period, before losing in the middle of the second period in his next match. He had a chance to finish strong in the third-place match, but ending up getting pinned late in the second period, still ending up with a fourth-place finish.

When all the scores were added up, Pekin was able to finish in second-place, while E.V. took home ninth.

“We finished ahead of conference rivals New London and Mediapolis in a tournament for the first time in over 20 years,” Pekin coach Al Chapman said. “We’re still not at full strength of our guys at the right weight yet. I shared with the team it was unacceptable to have four guys to the finals and only having one take first place, proving we still have a-ways to go.”