An important Suburban White Conference wrestling dual came down to one match.
The Grain Valley Eagles and Platte County Pirates were the two favorites to in the conference title this season, and their dual on Tuesday came down to the wire.
The Eagles led the dual 36-33 going into the final bout, but Platte County junior Cole Johnson, who bumped up to the heavyweight division from the 215-pound weight class, pinned junior Alec Fenstermaker (285) to give his team a 39-36 victory.
With that win, the Pirates are in the driver’s seat for a conference title.
“We’ve been working and have been getting better as a team,” Johnson said.
For Johnson, he had a specific strategy going in after wrestling up.
“I just didn’t want to get stuck underneath when taking shots,” Johnson said. “When you go for a head inside single, you’re are worried about getting stuffed underneath and getting all that weight over you.
“I used a sweep single and used a turk to get the pin.”
Senior Darrell Smith (165) picked up a crucial win which ultimately helped his team to win the dual. He pinned Brody Davis in 3:13.
“I came out a little slow,” Smith said. “It took me a while to get to my shots, but I got the job done.”
Platte County freshman Cade Crawford (106) picked up a win for his team as he pinned Kaeler Byrd in 43 seconds; Sophomore Jaxson Schute (120) won by forfeit; Senior Evan MacCuish (157) pinned Brody Braa in 3:34; Zach Olson (175) edged Grant Burd 5-3; and Cooper Hammontree (190) won by forfeit.
Grain Valley junior Zac Bleess has been the heart and soul of the Grain Valley boys wrestling team for the past three years.
Even when he came to the Eagles as a freshman, head coach Donald Horner said he knew he was going to be a major part of the team and was going to be a leader.
He came into the program with a lot of experience as he had been wrestling since he was in kindergarten.
Those traits played a factor in Bleess’ milestone he accomplished in a dual against Platte County Tuesday on the road. The Eagles junior earned his 100th career victory after pinning Platte County freshman Ian Giess in the 132-pound weight class.
“It means a lot to me. It just shows the work I have put in the past couple of years,” Bleess said of the milestone. “It’s just another match. Nothing else matters aside from the district and state tournament. But it’s a reminder of what I have been doing the last couple of years and it motivates me to keep working.”
He credited senior Colston Parks for some of his success.
“Colston has been my lifelong partner,” Bleess said. “His dad was my first coach. Without them, I probably would have quit a long time ago.”
And head coach Donald Horner is glad he didn’t as Bleess has been an integral part of the Eagles.
“He did the right things, had the right attitude and worked his tail off (as a freshman),” Horner said. “He went to Fargo (Nationals) before he ever went to high school. Zac is the type of kid every coach wants on their team. He’s an amazing human being and is super coachable. The other guys want to follow him because he’s a good kid.”
Sophomore Sjoeren Aumua agreed.
“Zac is a leader and a role model for our team,” Aumua said.
Senior Gavin Barker (215 pounder) joined Bleess as one of seven Eagles to win a match. He dominated his match with Peter Tremain and won by fall in 52 seconds.
“I went to the double wrists to turn him over,” Barker said. “I kicked (his legs) over because I couldn’t get over with my arm. His hips went over really hard, so I just jumped over and got him to his back. I thought he was slipping so I hooked his head backward with my arm, posted out and got the pin.”
Aumua (150) chipped in with a win of his own as he controlled his match from start to finish, winning by fall in 3:20 over Isaiah Seymour.
“I thought I could have done better,” Aumua said. “I was not on my game. I couldn’t get to my attacks, but I was able to get wrist control.”
Also picking up wins for Grain Valley were freshman Brady Jones (113), who pinned Lennon Fitzpatrick in 1:11; Junior Justin King (126) defeated Hank Marriott 9-4; Parks (138), who pinned Jackson Woolsey in 2:54; and freshman Kobe Hughes (144) edged Grant Fadler.
Grain Valley was missing two wrestlers who are normally in the lineup. Junior Tyler Jones (120) didn’t make weight and senior Mason Bertrand (175) was out with a shoulder injury.
“We didn’t have (a 190 pounder) but we can’t use that as an excuse,” Bleess said. “It was a very winnable dual. I fully feel like we could have won by 10 or 15 points. We have some areas we need to work on, but I think we’ll get there.
Girls
The Grain Valley girls wrestling team had six opens, which gave Platte County free 36 points. It was too big of a deficit to overcome for Grain Valley to overcome as the Pirates rolled to a 63-12 victory.
Gabriella Ciccarelli (120) defeated Val Bleess 6-3; Taylore Lavery (125) beat Mackenzie Davis 7-3; Ava Blankenship (140) pinned Lucy Dampf in just 33 seconds; Madelynn Nichols (145) won by fall over Addison Cross in 1:17; Alivia Juarez (170) edged Evie Wyatt 2-1; and Nicole Fernandez (190) pinned Ella Hay in 58 seconds.
Harper Golden (100), Karrington Friddel (105), Adrianna Ciccarelli (110), Charley Sims Annabel Beeman (130) and Giada Cucchiara (135) all won by forfeit for the Pirates.
Junior Jayden Moehle (235) pinned Madeleine Stone in 4:30 and senior Adalia Del Real (155) won by forfeit.