Led by another dominating performance from Austin Repp, Pacific placed sixth in the team standings with 119.5 points last Friday and Saturday at the Eric Lewis MICDS Wrestling Invitational.
Repp had a 4-0 tournament record, winning three matches by pin, improving to 40-2 on the season.
“Austin looked good once again,” said Pacific Head Coach Rob Schimsa. “His toughest match was in the semifinals. He controlled the entire match, but couldn’t pin the kid.”
Holt cruised to the team title with 278 points. St. Charles West finished second with 169.5.
McCluer North placed third followed by Whitfield, Ladue, Pacific, De Soto, Union, Westminster, SLUH, Ritenour, Hazelwood West, St Clair, MICDS, John Burroughs, St. Charles, Principia, Chaminade and Parkway North.
“I was pleased with how we wrestled. We had 10 kids and finished sixth out of 19 schools,” Schimsa said. “Everybody but two of our guys made it to the second day. We had six guys place in the top five.”
Repp opened the tournament by pinning MICDS’ Charles Barnes in 1:05.
In the quarterfinals, Repp pinned John Burroughs’ Nathan Dee in 2:29.
Repp then won a 7-0 decision over St. Charles West’s Blake Rugraff in the semifinals.
In the finals, Repp pinned Holt’s Cody Hughes in 2:45.
Pacific’s Jeff Miller reached the 138-pound finals and settled for second place with a 3-1 record.
Miller (35-6) won by technical fall 17-0 over Principia’s Zeya Kyaw in the first round.
In the quarterfinals, Miller pinned John Burroughs’ Jack Grady in 1:31.
Miller then won a 4-0 decision over Holt’s Brendan Bickert in the semifinals.
In the finals, Miller was pinned by Whitfield’s Chris Wilkes (35-2).
“Miller wrestled well. He beat a solid kid from Holt in the semifinals,” Schimsa said. “He ran into Wilkes in the finals, who’s a national level wrestler.”
Zain Mathena (113) notched third-place honors with a 4-1 record.
Mathena (24-9) opened by pinning Parkway North’s Andy Zhang in 1:23.
In the quarterfinals, Mathena won an 8-6 decision over Ladue’s Justin Espinosa. He then lost in the semifinals to Holt’s Mike Brown.
Mathena came back to win by a 4-3 decision over SLUH’s Collin Arroyo and an 11-7 decision over Espinosa.
“Mathena is a freshman who is starting to peak at the right time. He’s turning it on,” Schimsa said. “He’s only lost nine matches. He’s quietly done a great job.”
Josh Franek (106) placed fourth with a 3-2 record.
Franek (35-5) opened with a technical fall win 17-1 over Hazelwood West’s Lee Russel.
In the quarterfinals, Franek won by technical fall 16-0 over Westminster’s Aaron Gion. He then lost in the semifinals to St. Charles West’s Drew Ditter by a 4-1 decision.
Franek then won a 9-1 major decision over De Soto’s Alex Waggoner, but ended with a loss to Ladue’s Antonio Escobar.
Joe Rind (120) earned a fifth-place finish with a 4-2 record.
Rind (29-13) pinned Principia’s Jason McEntire in 1:11 in the opener. He then lost in the quarterfinals to St. Charles West’s Brendan Hachtel.
Rind then posted wins by pin over McCluer North’s Efe Osagae in 2:34 and Terrell Pampkin in 5:24. He then lost to SLUH’s Brandon Bollinger, but ended with a 9-0 major decision over Union’s Tyler Pace.
Dalton Voyles (152) also finished fifth with a 4-2 record.
Voyles (26-12) pinned SLUH’s Justin McManemin in 38 seconds in the first round. He then lost in the quarterfinals to Holt’s Clayton Ream (35-1).
Voyles notched wins over by pin over St. Charles West’s Tony McFadden and by a 9-5 decision over Union’s Cody Pace. He lost a 4-2 decision to Ladue’s Chase Ridenour and won an 8-3 decision over Hazelwood West’s Nick Lang.
Joon Kim (145) was eighth with a 2-3 record.
Kim (14-21) won a 5-3 decision over De Soto’s Michael Fodge in the first round. He then lost to Hazelwood West’s Amili Lester in the quarterfinals. He pinned John Burroughs’ Terrell Cornell in 5:42 and lost to McCluer North’s Torrance Mitchell and St. Charles West’s Steven Biondo.
Lane Smith (132) posted a 1-3 record. He pinned Parkway North’s Chase Asberry in 1:34.
Curtis Paglusch (160) and Andrew Cooper (182) both lost their only two matches.
