Panthers sweep at Saydel

SAYDEL — The Creston boys wrestling team tuned up for Saturday’s Saber Invitational at Central DeWitt with two dominant dual wins Thursday night at Saydel.

The Panthers opened with a 54-24 win over Greene County, which forfeited six weight classes. The Panthers were 3-5 in contested matches. Jayden Myers (190 pounds), Brodrick Phelps (138) and Jackson Pettegrew (157) won by falls.

The night concluded with a 64-15 victory over Saydel. The Eagles forfeited three weight divisions. Creston enters the break with a 7-1 dual record.

Panthers winning by fall were Weston Trapp (165), Maddix Leppla (175), Gunner Martwick (215), Landen Lillie (126), Lane Travis (132), Joshua Bunz (150) and Phelps. Colby Brammer earned an 11-2 major decision at 144 pounds.

Earlier, Saydel and Greene County tied 42-42 and the host Eagles were awarded the win on criteria, with three forfeits to Greene County’s five.

“It was kind of a fun atmosphere,” Creston coach Cody Downing said. “It was kind of loud in here, there were some heated matches. It kind of served the purpose. They both had been in our district the last two years, but this year they sent us east. I thought we lost some swing matches, but we had some really good moments. We got some new kids in the lineup.”

Bunz and Leppla stepped in at 150 and 175 pounds, respectively, and had 1-1 nights.

Brammer faced one of Saydel’s top wrestlers in a spirited 144-pound match. Brammer received two penalty points on the way to building his major decision win.

“That was one of those deals where we kind of grew up in that match,” Downing said. “He was shoving us out of bounds and poking, some stuff to take us out of our game. Sometimes you just have to be the bigger person.”

Downing said Greene County was strong in the lower weights with good juniors at 106 and 113 pounds, and that both teams had standouts at 120 pounds.

“Kylen (Parsons) was a little under the weather tonight, but he faced the toughest competition of the night for us by far,” Downing said. “We’ll get back to work. What I like right now is that even in losses, we’re hustling and fighting until the end.”

Saber Invitational

The Panthers traveled east Saturday to participate in the Saber Invitational hosted by Central DeWitt. Wilton, ranked second in Class 1A, took the team title with 257.5 points. Creston had one finalist in 215-pound runner-up Gunner Martwick and placed fifth among 14 teams with 112.5 points.

“I went in thinking we had a chance for second or third,” Downing said. “Second through fifth, we were all right with each other. With the amount of freshmen and new people we have, it makes it tough to have anything to gain seeding criteria so some of our guys end up in tough spots.”

Central DeWitt, West Liberty and Princeton, Illinois placed second through fourth ahead of the Panthers.

Martwick won by two 10-1 major decisions on his way to the finals at 215 pounds. Chris Wrage of Central DeWitt won the title match by fall in 3:27.

“Gunner had a good tournament,” Downing said. “When he’s moving his feet and hustling like that, he can create problems for people.”

A Princeton wrestler sidelined Panther 132-pounder Lane Travis in the semifinals on the way to upending a returning state champ from Wilton in the finals. Travis rebounded to placed third in winning by fall in his consolation match.

Also finishing third for the Panthers was Ben James (113 pounds). Kylen Parsons placed fourth at 120 and both Colt Key (106) and Colby Brammer (144) won fifth-place matches. Jayden Myers finished sixth at 190 pounds.

The Panthers participate in the Eddyville Dual Tournament on Jan. 4.

Creston 54, Greene County 25

190 — Jayden Myers (Cr) pinned Nehemiah Hoyt (GC), 1:18. 215 — Gunner Martwick (Cr) by forfeit. 285 — Drake Wilson (Cr) by forfeit. 106 — Brennan Jacobs (GC) pinned Colt Key (Cr), 1:09. 113 — Jaron Jacobs (GC) dec. Ben James (Cr), 5-3. 120 — Gavyn Winters (GC) tech fall Kylen Parsons (Cr), 18-3 (3:35). 126 — Landen Lillie by forfeit. 132 — Tyler Travis (Cr) by forfeit. 138 — Brodrick Phelps (Cr) pinned Jacob Harmeyer (GC), 3:47. 144 — Colby Brammer (Cr) by forfeit. 150 — Crew Conner (GC) tech fall Joshua Bunz (Cr), 17-2 (2:58). 157 — Jackson Pettegrew (Cr) pinned Matthew Rank (GC), 1:36. 165 — Weston Trapp (Cr) by forfeit. 175 — Degan Miller (GC) pinned Maddix Leppla (Cr), 0:31.

Creston 64, Saydel 15

157 — Treston Vessells (Say) pinned Jackson Pettegrew (Cr), 1:17. 165 — Weston Trapp (Cr) pinned Grady Godwin (Say), 0:51. 175 — Maddix Leppla (Cr) pinned Damien Pestana (Say), 1:07. 190 — Jayden Myers (Cr) by forfeit. 215 — Gunner Martwick (Cr) pinned Bennett Lund (Say), 1:26. 285 — Jordan Bridges (Say) pinned Drake Wilson (Cr), 3:00. 106 — Colt Key (Cr) by forfeit. 113 — Ben James (Cr) by forfeit. 120 — Roman Kile (Say) dec. Kylen Parsons (Cr), 9-4. 126 — Landen Lillie (Cr) pinned Coen Brandt (Say), 1:12. 132 — Lane Travis (Cr) pinned Jose Marentes-Gonzalez (Say), 1:55. 138 — Brodrick Phelps (Cr) Blake Mears (Say), 0:54. 144 — Colby Brammer (Cr) major dec. Montrell Jamison (Say), 11-2. 150 — Joshua Bunz (Cr) pinned Adrian Vega-Munoz, 1:45.