CANEY — Iola’s wrestling team started the season with notable individual performances Saturday at the Caney Invitational.
The Mustangs’ Andrew Garber led the team with a fifth place finish in the 182-pound division over fellow teammate Tavon Blazek. Garber and Blazek were each 2-1 when they faced each other, before Garber won by a fall in the third period.
Coach Jason Bates said that Garber was down 7-1 after giving up a takedown and a near fall, but battled back to pin Blazek for the win.
Bates said it was a good start for Garber and Blazek, but saw things he liked from every Iola wrestler.
“In that first round of matches that they had, they kind of reverted back to what they were comfortable with and used to,” Bates said. “Once they got that first match out of the way, I started to see some things we’ve been working on. It showed me where we are at right now and what we need to improve on from there.”
Garber started the day with a pin against Southeast-Cherokee’s Cameron Paasch. He then got a bye, before taking a loss via pin to Cherryvale’s Kaden House. In the consolation bracket he pinned Bartlesville’s Zach Wellman in the third period to set up the match with Blazek.
“Tavon is trying to get down to 170 pounds; he has a little work to do,” Bates said. “He’s an athletic kid and he relies on that a little too much, I’d like to see him be a more technical wrestler along with that athleticism.
Blazek started his day with a win. After pinning Caney’s Issac Jones, he received a bye and then lost to Shawnee’s Height’s Carter Hall by fall. In the consolation bracket, he won by major decision over Caney’s Brycen Gulick. His last match was against Garber, which he lost to get take sixth.
In the 195-pound division, Seth Sanford went 1-2. He lost his first match to Bartlesville’s Jared Tayrein by fall. His next match against Independence’s D.J. Kessler went the whole match, which he lost in a 6-1 decision. His win came by fall over against Gabe Blair of Labette County.
“I think Seth realized that he’s better than what he thinks he is,” Bates said. “I think it’s just a light switch and once he turns it on, he will be a tough guy to beat.”
Chandler House placed seventh in the 220-pound weight class. He lost to Coffeyville’s Jackson Stringer and Noah Bass by falls in the first period. He lost to Fredonia’s Tyler Pierpoint in a 3-1 decision.
In the seventh-place match, he beat Caney’s Hunter Post by disqualification. Post kept locking hands and stalling, which resulted in penalty points for House — enough points to disqualify Post.
The Mustangs’ next tournament will be Saturday at Anderson County.
Iola High School wrestling team kicks off season
