Day Two of Mid America Nationals wrestling tournament saw two Enid wrestlers make the final mats, two nationally ranked wrestlers win their brackets, and a whole lot of tired kids ready for a nap (and a sandwich).
The second day of wrestling guaranteed wrestlers another four matches (following three or four the day before) resulting in a lot of exhausted wrestlers. The bracket format culminated in three matches at each weight wrestling at the same time in spotlight matches for 1st, 3rd and 5th place. Enid 106 pounder, Hector Perez, and Carlos Alvarado, at 195, both had really good days and were honored to have been able to wrestle in these final matches, Alvarado for third place and Hector for fifth.
Perez lost his first match of the day as Korey Griffin from Jay, OK was able to get the late pin. Hector then pinned his next two opponents where he met up with Barrett Byers from Piedmont. Perez took a quick 2-0 lead in the first period, and was able to ride his opponent out. He expanded the lead in the second period with two reversals and a nearfall, in which he was thisclose to ending the match with a pin, but couldn’t quite get the shoulders to touch. Entering the third period Perez had a 9-2 lead. Byers chose neutral and was able to get a take down and a three-point nearfall before Perez was able to get a reversal and get back on top. at this point it was still a 11-7 lead for Perez, who put on a hard ride, but Byers escaped with 18 seconds left making it 11-8. Byers knew he needed a big move, and quick, and he was able to do it, getting a take down with 14 second left, putting Perez on his back for two swipes and taking his first lead of the match at 12-11, where it ended seconds later. It was easily one of the most exciting matches of the final mats, and unfortunately did not end up in Perez’ favor. He still had a lot to be proud of however, as he finished the tournament in 6th place (out of 26) with a 5-2 record, with all of his wins coming by pinfall.
Junior Carlos Alvarado also had his time to shine by making it to the 3rd place match. Alvarado started the day off by pinning his first two opponents – the first in 28 seconds! He then met up with Ricky Thomas from Edmond North in a semifinals matchup, where he lost a close 3-1 decision. In the spotlight 3rd place match Alvarado faced Drew Powell from Bridge Creek. Powell got a takedown in the first period to take a 2-0 lead, got a two-point nearfall in the second, while able to ride Alvarado out. In the third Powell got an escape point to take a 5-0 lead, which ended up the final score. While disappointed, Alvarado still wrestled his tail off, and finished with a 4-2 record with four pins on his way to a 4th place finish out of 29.
Other Enid wrestlers had varying levels of success, but all in all, a good early season showing for most.
Sophomore Payton Zweifel finished 14th at 113, with a two-day record of 4-3. at 132 Vinny Vandiver did not make the second day, so finished 0-3. Steven Brooks had a good second day in the consolation bracket at 138, finishing with a 4-3 record for the tournament.
Trinit Zweifel barely missed the final mats in the 145 pound bracket by losing to JP Matinez from Duncan 3-2 in 3OT. He took out his frustration in the 7th place match with a 13-3 major decision over Tod Brakebill of Mustang. With an overall 6-2 record, Zweifel has a lot to be happy about.
Jason Pearson finished 13th at 152 with an overall 3-4 record, including a 5-4 win in his last match of the day. Jason Sayers was a little banged up, but also won his last match of the day with a gutsy 9-3 win over Wura Yunisa of Union. Overall he was 2-4 and finished 15th of 25 at 182 pounds. Heavyweight Seth Melvin was unable to finish and forfeited the 15th place match and finishing with a 1-4 record.
Overall, the Enid team placed 21st out of 30 teams, keeping in mind this tournament draws excellent teams from four states.
The finals mats were very exciting, as two nationally ranked wrestlers, and high-level D-1 signees had all eyes on them to see if they could win their brackets.
At 160 pounds, University of Oklahoma signee, #37 overall senior, and 6A state champion John Wiley faced off against Drake Acklin, an Appalachian State commit in the finals. Wiley won a tough 5-1 decision finishing 7-0 with four pins, a tech fall and a major decision. Even more impressive is that he did not give up a single takedown all weekend.
At heavyweight, Nebraska signee, and #23 overall national senior Harley Andrews from Tuttle also put on a show. Andrews had dominated his way to the finals, with five straight pins, all in the first period. He met up with Sophomore Maverick Williamson from Jay, who also had five straight pins before winning 3-1 in the semis. Williamson put up a good fight, with the score being 4-4 before Andrews just overpowered him in the second period and pinned him with a nice move. Andrews picked up the trophy for most outstanding wrestler of the tournament.
Teamwise, Edmond North ran away with the title with four finalists, followed by Tuttle in second and Mustang in third.
As a follow up to the teams from Houston and Louisiana mentioned in yesterday’s article, Houston Westside finished in 15th place. Juan Cantu finished 4th after losing 7-0 in the semis to eventual Champion Cash Donnell from Piedmont. Kyle Lew made the finals and lost an 8-4 decision, in which he was winning 4-3 in the 3rd period before Champion Josey Jernegan of Skiatook hit a big move for 5 points to win. Not much to be upset about a 2nd place finish for Lew. Freddie Pagan also finished 4th. As for Airline, Louisiana, Ernie Perry finished in fifth place, pinning his opponent in the spotlight match. All in all, we hope the long drive was worth it for these teams.
And that wraps up the 2021 version of the Mid America Nationals Tournament. It is a great event, and Corey Clayton, tournament director, and the numerous volunteers and sponsors should be thanked for making it happen.
