As the boys wrestling team approaches the dying embers of the season, the unit took on hefty competition at the Millard West Invite on Friday, Jan 10. The roster was at full strength heading into the meet, with star junior Chase Myers returning to the squadron after a prolonged absence which assisted the team in completing their best meet as a collective all season long. With a staggering five wrestlers placing within the top three of their respective brackets along with nine managing a top five finish, it’s safe to say that this event was the bounce-back and realized potential that the team had been awaiting. The boys placed top five at the nine team invitational, with high morale floating amongst the team as they begin to build momentum.
The meet saw career-defining performances all across the board, with freshman Mason Bruber kicking off the morning in the 106 weight class as per usual. His routine stellar performance had him taking down a myriad of skilled wrestlers after suffering an early loss to one of the best 106 pound wrestlers in the state. He lost in just his second match, yet still proceeded to gather himself and win out against his final three opponents, earning him second place honors for the day and netting 18 points for the team. With Bruber getting the ball rolling, the team was cruising through the lower weight classes with junior Jameson Derby placing sixth, senior leader John Packett coming in third, and sophomore star Charlie Hall rounding out the early bouts with a dominant run that peaked at a second place result. The lightweights had dominated their leg of the invite, and their standout performances had propelled the team to the upper ranks. All that was left to do was bring home a great overall event with solid performances from the middle and heavyweights. Junior Gable Jernigan, son of head coach Michael Jernigan, led the charge in the middleweight division, and although he was bested in a vicious first round matchup that saw him losing 10-7 via decision, the young Jernigan would ricochet the loss into back-to-back rampaging pins. Jernigan ended up finishing fifth among the 150 pound wrestlers, proving that the dominant display from his lighter counterparts was no fluke.
Middleweights continued to ring out either podium finishes or top 5 status, round after round after round, beginning with Jernigan and advancing to Anthony Thomas in the 157 pound class. Thomas found himself in the championship bracket after going 2-1 in his earlier rounds, and despite a tough loss to a tough competitor relegating him to the third place match, he took advantage of the opportunity and secured the top 3 result alongside 16 points for the boys in black and red. Chase Myers was next, returning from his recent hiatus and reminding the competition who he was, going on a hounding streak of three straight convincing wins from the jump. Myers spoke about what it meant to him to come out and set the mat ablaze after his absence.
“I was gone for a little bit so it was hard to not be wrestling, but coming back and being able to just go at it again was really special,” Myers explained.
Myers would succumb to a semi-final loss, but redeemed his short-coming immediately after in the consultation match for third place, a match in which he made quick work of his opponent with a sub one minute pin.
“I’m alright with how it ended, it just felt good to be back,” Myers said.
Freshman wrestler Tripp Talyor and sophomore wrestler Graham Hoffart were the closers for the invite, finding individual success and reaping the final few points added to the Westside total . Taylor accomplished a 4th place finish in the 190 pound weight class whilst Hoffart was slotted in fifth for the 215s. In the end, nearly everyone representing the W on the day had spectacular showings, winning multiple impressive matches and accumulating 142 points. The boys will continue into the late season with the state tournament on the horizon.
“State is what we’re working towards, that’s the mindset,” Myers exclaimed.
