Shetley Wins First At Steve Leslie Invitational

Evan Shetley won the 170-pound weight class Saturday at the Steve Leslie Invitational in Pleasant Hill, while teammates Kobie Blankenship (145) took third and Luke Dixon (106) and Ian Kilburn (160) were fourth.

Eighteen schools competed at the two-day tournament.

 

"Steve Leslie Invitational is one of the toughest Class 2 tournaments in the state all season long," said Eagles head coach Matt Peregoy. "Unofficially, there are in excess of 50 state qualifiers and medalists in that tournament. We chose to get into it a couple of years ago because it gives us a great barometer of where we are and where we need to head in order to be as competitive as possible. This year we were short handed as a team starting with only 10 of 14 weight classes at the tournament."

 

Isaac Peregoy went down with a knee injury after his first match leaving Sullivan with just nine scoring wrestlers, Peregoy said.

 

"It's pretty tough to have much impact on the team side in those circumstances," he said. "It is something like trying to win a basketball tournament with only four guys on the floor the whole time."

 

While the scores didn't reflect it, Peregoy said Sullivan had a great showing at the tournament. "I am proud of what the guys were able to do and look forward to see where they go once we get the injuries healed and the lineup set. I believe we are going to do great things this season."

 

Shetley was the biggest story of the tournament, Peregoy said.

 

After sweeping his way through the pool, Shetley won a 6-4 decision against Parkview's Hunter Boone in the bracket and Pleasant Hill's Nolan Miller at 2:20 in the championship match.

 

"Evan is a captain of the team also and has several responsibilities associated with that job as well as his responsibilities to wrestling success," Peregoy said. "This weekend, Evan definitely led from the front. Including Evan, there were six state qualifiers and medalists in the bracket."

 

Shetley faced three of them, most notable Wyatt Goade of Cassville a returning all-state wrestler. He defeated Goade in double overtime.

 

"This was a huge win for Shetley," Peregoy said.

 

Blankenship lost his first bracket match to Boonville's Brant Whitaker by fall at 5:34, but took a 4-0 decision over Owensville's Dustin Jahnsen in the third-place match.

 

Dixon upset Grandview's Jaheim Perkins in his first bracket match, winning a 10-0 major decision. He was pinned by Kirksville's Logan Blickhan. In the third-place match, he fell by 9-5 decision to Eldon's Strickland Shane.

Kilburn fell to Eldon's Trenton Dillon by technical fall, then lost a major decision to Parkview's Colton Rice in the third-place match.

 

Brendan Labbee (113) took seventh, pinning Grandview's Delaney Kibble in 2:01. "Brendan had to move up a weight class and is still making slight style changes," Peregoy said. "He has the ability to do great things once those adjustments are complete."

 

Ransom Dudley (138) finished 11th. He pinned Adrian's Ryan Glaser in 35 seconds. "Dudley stepped up to take a spot at 138 which is one of the most difficult weight classes in the state," Peregoy said. "He took it on the chin a bit but he also handed out his fair share as well."

 

Trey Eplin (182) finished 13th. He pinned Shawnee Mission Northwest's (Kan.) in 3:50 and had a forfeit over Grandview's Chris Martin.

 

Drake Hill (220) took 11th. He fell to Clinton's Grant Arcano and pinned Pleasant Hill's Peyton Schlueter in 1:12.

 

Tristan Brown (285) took seventh. He was pinned by Owensville's Bryce Mistler, but won a sudden victory against Summit Christian Academy's Max Parks.