Thursday evening saw the Guthrie boys’ wrestling team move to 1-0 to start the 2024-25 season, winning 42-27 over Perry.
The Bluejays won nine out of 14 matches over the Class 3A Maroons with three of those victories ending in falls, including senior and defending state champion Kaedin Herendeen, who pinned Perry’s Tucker Vollmer during the first period of their 120-pound bout.
“Really good, really good,” said head coach Jadon Davenport about his team’s performance Thursday. “We had a lot of young guys step up, and our older guys went out and did what they’re supposed to do. Going out there and getting falls, takedowns, bonuses. We needed that from them.”
Perry actually took an early 6-0 lead out of the gate after Guthrie’s Joel Landry was pinned by Ryker Ernce in the final seconds of the 106. The Bluejays immediately tied it back up after Khonor Martin had no one to wrestle in the 113, giving Guthrie an automatic six points.
Herendeen won his match in quick fashion, then Aydin Smith faced Carson Avery in the 126, losing by 17-4 decision. Matthew Mihalik made it 18-10 Guthrie after pinning Aiden Ferrel in the 132-pound match, then Luke Lyons pinned Hayden Balderson in the 138 to give the Bluejays a 24-10 advantage. Thomas Jirous outlasted Riley Schlegel in the 144 to win by 10-1 decision.
Perry rattled off two-straight wins thanks to Straus Karcher and Zane Ruth, who won by tech fall and fall to bring the score to 28-21.
In response, Guthrie won four in-a-row to extend their lead to 21 points as the dual drew to an end. Clayton Carey (165), Roston Uselton (190) and Wyatt Silvis (215) all won by decision, and Bryson Hall picked up a tech fall victory over Perry’s Hunter Miner in the 175.
Perry broke the win streak after Logan Cook pinned Guthrie’s Tyler Powell in the final heavyweight match, but it wouldn’t be enough for the Maroons. Guthrie won the season-opening dual by a score of 42-27 in front of a supportive home crowd at GHS.
“It sets the momentum going into the year,” Davenport said on how important it is winning that first dual. “And allows us to figure out what we need to do to move forward. You know, these duals are sometimes tough to navigate through, especially early on in the year. The ability to come out here and get a win with that is huge, especially looking to late January when they look back on these duals, so being able to secure these W’s is really important.”
The Bluejays now prep for another home dual next Thursday, Dec. 12, when they go head-to-head with Comanche before going to Enid for the Mid American Nationals, Dec. 13-14.