ShawneeDispatch.com

Shawnee Mission North hadn’t cracked the top four at its home wrestling tournament since 2004.

That all changed when the Indians tied for third place, had two individual champions and seven medalists Saturday at the Shawnee Mission North Invitational.

It marked the Indians’ best all-around performance of the season, and coach Jim Sherwood said he hoped it was a sign of what’s to come as the squad builds toward the postseason.

“We have not had more than four medalists at any other tournaments this season,” Sherwood said. “We are definitely headed in the right direction this season. We have two more major events prior to the regional — (the) district duals and Sunflower League — that we hope to continue to build toward success at the regional and state.

“We have a core group of athletes that have stayed together for at least three years, and that is the way that good teams are built,” Sherwood said. “We are finally getting through some injuries and illness that kept us from performing our best in the part of the season before winter break. We have settled into a stable lineup for each event, which means that we know who is going to represent the weight class and what the strategic expectations are for that individual.”

On Saturday, the expectations were high among that core group, and for the most part they delivered.

Senior Andrew Jones led the way for North by winning his second straight North Invitational title. He was a champion last year at 135 pounds, and this season he used three straight pins — the first taking 61 seconds and the second just 68 seconds — to roll to the championship.

“This year I’m more aggressive out there on the mat. I take more control of (the match) and try to get one set of moves instead of many,” Jones said. “It’s senior year. I’m just trying to do my best to get ready for league, regionals and state.”

Junior Justin Diercks also captured a championship. The 160-pounder won his first-round match by a 12-3 major decision and then edged St. James Academy sophomore Rory Haug in the semifinals, 3-2. That set up a title match against Blue Valley junior Tyler Hendrickson.

Diercks started slowly and dug himself a 5-0 hole before earning a reversal and a 3-point near-fall to tie the match by the end of the second period. Diercks continued to dominate during the final period as he earned an escape point, a takedown, a 2-point near-fall and another takedown on his way to a wild 12-7 victory.

The title was the first of the season for Diercks, and the drama it required made it memorable.

“Once I got him turned over and I got him to his back … I don’t know what happened, but I just started doing better,” Diercks said. “I don’t think I was ready when I got out there, but I got ready in the middle of the second (period).”

Two other North wrestlers reached the finals but finished second. Junior Dustin Howard was the runner-up at 189 pounds and junior Jamie Barnhart took second at 215 pounds.

Three other North wrestlers made it to the finals in the consolation bracket. Sophomore Cody Carson placed third at 152 pounds, sophomore Zach Pitts was fourth at 130 pounds and senior Kyle Needham took fourth at 171 pounds.

Sherwood said that although the Indians were pleased with their performance on Saturday, they plan to build off of it.

“One tournament doesn’t make the season, but it is always good to do well when you are at home,” he said. “We picked up some wins against competition that will absolutely help with more favorable seeding as the season goes forward. We also hope that we are out of the woods with the injuries and illness for the remainder of the season. The biggest key for us is keeping the best competitors at each weight class on the mat and out of the training room.”

TWO FROM ST. JAMES TAKE FIRST

St. James Academy also had a solid all-around tournament while placing fifth as a team. The Thunder had a pair of champions and five additional medalists.

Senior Max Mancuso led the way for St. James as he cruised to the 119-pound championship. Mancuso pinned his way through the field and accomplished those feats in the first period of all three of his matches. He needed just 1:20 to pin St. Thomas Aquinas sophomore Michael Golubski in the finals.

For Mancuso, who improved to 16-8 this season, the success throughout the day felt good.

“I think it went great,” Mancuso said. “I just had the mental ability and I was ready to go today.”

Junior Ryne Cokeley joined Mancuso as a tournament champion. He pinned his first two opponents and then cruised to a 10-0 major decision against Topeka High senior Cody Harrison in the finals. Cokeley improved to 32-3 overall this season.

Junior Zach Pollom also reached the finals for St. James, but the 135-pounder lost a 5-0 decision to Blue Valley North junior Zack Tanenbaum in the title match.

Also for St. James, junior Nick Mancuso placed third at 103 pounds, junior Dustin Vielhauer placed fourth at 125 pounds, senior T.J. Vielhauer was fourth at 140 pounds and sophomore Rory Haug took fourth at 160 pounds.

Mancuso said he was pleased with how well the team performed as a group, especially with the postseason looming in two weeks.

“They’re just staying strong, and we’re just doing what we can,” he said. “It’s the end of the season, so everybody’s ready to get some wins and do well at state.”

Junior Taylor Moeder, a Class 4A defending state champion and top-ranked wrestler in his class at 130 pounds, suffered his first loss of the year when he was disqualified from the tournament in the semifinals. The disqualification came after a referee determined that Moeder committed a flagrant misconduct penalty.