Special to the Picayune 

Westlake finished the regular season in fine fashion last week with an impressive win over District 26 rival Cedar Park, and a runner-up finish in the Sally George Invitational in Marion, Ohio. 

On Jan. 28, the Chaps hosted the Timberwolves in the final home meet of the season. It was also Senior Parent Night, as six seniors competed in front of the home crowd for the final time in their careers. They did not disappoint the fans, pinning a 60-12 defeat on the visitors.

Curtis Loeffel continued his late season surge by starting Westlake off with a decision over David Collier, 12-8, at 189 pounds. David Durham added a pin at 215 pounds. Sammy Ivester collected a forfeit at 103 pounds, and David Nickelatti followed that with a pin at 119 pounds. Zain Khan continued the run for Westlake by beating Brett Ferdinand 7-4 at 125 pounds. Chase Betzer followed that with a pin at 130 pounds. 

Senior co-captain Neils Hazen wrestled up a weight class at 140 pounds and pinned Andrew Thomas in the first period. Sawyer Morris collected another forfeit for the Chaps at 145 pounds before senior teammate Chris Aug fell to Adam Hill with a dramatic pin just before time expired at 152 pounds. 

“I felt really bad for Chris,” Westlake coach Patrick O’Harra said. “He dominated the match over a very talented wrestler, but just made one mistake at the end. This is the eighth straight year I have had an Aug on the team, and the family will be greatly missed.”

Two senior captains then made the most of their final appearances at Westlake. Alex Hershey pinned Todd Barder at 160 pounds at the end of the first period, and Grant Perry made short work of Kody Kemper by pinning at 171 pounds. Trevor Hershey capped off the night for Westlake with another first period pin at 180 pounds.

“I was very happy for the seniors to go out in such a nice way,” O’Harra said. “Cedar Park was a nemesis of ours for years. They are a little down this year, but are very well coached.”

 

Chaps impress in Ohio

The next day, the Chaps headed to Columbus, Ohio, for a tournament at Marion Pleasant High School. The two-day tournament featured some of the best wrestlers in Ohio, and it provided a homecoming for O’Harra. 

“I grew up and wrestled in Ohio, and the state is traditionally among the best in the nation,” he said. “There are so many teams up there that the quality of wrestling is exceptional.” 

Friday began with a trip to the NCAA runner-up Ohio State University wrestling facility, where head coach Tom Ryan addressed the kids and offered a tour of the facility. The Chaps then braved sub-freezing temperatures and traveled north to Marion. 

Westlake did not lose a match in the first round, and built a solid lead by the end of the day’s action. On Saturday, 10 wrestlers made it through to the placement rounds, including five finalists. Alex and Trevor Hershey both placed fourth, at 160 and 171 pounds, respectively. 

Nickelatti added a third-place finish for the Chaps at 112 pounds, as did Peyton Burns at 152 pounds. Durham also brought home a third-place medal for Westlake at 215 pounds.

The Chaps qualified five wrestlers into the championship round, but none could emerge with a gold medal. The most disappointing loss came at 130 pounds when Betzer appeared to have scored the winning takedown before time expired. The lead official awarded the points, but the associate official waved off the takedown, saying time had expired. 

“I saw time left on the clock when Chase scored, and a few other coaches told me they did, too, but sometimes you don’t get the breaks,” O’Harra said. “I feel badly for Chase, because he knows he won, but he took it in stride. He is a classy kid.”

Hazen then gave up an evening takedown at the end of regulation at 135 pounds and fell to Marion Pleasant’s Korey Keplinger in sudden-death overtime, and Jim Gianakopoulos at 140 pounds fell 19-5 to two-time Ohio champion Cody Coomes of Pleasant in the finals. 

The most anticipated match-up of the tournament came at 145 pounds where Sawyer Morris faced Pleasant’s Quinton Cooperider. Morris took an undefeated record into the match against Cooperider, who is ranked third in Ohio. Morris never seemed to get into his groove, however, and suffered his first loss of the season, 4-1. 

“Sawyer said he was really nervous and wrestled very tight,” O’Harra said. “He usually is very aggressive. But this might be the best thing that could happen to him heading into the postseason. He will be nervous when he faces the best guys in Texas, and now he knows he has to stay aggressive.”

Westlake faced another heartbreaker at 171 pounds. Grant Perry was winning his match in the second period against Brandon Flaherty of Hamilton Township but got caught attempting a takedown and got thrown to his back and pinned with just seconds left on the clock.

The Chaps trailed the host school by only three points heading into the championships, but did not score any points in the round and finished as the runner-up by 20 points.

“To come up to Ohio, have 10 placers, five finalists and finish as the team runner-up, I could not be much happier,” O’Harra said. “I wish we had won a weight class or two, but overall, the trip was terrific.

The wrestlers finished off the weekend at Ohio State to watch the Buckeyes host Minnesota in a Big Ten showdown. Since Texas does not have any college wrestling programs, it was the first college wrestling event that most of the Westlake wrestlers had seen in person.

“That was just one more part of the experience for our guys,” O’Harra said. “To see some of the best wrestlers in the nation up close was quite an inspiration. I think the entire trip was a great motivator for our guys as we head into the postseason.”

The Chaps hope to defend their district title when they head to Leander on Saturday for the District 26 wrestling tournament. The top two finishers at each weight class advance to the Region IV tournament in San Antonio the following weekend.