Ottawa beats L-P in ‘great environment’ at Howard Fellows

Ottawa wrestling coach Peter Marx thinks his wrestlers will remember Thursday’s meet for a long time.

Not because of the results – although those were good for the Pirates – but because of the unique location.

Ottawa jumped to a big lead early in a 51-29 win over rival La Salle-Peru outside at Howard Fellows Stadium.

“It was a great environment to have a wrestling meet,” Marx said. “It’s something the kids will never forget. We’re very pleased with how we wrestled.”

First-year L-P coach Matt Rebholz, an L-P graduate and former wrestler, said Thursday’s outdoor meet was something he never envisioned.

“I never thought in my time having wrestled and played football here that we’d actually have a wrestling match on the football field,” Rebholz said. “It was a very cool opportunity. It was fun, especially for the seniors.”

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L-P's Greg Williams wrestles Ottawa's Landon Marx at Howard Fellows Stadium on Thursday May 13, 2021. It was the first time a wrestling meet was played outdoors on the new turf at the stadium. (Scott Anderson)

Ottawa freshman Grason Johnson enjoyed the experience.

“It was a cool experience,” Johnson said. “It was probably the first and last time ever doing this. What a great way to wrestle.”

The Pirates stormed out to a 36-0 lead due to three forfeits and first period pins by Hunter Wilson at 152 pounds, Tate Spicer at 170 and Hunter Duffy at 182.

“It gives you a little bit of confidence, but at the same time, typically when we wrestle La Salle-Peru, that’s what happens – is we run out to a bigger lead then we hit their hammers,” Marx said. “Momentum can go either way. We had a 36-point lead and all of a sudden they get a pin, a pin and a forfeit, and it’s 36-18 and it can go either way. We weathered the storm a little bit and came out and wrestled well overall.”

Connor Lorden got the Cavaliers on the board with a pin 46 seconds into his 195-pound match.

Following a forfeit, L-P’s Rylan Poole recorded a first-period pin at 285.

The Cavs’ only other contested win came at 120, where Greg Williams won by technical fall, 17-2.

“We won a few matches and we lost a few matches that could have changed the score a little bit at the end, but it was a good night,” Rebholz said. “Connor wrestled solid. Rylan wrestled tough. Greg wrestled an outstanding match. He completed what he did in practice. He did all the moves he’s been working on. It was neat seeing that.”

For Ottawa, Alberto Villareal (106) and Tristan Simmons (126) won by first-period falls, while Johnson capped the night with a 12-5 decision at 132.

“That was probably the best we performed all year,” Johnson said. “We worked hard this week. L-P is a rival, so we worked extra hard in the room and we performed great.

“[My match] was good. I knew the kid was tough. I knew had to go out there, wrestle well on my feet and just work hard.”