Oakwood/Salt Fork wrestling finishes ninth at Abe Rumble meet
By Fred Kroner
Oakwood/Salt Fork’s wrestling team won eight of nine dual meets during the two-day, 60-school Abe’s Rumble event in Springfield, which concluded on Saturday (Dec. 30).
The Comets finished ninth in the top division (Gold Division).
Five Oakwood/Salt Fork wrestlers were unbeaten during the tournament.
The Comets’ top performers were Pedro Rangel (9-0 at 132 pounds), Jack Ajster (9-0 at 138 pounds), Grant Brewer (9-0 at 150 and 157 pounds), Dalton Brown (9-0 at 175 pounds) and Jameson Chambliss (5-0 at 190 and 215 pounds).
Rangel recorded seven pins, including three in less than a minute. His fastest fall was in 26 seconds. Ajster posted six pins, including five in the first period. His quickest pin was in 43 seconds.
Brewer had seven pins. His fastest was in 40 seconds. One of his pins was in a pressure-packed dual meet against Stillman Valley.
The match was tied, 33-33, entering the last bout, which found Brewer taking the mat at 157 pounds. He landed a pin in 2:55 to clinch the 39-33 team win for the Comets.
Brown also earned seven pins, six of which came in the first period. Brown registered pins to officially clinch two dual meet wins, a 35-34 win over Canton and a 42-33 triumph against LeRoy.
Chambliss won four of his five matches by pin, including one in 1:02.
Other Comets who won more than half of their tournament matches were Bryson Capansky (7-2 at 157 and 165 pounds, with three pins), Thomas Wells (6-3 at 126 pounds with two pins), Carter Chambliss (5-4 at 144 pounds with five pins) and Sailer Harrison (3-1 at 150 and 157 pounds with one pin).
Capansky’s fastest fall was in 1:17, Wells’ quickest pin was in 1:21 and Carter Chambliss’ fastest pin came in 44 seconds). Harrison’s pin occurred in 4 minutes.
Teammates with multiple pins were Brayden Edwards (three first-period falls at 113 and 120 pounds, including one in 41 seconds) and Kade Fleming (three pins at 285 pounds, including one in 1:53).
Tucker Pesek (190 and 215 pounds) landed one pin, but it came against Benton, when he was the team’s final competitor. Oakwood/Salt Fork carried a 36-33 lead into his 190-pound bout, which he ended in 5:13 to secure the Comets’ 42-33 team win over Benton.
Other squad members with wins at Springfield were Steven Uden (four wins at 106 pounds) and Kyler Johnson (one win at 165 pounds).
The cumulative record for Oakwood/Salt Fork wrestlers was 76-36 with 49 of the wins occurring on pins.
Four of the team’s wrestlers reached the 20-win mark for the season at Springfield, including Rangel, Brewer and Brown, all of whom are 22-2 overall. Ajster has a 20-6 season mark.
The Comets (20-1) return to action on Tuesday (Jan. 9) at Salt Fork in a meet that also includes Mattoon.
Oakwood/Salt Fork was ranked third in Class 2A as a team in the final rankings released in 2023 by Illinois Matmen on Dec. 31.
Individually, eight squad members received recognition by Illinois Matmen: Capansky (No. 2 at 157), Brewer (No. 6 at 150), Rangel (No. 8 at 132), Edwards (honorable mention at 113), Tyler Huchel (honorable mention at 120), Carter Chambliss (honorable mention at 138), Brown (honorable mention at 175) and Harley Grimm (honorable mention at 215).
