WILDWOOD • Lafayette wrestling coach Scott Sissom was hoping to ratchet things up for Saturday's Lafayette Invitational.
But with the Springfield (Ill.) unable to make the trip -- central Illinois was hit by a winter storm -- the tournament was missing a key ingredient
With Springfield stuck at home, Sissom's Lafayette squad did what it could to provide fireworks. The Lancers powered to the team title, scoring 410 points and easily outdistancing second-place Nixa (300.5) and third-place Fort Zumwalt South (261).
"I was trying to toughen up the tournament," Sissom said. "Springfield probably has four or five kids that are ranked in Class 2 in Illinois, which would have been nice for the tournament. Some weight classes were not as tough as some tournaments around. When it got towards the end with the heavier weights, it was a little thin."
Lafayette's JV team filled in for Springfield and was good enough to finish fifth behind Kirkwood.
"We're inexperienced as far as mat time," Sisson said. "But we have a lot of young coaches who are doing a great job with the kids and developing them at a very fast rate."
Lafayette standout Nick Olejnik had his work cut out for him for the 138-pound championship. Fort Zumwalt South's Cody Zeik had Olejnik on his back as the first period ended with Zeik ahead 4-0.
"Giving the head and the arm in the first period, really put me of position," Olejnik said. "I wasn't too worried. I was more mad at myself than worrying about winning or losing the match. I just wasn't paying attention to my position too much. He is a good wrestler and capitalized on it."
Olejnik, who already won titles at the Parkway South, Lindbergh and the all-Suburban tournaments, regained control in the second period when he moved ahead 5-4.
The third period had plenty of action, though not many points. Olejnik scored a takedown and emerged with a 7-4 victory. The victory boosted the Lafayette senior to 32-1.
Olejnik was one of four Lafayette winners in Saturday's finals.
Lafayette's Kevin Root looked impressive in his 182 title match against Nixa's Ben Melton. Root pushed the intensity level in the second period, taking a 5-2 lead before wearing the Nixa wrestler down and finishing with a pin with 1:25 left in the third period.
The Lancers' Ryan Jones won a 9-6 in the 132-pound final, and Khayil Moore posted an impressive 17-3 major decision at 152.
At 195, Fort Zumwalt South's Jack Hobbs gutted through for a 11-6 decision victory over Lafayette's Jammel Smith.
Hobbs got an early takedown and led 6-4 at midway point of the second period before Smith got a takedown to tie it 6-6. Hobbs, however, had a near pin after a takedown in the second and was pretty much in control from that moment on.
"From there, I think it kind of broke him," Hobbs said. "He was getting real tired. It was tough, but I came through."
The victory improved Hobbs to 21-14. His season got a big boost when he won a title at the Gateway Athletic Conference's North Division tournament on Jan. 7.
"Right after Christmas, it was a big turning point," Hobbs said.
Hobbs said his practice-room partner, Alex Miniex, made it a goal to raise the bar in the second half of the season.
"I was doing very good and he said, 'We're getting better. I'm not going to let you get any cheap stuff in practice anymore. I'm making you better,'" Hobbs said.
Zumwalt South won two other titles -- Jesse Czerniewski at 120 and Nick Smith at 145.
In a matchup of youngsters, Kirkwood sophomore Robert Young earned a 8-1 decision over Layette freshman Keith Sims at 220.
Nixa won titles at 126 with Tony Corsolini and at heavyweight with Xyah Ra.
Parkview's only champ was Evin Barber, who was efficient and effective in his 160 title match with Lafayette's Brendon Schulte.
"Nixa is an extremely tough team," Sissom "The format probably didn't suit them as well as it does us. They have some really good wrestlers. Zumwalt South has improved a lot."
