La Salle-Peru wrestlers ‘step up’ to beat Ottawa on senior night

LA SALLE – When La Salle-Peru wrestling coach Matt Rebholz looked at the potential matchups for Thursday’s dual against Ottawa, he figured it would come down to the wire.

Instead, the Cavaliers built a 27-point lead and closed it out with three straight victories to earn a 50-25 victory for their first Interstate 8 Conference win of the season.

“Head-to-head with Ottawa on paper, we’re pretty close,” Rebholz said. “We had guys step up and get wins.”

Beating Ottawa on senior night made it more meaningful.

“The energy was totally there,” L-P senior Walter Haage said. “We all connected as a team. We had one goal, and that was to beat Ottawa.

“Ottawa is our biggest rival, so it’s special to beat them on senior night.”

Senior Noah Wroblewski set the tone for the Cavs as he jumped ahead of Owen Kearfott 6-0 at 175 pounds before pinning him with 41 seconds left in the second period.

After Wes Weatherford won via technical fall (24-8) to pull the Pirates within 6-5, L-P won five of the next six matches to build a 35-8 lead.

Junior Kiely Domyancich, wrestling her first boys dual of the season, won by fall at 113 for a 24-8 lead.

“I knew the team would respect me and I would help them get that goal of beating Ottawa, because that was our big goal,” said Domyancich, who improved to 19-0. “They’re our rivals. We don’t beat them often, but this time we knew we had to get it done because it’s our senior night.

“These seniors deserved it.”

Domyancich fell behind early as Ottawa’s Gio Hernandez scored a takedown before Domyancich earned an escape. Down 3-2 in the second, Domyancich started down with three seconds left and quickly escaped to tie it heading to the final period. In the third, she escaped to take the lead, then scored a takedown before getting the pin with 24 seconds left.

“I knew I had to get to the legs,” Domyancich said. “It was definitely an exciting match. I think I could have done better on bottom, but I got the job done.”

Also during L-P’s run, Drew Sell (215) won by second-period pin, Gianni Verucchi (106) recorded a pin just before the first-period buzzer, Austin Herron (120) won by technical fall (16-0), and Adrian Rico (126) recorded a pin in the first period.

The Pirates pulled within 35-25 with a run that included a win by Mark Munson via injury default at 138 and Doug Sibert recording a technical fall (18-1).

“We came out a little flat,” Ottawa coach Peter Marx said. “We knew it was going to be a competitive match with La Salle. It always is. They came out and just, matchups, they had the better night tonight.

“Doug Sibert ... I thought he had a really nice night. Mark Munson, even though his match ended on an injury default, I thought he wrestled really well. He kept on attacking and was staying in there.”

Caleb Plut secured the win for the Cavs with a pin at 150. He recorded three takedowns and scored six near-fall points to build a 15-2 lead before winning by pin with 30 seconds left in the first period.

Zach Pocivasek (157) won with an overtime takedown, and Haage closed out the match with a second-period pin at 165.

“We didn’t need the win, but I went out there with the mentality that I can get that win and I can get that pin for our team,” Haage said. “I was trying multiple moves just pounding on top. I ended up getting my arm over and puling in an arm bar, and that’s how I secured that one.”

Before the varsity dual, eight girls matches were held.

For the Cavs, Kalista Frost (100), Kalli Ware (115), Emily Lowery (115) and Ava Edwall (140) won by pin, with Ware’s coming at the first-period buzzer, while Ruby Davis (130) recorded a technical fall.

“I love the energy the girls bring,” Rebholz said. “Our girls are tough. Some of them are first-year wrestlers. They go out there and give everything they have. They’re willing to learn. They’re willing to ask questions. It’s fun seeing all levels.”

For the Pirates, Izzy Gwaltney (110) bounced back from an 11-5 deficit to win by second-period pin, Amelia Buckley (120) won by fall, and Emma Tomlinson (120) won by technical fall.

“The girls wrestled well,” Marx said. “They’ve been really picking up and getting better and better as we’re going through the year.”

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L-P's Gianni Verucchi wrestles Ottawa's Ryan Rowe on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025 in Sellett Gymnasium at L-P High School. (Scott Anderson)