North Mahaska and Pekin Compete at North Mahaska Invite

This past Saturday, Jan. 9, the North Mahaska High School Gymnasium was jam packed with high school wrestlers looking to add a few notches to their victory belts. 

The annual North Mahaska Invite welcomed twelve teams for competition Saturday morning and North Mahaska and Pekin finished in fourth fifth place. 

The host Warhawks had a strong showing with seven wrestlers finishing in the top three of their respective weight classes. 

“I can’t be any more proud of how we wrestled,” said North Mahaska head coach Ryan Groom.

We found ways to get better all day long and we finished strong after a great start.”

Highlighting the Warhawks day on the mat was Trace Goemaat who finished first in the 285-pound division. 

Goemaat finished the day with three pins on his way to winning his home tournament. 

“Trace needed that win, not only for the team but for himself,” Groom said. “It was a lot of fun watching him get down early and just keep working and finding a victory.”

Teammates and brothers Michael (138 pounds) and Paul DeJong (120 pounds) both finished second in their respective weight classes. 

Bringing home third place finishes for North Mahaska were Wyatt VanWheelden (145 pounds), PJ Stout (132 pounds), Hayden Jones (195 pounds) and Matt German (106 pounds). 

The Pekin Panthers success Saturday was spring boarded by first place finishes for Michael Jones and Mason Juhl. 

Jones won his opening match in the 138-pound division by 18-2 technical fall before following up with back-to-back pins to earn his championship.