Saturday was a good day for the Blair Oaks wrestling team.
The Falcons arrived at the Class 2 Sectional 2 Tournament with 11 wrestlers. Eight of them finished in the top-three of their respective weight classes to qualify for state, and three finished in first place to secure a first-round by at the Class 2 state championships.
"Coming in, we were think five to nine could be the number," Blair Oaks coach Mike DeMilia said. "To get eight is obviously a good day."
Blair Oaks had nine wrestlers advance to the semifinals. The Falcons posted a 7-2 record in that round and automatically qualified the seven winners for the state tournament.
"It takes the pressure off," DeMilia said. "It's so different this year, there's usually that bubble match in the second-round wrestlebacks. Winning those (semifinal) matches really takes the heat off you this year."
Eli Batiste finished first at 160 pounds for the Falcons, advancing to his third straight state tournament.
Batiste won 6-0 in the semifinals and won a district rematch against Helias' Alex Tesreau, beating him 6-4 in the first-place match.
"Wrestling at districts made me a lot more comfortable coming into sectionals," Batiste said, "because I knew the other district wasn't as good as our district. I only wrestled people from my district in this round."
Batiste defeated Tesreau 5-1 in the district title match two weekend ago.
"I'm typically better the second time I wrestle somebody," Batiste said. "I was more confident coming in this time, but he is a really good wrestler."
Camden Meeks took first at 182, winning both his matches. Meeks won by fall in the semifinals, setting up a first-place matchup against Priory's Adam Rolwes, who had a 13-0 record.
"We had been pointing to him all year when sectional assignments came out," DeMilia said of Rolwes. "He was going to be the guy."
After a scoreless first period, Meeks started down in the second and got an escape. He then added a takedown with three seconds left to build a 3-0 lead.
Meeks added a two-point nearfall in the third period to secure a 5-3 victory against Rolwes.
"He did a great job," DeMilia said. "He's won a bunch of matches in a row after getting off to a bit of a rough start. But he's just coming of his own, he's figured out what he has to do to win matches."
DeVonte Sanders finished second at districts at 285, but the Blair Oaks senior took first place in his weight class at sectionals. Sanders won by fall in both matches and pinned Fulton's Sheldyn Johnson in 3:34 in Saturday's title match.
"He's starting to learn what he has to do against those heavier guys," DeMilia said. "Sectional champ, I won't quite say I was expecting that at the beginning of the year. It's a big deal."
Like Meeks, Sanders will be making his second straight appearance at state.
"Last time, I was going through some illness," Sanders said. "Now I'm healthy, I'm 100 percent. I think I can place at state this year."
Four wrestlers finished runner-up at sectionals for Blair Oaks.
Levi Haney became a three-time state qualifier, taking second at 170. Haney lost by fall in the first-place match against Mexico's Jokiah Sewell, who has handed Haney three of his five losses this season.
"The last time he wrestled him at districts, he had him in trouble," DeMilia said. "He was leading, got caught in a weird position and got pinned. We felt pretty confident coming in, but the Sewell kid took care of business."
The four remaining Blair Oaks state qualifiers will be heading to the state tournament for the first time.
Easton DeMilia won by fall in the semifinals but lost 3-2 to Helias' Gage Lock for first place. The two met earlier at districts, with DeMilia winning that matchup 10-8, but Lock held off a late takedown by DeMilia to secure the win at sectionals.
"Lock's one of the best kids in the state, so I feel good about that," Mike DeMilia said. "It was nice to see Easton in there again."
Aidan Bolinger finished with a 2-1 record at sectionals at 113, clinching a state berth with a 9-4 win against Priory's Huck Simmons, a district champion, in the semifinals. Bolinger lost by fall to Helias' Carter Prenger for first place.
"This is only Aidan's third year of wrestling," DeMilia said. "For him to be a state qualifier, he's been through a lot. He had a tough freshman year and he's had struggles, but he's gotten better and better. He deserves to be there."
Nick Welch took second at 145 with a 2-1 record. Welch lost by fall to Helias' Wyatt Forck in the final, but he clinched a state berth by avenging a district loss to Fulton's Eston Dews with a win by fall in the sectional semifinals.
"The Dews kid kind of caught him at districts, so it felt good to beat him here," DeMilia said. " I think he can beat some kids at state."
Brady Kerperin was the lone Falcons to clinch a state berth through wrestlebacks. After losing in the semifinals, Kerperin won his next two matches by fall, which included pinning Fulton's Nick Ash in 4:57 in the third-place match.
"Brady went into districts not even seeded," DeMilia said. " He showed some character in bouncing back and winning those two. The Fulton kid was tough two weeks ago."
Finishing 1-2 at sectionals for Blair Oaks were Jayden Purdy at 195 and Joe Welch at 220. Caiden Sanford dropped both his matches at 132.
Due to COVID-19, the state wrestling championships will be limited to one class per day, and due to the NFHS rules on the maximum number of matches a wrestler can compete in during one day, each weight bracket is limited to 12 wrestlers. That number has been 16 in years past.
"We know there are a lot of good teams out there that we haven't seen," DeMilia said, "with the Pleasant Hills and the Senecas and all them. We have our hands full for sure."
The Class 2 state championships will take place Thursday, March 11, at Cable Dahmer Arena in Independence.
"To have an opportunity to get eight down there is going to be pretty fun," DeMilia said.