Vieira wins 100th match
By Cort Reynolds
ELMORE – The Ada High School wrestling team competed well at the two-day Woodmore A Classic Invitational meet Friday and Saturday, January 3 and 4, finishing ninth out of 25 teams.
Ada senior Landon Simon won the 215 lbs. class title, beating out 23 competitors to claim the crown with a perfect 8-0 record. He won his first six matches by pin.
In the semifinals he posted a 14-1 decision victory. In the title round bout, Simon triumphed 5-2.
Ada senior Liam Vieira won his 100th varsity match via pin in the third-place bout Saturday. He went 6-1 at the tournament with five pins.
Vieira became just the fourth wrestler in Ada history to reach 100 wins, joining Austin Windle, Chase Sumner and Clayton McClain.
“Liam and Landon have had a huge impact on our entire wrestling team in so many ways,” said Ada head coach Eric Perkins. “Their leadership and encouragement of some of our younger athletes has been a key to some of the growth and increased success other wrestlers are having.
“Seeing them both accomplish some really big individual things, especially on the same day, was really exciting,” he added.
Perkins singled out Vieira’s career achievement.
“Liam has been one of the best wrestlers on this team since he was a freshman,” said Perkins. “He has battled some injuries and some adversity over the course of four years, but has stayed consistent and continued to do the things he needs to in order to be successful.
“Reaching 100 wins doesn't happen by accident or luck, it is the product of a lot of hard work and perseverance over years,” he added.
Simon went 8-0 with six pins on the weekend to improve to 18-2 this season.
“Landon has gotten better and better every year,” said the coach. “He struggled a lot as a first-year freshman wrestler, but always stayed really positive and kept doing the right things. As a sophomore and a junior, he just kept refining some things. He started to figure out what would be his wrestling style and what worked for him.
“This season he has taken a huge jump forward,” Perkins continued. “He made his first-ever climb to the top of the podium, at an event where there were 24 wrestlers in his weight class.
“He won in a variety of ways, some matches where he led the whole way, others he had to come from behind but he kept finding ways to advance,” he added.
On the girls side, Bulldog Cheznie Vieira finished seventh out of 22 wrestlers in the 125-pound weight class at the Defiance Tinora girls tournament. She posted a 4-1 record at the event.
The Bulldog grapplers return to the mat Saturday, January 11 at the Crestview Duals meet.
Ada individual placers (tourney record w/pin total)
- Landon Simon - 1st at 215 lbs. (8-0, 6 pins)
- Liam Vieira - 3rd at 144 (6-1, 5 pins)
- Wyatt Fisher - 4th at 138 (6-3, 1 pin)
- Silas Riblet - 5th at 120 (4-3, 4 pins)
- Easton Lane - 5th at 285 (6-3, 3 pins)
- Layne Simon - 8th at 165 (3-4, 3 pins)
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