Jeremy Vester placed first and four teammates finished third in the Panther Classic wrestling tournament Saturday, Jan. 10, at Snohomish.

Oak Harbor finished seventh out of 16 teams with 86.5 points. Meridian of Idaho won the team title with 205.5 points; host Snohomish was next with 181.

The Wildcats did not enter wrestlers in three weight classes.

Vester won the 138-pound division by edging Snohomish’s Wyatt Butler 4-3 in the finals.

Christian Bertram (126), Dymond Piper (145), Mark Johnston (152) and Jackson Constant (285) all dropped semi-final matches and then came back to win in the consolation bracket to tie for third.

The biggest surprise for the Wildcats was Piper, according to coach Peter Esvelt.

“He previously had not had a successful tournament, but he showed great improvement and potential,” Esvelt said.

Piper dropped his opening match to the eventual champion and the state’s top-ranked 2A wrestler Caleb Frey of Blaine and then rolled through the consolation bracket with four high-scoring wins.

Vester, the state’s top-ranked 3A wrestler, won by a technical fall, 7-2 and 8-3 to reach the finals. His second-round win was over Blaine’s Billy Dodd, ranked eighth in 2A.

Third-ranked Bertram lost to second-ranked Gavin Rork of Arlington in overtime in the semis, then defeated a Ferndale wrestler he lost to in double overtime earlier this season.

Johnston, ranked seventh in 3A, lost in the semifinals to the third-ranked 4A wrestler before winning the third-place match.

Constant’s loss in the semifinals came to the state’s top-ranked wrestler, Mosese Fifita of Glacier Peak, who placed third at state last season.

The tournament provided “tough competition, which is great as we prepare for state,” Esvelt said. “This was our toughest tournament before post season, so it was great to see more success in our wrestlers.”

Oak Harbor (0-1, 3-4) returns to Wesco North action at Arlington (0-1, 5-4) at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 15.

Then the Wildcats head to Renton at 6 p.m. Friday, Jan. 16, for their annual trip to the PanCan Duals against Hazen and Liberty.

The match’s purpose is to raise awareness for pancreatic cancer, which claimed the life of long-time Oak Harbor resident Rod Magana, father of OHHS graduate and Hazen coach Rory Magana.

Oak Harbor results at the Panther Classic:

Robert Pennington, 106 pounds: bye; lost by pin (:38); won 7-4; lost by pin (:50).

Garrett Stahl, 113: lost 6-2; bye; lost 2-0.

Bertram, 126 (third place): won 15-7; won 7-3; lost 2-0; won 3-2.

Vester, 138 (first place): won by technical fall; won 7-2; won 10-3; won 4-3.

Piper, 145 (third place): lost 16-2; won 14-6; won 17-5; won 17-9; won 22-9.

Johnston, 152 (third place): won by pin (3:30); won 7-4; lost 13-4; won 6-2.

Brycin McIntyre, 160: won 13-6; lost by pin (1:06); lost by pin (3:53).

Colton Burdick, 170: lost by pin (1:15); lost by pin (3:30).

Nate Mecom, 182: lost 2-0; bye; lost by pin (1:39).

John Long, 220: lost by pin (1:10); bye; lost by pin (2:04).

Constant, 285 (third place): bye; injury default; lost by pin (1:24); won 4-2.

Sam Zook, 285: won 3-1; lost by pin (1:10); won by pin (:47); lost by pin (2:05).