Advertisement

Central wrestling scores several victories at recent meets

Error message

  • Warning: array_merge(): Expected parameter 1 to be an array, bool given in _simpleads_render_ajax_template() (line 133 of /home/pdccourier/www/www/sites/all/modules/simpleads/includes/simpleads.helper.inc).
  • Notice: Trying to get property 'settings' of non-object in _simpleads_adgroup_settings() (line 343 of /home/pdccourier/www/www/sites/all/modules/simpleads/includes/simpleads.helper.inc).
  • Warning: array_merge(): Expected parameter 1 to be an array, bool given in _simpleads_render_ajax_template() (line 157 of /home/pdccourier/www/www/sites/all/modules/simpleads/includes/simpleads.helper.inc).
  • Notice: Trying to access array offset on value of type null in include() (line 24 of /home/pdccourier/www/www/sites/all/modules/simpleads/templates/simpleads_ajax_call.tpl.php).

By Willis Patenaude, Times-Register

The Central wrestling program made strides this past week, winning match-ups at the Tripoli meet and the Northwood-Kensett tournament. 

Starting with the meet at Tripoli on Dec. 15, the team won two of three match-ups, defeating Central City and Tripoli, while losing to Starmont. Against Central City, the Warriors won 36-18, with 126-pound Nick Deitchler providing the lone wrestling victory with a pin over Central City’s Lexi Henncik in 1:54. The other victories all came via forfeit. The team also suffered two defeats, when Brand Beatty (132 pounds) and Sam Fettkether (160 pounds) both lost via pin. 

“The kids who lost know what they need to work on, and we will hit on that today and the rest of this week,” said head coach Joe Koehn. “It can be a little beneficial in a way that we are getting numbers compared to a couple years ago, when we would show up to duals with one to four kids. Team victories help to build confidence throughout the whole team, but, obviously, I would like to win those few matches that we had.” 

Against Tripoli, the Warriors won 36-24 without actually winning a single wrestling match. They won the match-up based on having more wrestlers, leading to multiple forfeits by Tripoli. Brandon Whittle, Fettkether and Noah Diersen all lost via pin. 

“Sometimes it isn’t how they wrestle, it is how we match up,” Koehn said. “Tripoli had some decent kids at the weights that we matched up with them at…We had three freshmen in the lineup…We can beat them individually; we just need to fix our mistakes and take care of business the next time. I don’t like winning without winning a single match. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth. It’s more mental preparation for each individual kid.” 

The final match-up of the meet was against Starmont, which Central lost 54-12. Victories came from Daniel Royer (120 pounds) and Deitchler, both via pin. Nate Shirbroun also won an exhibition match at 170 pounds. Starmont won the other five matches via pin, but Central was competitive. 

Discussing the two victors, Royer and Deitchler, Koehn said, “They both had a good night, and they go hard during every drill in practice. But like everyone else, they have things to work on as well.” 

Regarding the rest of the match-up, Koehn remarked on the importance of confidence. 

“Confidence is a big thing. I believe in my wrestlers 100 percent, but if they don’t believe, then something needs to change in practice. They need to have the mindset that when they step on the mat, regardless who they are wrestling, they are going to take it to them and try to be successful at all costs,” he said. 

The Warriors next hit the mat at the Northwood-Kensett dual on Dec. 19, winning three out of five match-ups. They defeated Belmond-Klemme 36-24, Rockford 34-18 and Tripoli 36-30, while losing to Humboldt 54-24 and Northwood-Kensett 36-18. 

In the rematch against Tripoli, Central lost the only two wrestling matches that took place, but won the overall dual with six forfeits. However, the Warriors were able to show their wrestling acumen in the other two wins. 

First, against Belmond-Klemme, Royer, Maria Medberry (145 pounds), Fettkether and Whittle all won their matches via pin. Shirbroun and Spencer Heer (195 pounds) both lost by fall. 

Second, against Rockford, the Warriors went 2-2 in wrestling matches, with wins produced by Fettkether via majority decision and Sean Wilwert (160 pounds) via pin. The remaining points came from forfeits. 

“We had numbers and they didn’t. That’s the plus side of having more kids out then other schools is that you have the opportunity to fill more weights than they can to get those forfeit points. Obviously, we need to win some of those match-ups. But we’re getting there,” Koehn said. 

In the first defeat, against Humboldt, the Warriors actually won more wrestling matches, securing four to Humboldt’s three, but lost the overall dual due to forfeits. Heer, Whittle, Royer and Wilwert all won their matches by fall, with Royer and Whittle winning in under a minute. 

When asked about the fairness of a system that rewards match-up wins without winning more wrestling matches, Koehn replied, “We wrestled tough against them. But forfeits work in favor of the team who has more kids. If one team can fill that weight and the other team can’t, then the team who fills the weight gets six points. We started wrestling well as we got going throughout the day and started picking up more wins.”

The loss to Northwood-Kensett looked closer than it was due to forfeits, as the Warriors went 1-4 in wrestling matches, with the lone victory provided by Royer, who won with a pin in 13 seconds. 

“They just had some better kids at the weights we were matched up with. There was a couple matches that we should’ve won, but you gotta live, learn and move on to the next,” Koehn explained. 

Overall, the team is showing improvement, competing hard and gaining valuable experience for the duals coming after winter break, when the girls will get more opportunities to show their mettle on the mat. 

As the season stands now, Koehn said, “We have been wrestling for the most part pretty solid on top and have been continuing to improve. Our bottom game improved a little bit, but it needs to get better and our aggressiveness toward shooting and being offensive has been pretty lackluster as well.”

The wrestling team returns to action Jan. 2, at the Central Round Robin Dual Tourney.

Rate this article: 
No votes yet