Trenton High School Wrestling Coach Bill Hill knew Thursday night?s wrestling meet with Marceline would be a close one – and it was.
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Trenton High School Wrestling Coach Bill Hill knew Thursday night?s wrestling meet with Marceline would be a close one – and it was.
The Bulldogs picked up a pin and three decisions in the final four matches of the night to take a 34-25 win over the visiting Tigers on Thursday night. The victory gave Trenton its first undefeated dual season in several years as the Bulldogs finished with a 9-0 mark.
?If the fans didn?t like this one, they probably should be watching another sport,? Hill said following the meeg. ?This was as good as it gets – a lot of close matches, a close team score. It was very exciting.?
The excitement began early when senior Cody McCollum stepped on the mat and lost a close 3-0 decision to Lee Bradley at 215 pounds. Trenton knotted the score when freshman Zach Kinnison came away with an 8-3 decision over junior Chris Siemens in a battle of 275-pounders.
Trenton was able to jump out to a 12-3 team lead when Kyle Harkins took a 5-3 decision over Mitchell Smith at 103 and Skyler Barron got a pin at :58 over Jeff Henke at 112. The Bulldogs dropped the next three matches to fall behind 12-15 when Miles Moore lost a tough 0-4 match at 119 to Tyler Shoemaker. Mitchell Bailey was pinned at :30 by state-ranked Mick Niemeier in the 125-pound match and Justin Hendricks lost a 12-7 overtime match at 130 to Jake Cordray.
?Justin wrestled a real good match and we had hoped we could pick up a win there at 130,? Hill said. ?But in those close matches you?re going to win some and going to lose some. That isn?t to say Justin didn?t have a good night on the mat.?
Trenton and Marceline traded open weights, with Kody Hill picking up six points for the Bulldogs at 135 while Zach Bruner got the forfeit at 140 for Marceline, making the team score 21-18 in favor of the Tigers. Marceline picked up four more points when Zach Sampson lost a 14-0 major decision at 145 to Josh Moore.
But then it was all Trenton as the Bulldogs got the final four wins to put the match away. Mitchell Briegel got things going as he took a 4-0 decision over Greg Bradley at 152. Daniel Stokes got Trenton to within one point of the team lead with a 9-4 overtime win over Pat Riley at 160.
?The big match of the night was probably Daniel Stokes, who got the win in overtime,? Hill said. ?We had an opportunity to pin him, but we were able to get the reversal and near fall to give us five points and the win. That gave us some breathing room going into our final two matches.?
Senior Jesse Meek capped off his regular-season dual career with a pin at 171. Meek pinned Nathan Hoskins at 5:37.
?Jesse got the job done,? Hill said. ?It was a good way to finish out his senior season at home.?
Justin Anderson capped off the evening for Trenton with a 14-3 major decision over senior Abe VanDyke at 189.
?I was pleased with how we wrestled all the way through,? Hill said. ?One of the goals the kids had early in the year was to go undefeated in duals. I thought they were a little optimistic, not that I didn?t think they couldn?t do it. But we were able to accomplish this goal and it?s a good feeling.?
But the Bulldogs aren?t finished yet, Hill said, noting the team has set a goal of finishing in the Top 5 at the state tournament.
?To do that, we?re going to have to get a lot of kids qualified at district,? Hill said. ?I think we have a chance to win district. If we can place eight or nine kids in the top 4, we would be hard to beat. But I think it?s possible.?
The Bulldogs have one more encounter before their march to the district and state tournaments begin as Trenton is entered in the Lexington Tournament this weekend. The tournament will be wrestled in a dual-style format, giving Trenton a chance to face wrestlers as a team rather than individually.
In the night?s only exhibition match, Trenton?s Derik Keith lost at 119 to Jon Neighbors, 7-0.