Bulldog Grapplers Upended On The Road In Marceline

The Trenton High School wrestling team was handed a 36-30 road loss Thursday night in Marceline.
The Bulldogs found themselves in a hole early as Brendon Johnson (113), Daniel Rodriguez (120) and Eric Lovett were all dealt losses. Johnson and Lovett were pinned and Rodriguez lost by a 10-4 decision.
“Tonight was not the outcome that we had hoped for score-wise,” Trenton Head Coach Charlie Bacon said. “Some of our younger and inexperienced kids wrestled Marceline’s veterans. Brendon Johnson went up against a state champion and did exactly what I asked, which was to stay aggressive and not give up easy points. Eric Lovett, who is a freshman, also wrestled a state champion from two years ago, which ended up being a tough night for Eric.”
Drew Rorebeck got Trenton on the board at 132 with a 4-1 decision win over Alex Cupp. That would be one of only two wins Trenton garnered on the mat as Marceline was open against some of the top Bulldog wrestlers. Trey Shields provided Trenton it’s other win on the mat, winning by a 7-6 decision at 182.
“Marceline was open against some of our more experienced kids, but we did pick up some points with Drew Rorebeck and Trey Shields,” Bacon said. “Drew and Trey both won by regular decisions, which was closer than they would have liked. I was proud of those two for picking up the wins in close matches, though.”
Tyler Warner was pinned at 138 and the Bulldogs yielded points being open at 145 and 152. Mason Mounce (160), Thomas Mack (170) and Nick Gass (195) all won by forfeit as Marceline was open.
With Marceline open at 285, the final match of the night, the dual came down to first-year wrestler Jeramiah Chipps at 220, the next to last match of the night. Chipps put up a good fight against Marceline senior Michael Arnold, but lost by a 10-4 decision.
“The dual came down to Jeramiah Chipps, who is a first year wrestler against a Marceline senior,” Bacon said. “For the amount of experience Chipps lacks, I thought he went out and wrestled a very tough 10-4 loss. I was proud of Jeramiah even though he didn’t have the outcome we hoped for.”
Trenton was a bit short-handed wrestling without a couple of key pieces due to illness.
“We also had a couple of kids out of our line up due to illness and injuries,” Bacon said. “Overall, I thought our boys wrestled to their potential and we are looking to be back on top of our game in a couple of weeks.”
Trenton’s next test will come on Tuesday as the Bulldogs travel to Brookfield for a triangular with the host school and Richmond. First matches are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m.