After starting off slow, the boys wrestling team ramped up their energy throughout the day to take fourth in the tournament of champions meet Saturday.
Freshman Newt Schreiner highlighted the tournament for the Cardinals as he won all five of his matches and earned a medal for being “Wrestler of the Day” in the 138-pound weight class.
Schreiner said he was happy to see the fruits of his labor at the tournament of champions.
“We’ve been working harder in practice, so it’s good to start seeing some results,” he said. “It feels great, especially not having a hot start at the first couple of meets and finally get things rolling. So, the only thing to do from here is just keep working hard and just keep getting better.”
Along with Schreiner, four other freshmen were in the varsity lineup Saturday.
Head coach Miles Cleveland said the freshmen are doing a great job of learning what it takes to win at the high school level.
“They’re going to get there. It’s going to take some time, but it’s still early in the year,” Cleveland said. “They need more mat time at the varsity level, and we’ll get that throughout the season. So, they’re going to get there.”
Combined, the five freshmen turned in a 14-11 record on the day.
Sophomores Hawken Andrews and Braedon Speer, the two state qualifiers for the boys team last season, turned in nice days as well. Andrews went 4-1, only losing his final match of the day, while Speer went 3-2.
Speer said the tournament was important for the Cardinals to remember that wrestling is a team sport as much as it is an individual sport.
“At this point in high school, we have to work together as a team,” Speer said. “When you’re out there on the mat, you’re doing it for the team.”
The Cardinals faced five other schools at the tournament. Emporia High School placed first overall, Lansing placed second, De Soto was third, Atchison took fifth and Bishop Ward finished sixth.
The Cardinals defeated Atchison and Bishop Ward to go 2-3 on the day as a team.
The Cardinals started the day against Emporia, but the team did not come out with much energy and it showed on the mat.
Cleveland said the energy was low perhaps due to the Cardinals drawing Emporia first.
“If you don’t have your chin strap strapped up and ready to go, you’re in for a long dual against them,” Cleveland said.
The Cardinals ended up losing the dual 54-12 to then face Bishop Ward.
Bishop Ward brought a small roster to the tournament, and therefore had many open slots, which helped the Cardinals get a fast win.
The Cardinals then faced Atchison where they were really able to put their foot on the gas.
Speer, senior Thomas Romero and freshman Reilly Neis got back-to-back-to-back pins to close out the dual against the Phoenix. The Cardinals took the dual 51-18.
Speer said the three straight pins were good for the team’s momentum.
“We finally got that spark and took it along,” he said.
Schreiner said the two team wins were big for the team’s energy as well.
“We didn’t really have that energy at the start, but our coaches got us ready, and as teammates, we bonded together,” Schreiner said. “We just realized we just got to start working harder and be tougher in the matches.”
The team carried their momentum into a dual against rival De Soto.
Senior Alex Clobes had perhaps the most exciting match against De Soto as he and his opponent battled for three rounds before Clobes was able to pin him after a nice take down.
Despite all the excitement, De Soto came out victorious over the Cardinals, 47-27.
Finally, the Cardinals faced another tough team to end the day in Lansing, which won the dual 60-15.
The boys wrestling team will travel to Tonganoxie for their next tournament of the season at 9 a.m. Saturday.
Reach reporter Jack Denebeim at [email protected].
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