Wrestling: Packers drop home opener to Falcons
Published 12:12 am Friday, December 11, 2015
Austin’s Josh Belden moves in on his pin of Faribault’s Bryce Nolan at 132 pounds Thursday night in Ove Berven Gym. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com
The Austin wrestling team had a young lineup in its home opener and it fell short to Faribault by a score of 64-12 in Ove Berven Gym Thursday.
Austin (2-3 overall, 0-1 Big Nine) had three sophomores, three freshmen and an eighth grader in the lineup as the squad was a little shorthanded due to injuries. The Falcons picked up eight pins and two technical falls in the dual.
“I thought our newer guys did a pretty good job in their first varsity Big Nine dual,” Austin head coach Jer Osgood said. “I’d just like to see us work on wrestling for six minutes and not giving up points. We’ve got to dictate the tempo, rather than letting them dictate the match.”
Austin’s Zach Farrand tries to gain the advantage on Faribault’s Riley Maciel at 126 pounds Thursday night in Ove Berven Gym. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com
Austin junior Cory Waller looked dominant as he picked up a first period pin in his match at 220 pounds. Waller said he was able to stay focused on his match, even though the Packers had fallen behind by 52 points by the time he wrestled.
“I was just trying to keep my ahead up the whole time. Even if we’re down zero to sixty, we’ve got to keep our heads up,” Waller said. “This kind of set the tone for these younger guys. It’s nothing like JV. When you’re under the lights, the atmosphere is different.”
Austin freshman Josh Belden picked up a pin in his first ever varsity match at Ove Berven Gym. Belden jumped out to a 4-1 lead before he picked up a second period pin at 132 pounds.
“I was really excited and I wanted to get it going,” said Belden, who is 3-2 with three pins on the year. “When you’re just starting out, you want to get off to a good start. If you get taken down right away, you get that feeling that you’re going to lose.”
Osgood is expecting his young squad to go through some growing pains this season. He’s hoping now that the first home match is out of his way that some of his younger wrestlers can calm down and improve.
“I’m expecting bumps in the road throughout the season,” Osgood said. “We’ve got a good starting place and we’ve just got to keep moving.”
RESULTS
Austin’s Gavin Brady tries to escape from Faribault’s Riley Stoltz at 106 pounds Thursday night in Ove Berven Gym. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com
106: Riley Stoltz (F) 16-5 maj. dec. over Gavin Brady (A); 113: Josh Oathoudt (F) pinned Matt Nelson (A) (3:01); Ren Ross (F) pinned Tad Belden (A) (1:07); 126: Riley Reistad (F) pinned Zach Farrand (A) (5:32); 132: Josh Belden (A) pinned Bryce Nolan (F) (3:02); 138: Austin Underdahl (F) 8-3 dec. over Matt Tebay (A); 145: Tony Avila (F) pinned Carter Oldenkamp (A) (4:38); 152: Anthony Van Thomme (F) pinned Jayden Erie (A) (5:47); 160: Ryan Mullennex (F) 17-1 tech. fall over Chance Brady (A); 170: Isaac Van Thomme (F) 17-2 tech. fall over Phillip Zynda (A); 182: Josh Heyda (F) pinned Caleb Tapp (A) (3:13); 195: Felipe Ramirez (F) pinned Isaac Arjes (A) (3:38); 220: Cory Waller (A) pinned Luke Morris (F) (1:44); Edwin Santiago (F) pinned Elijah Marks (F) (1:03)