Packer matmen pin Winona
Published 12:00 am Friday, January 10, 2003
The Austin Packers wrestled their way to a Big Nine Conference victory over visiting Winona on Thursday night. Despite that fact that only eight of the 14 weight categories were decided on the mat, the Packers took four of the eight matches to earn the 48-25 victory over the Winhawks.
Austin had another solid performance by the wrestlers since the holiday break -- an effort that was foretold by Packer coach Bill Kinney at the beginning of the season
"We are looking very strong since coming out of the Christmas break," Kinney said. "The boys have progressed since the start of the season and they have performed even better in the last two outings."
Andy Graham was the first Austin Grappler to take to the mat, and although he lost a close 5-3 decision to Mark Bascovsky in the 145-pound opener, he helped set the momentum for the following matches.
Marcus Ball, who is 13-5 this season, allowed only two escapes to Tom Kooysty over three periods to secure a 5-2 decision for the first Packer win of the evening at 160.
Josh Solberg (15-5) came back from a 2-1 deficit after the first period to record the first pin of the night over Mitch Gordon at 171, with only 22 seconds gone in the second period. Solberg reversed his opponent shortly after the whistle blew and put Gordon on his back to end the match.
"The 171-pound match was an important one because it will have a impact on the seeding for the number one wrestler going into sectionals," Coach Kinney said.
Garett Plotts wrestled a tough match against Winona's Dustin Felix at 189. Plotts and Felix wrestled into a scoreless first-period stalemate. Felix was awarded a second-period escape and takedown combination to go up 3-0, but that was shortlived as Plotts gained two points by way of a late-period reversal. Gordon wrestled Plotts to the mat to record the fall with 57 seconds left in the match.
After a series of five Winona forfeits in a row, Kyle Granahan, who normally wrestles at 119, moved up one weight category to 125 to face Winhawk Jake Savat with his team up 39-15. Granahan had a 2-1 advantage with 21 seconds to go in the first period when Savat, while working a reversal into a near fall, hyperextended Granahan's left shoulder causing an injury which drew a whistle from the referee to stop the move. After an injury time-out the match was resumed. Granahan recorded two takedowns and a two-point near fall and allowed only two escapes to take a 8-3 lead heading into the last two minutes of the battle.
"At first I was really worried because my shoulder hurt pretty bad," Granahan said. "I did my best to protect it the rest of the match."
The 125 pounder went on to win the match 10-6.
T.J. Parlin successfully defended his 19-0 record by winning his match at 125 pounds over Jared Jonsgaard by a fall 5:03 seconds into the match. Parlin, the top-rated wrester in Class AAA at 130, tallied 10 takedowns in the contest.
Winona's Clint Hockey defeated Nick Zrucky by a fall with 20 seconds to go in the second period. Zrucky had wrestled to a 3-2 edge after the first two minutes but gave up six points -- three by near fall -- before succumbing to Hockey.
Tony Ford cruised to a 15-5 major decision over Austin's Dave Cunningham to end the meet.
The Packers have a week to prepare for a Big Nine run-in with third-rated Owatonna Jan. 16 at AHS. The match will start with junior varsity at 6 p.m.
E-mail Gene Cox at sports@austindailyherald.com.