WRESTLING: Room to grow

Young GC wrestlers drop two in season-opening triangular
“Our inexperience showed tonight. We’ve got some young kids and guys that have never been on a mat before. They are wrestling hard and giving everything they can give. They are out of position (at times) and that’s from less mat time. As we get more, hopefully those things will go away.” - Greene County head coach Mark Sawhill

By BRANDON HURLEY

Sports Editor 

sports@beeherald.com

@BrandonJHurley

OGDEN – Greene County wrestlers won just two head-to-head battles in the season’s first meet as the Rams dropped a pair of matches  in a triangular Tuesday, Nov. 29 in Ogden. 

The Jefferson-based squad begun the night with a 54-21 shell-shocking defeat against Van Meter followed by a narrow, 39-36 loss against short-handed Ogden.

“Our inexperience showed tonight,” Greene County head coach Mark Sawhill said. “We’ve got some young kids and guys that have never been on a mat before. They are wrestling hard and giving everything they can give. They are out of position (at times) and that’s from less mat time. As we get more, hopefully those things will go away.”

Junior Cayden Gerdes secured the Rams’ lone victory in the Van Meter match at 138 pounds against Bryce Cole while sophomore Brock Wuebker came away with a pin at 170 pounds over Ogden’s  Blake Haub. 

The Rams trotted out wrestlers at nearly every weight class, a drastic improvement from last year’s squad that never fielded more than seven athletes in any match. 

“It was nice to forfeit only two matches all night long but we have a long ways to go and we know that,” Sawhill said. 

Greene County was without one of their top wrestlers, 2015 state-qualifier Hunter Ruth, who is out the first few weeks fulfilling a suspension. Senior Isaiah Yoder did not see any action either, as both his matches were won in forfeits at 182 pounds. 

The remainder of the Rams’ points Tuesday came on opponent forfeits, which proved vital in their final match of the night against Ogden.

Greene County won just a single head-to-head match against OHS but used several Bulldog no-shows to keep the score close.  

After 2016 state-qualifier Austin Flynn pinned GC’s Will Hansen at 126 pounds, the two squads traded forfeits and brought about a 12-12 tie. Freshman Joel Ward lost 6-0 at 145 pounds which was followed by a pair of consecutive Ogden pins of Isaac Ireland at 152 pounds and Owen Launderville. Wuebker halted the Bulldog scoring run with his third period pin at 170 pounds, bringing the score to 27-15. The sophomore entered the final period trailing 6-5 but fought back to grab the decisive fall. Greene County piggy-backed off Wuebker’s win and picked up a handful of forfeits while Ogden secured a pair of pins to close out the night, including the match deciding pin of Braden Gallagher at 113 pounds.  

The Ogden match was an encouraging battle, Sawhill said, as his kids refused to back down. 

“I liked our aggressiveness,” the coach said. “Some of (our guys) weren’t aggressive and I think in the back of their minds, they weren’t ready for the match.”

The lack of aggression and willingness to go out and get points led to slow start against Van Meter. The Bulldogs strung together five consecutive pins to take control of the opening match. 

“That’s another thing we need to work on – mental preparation,” Sawhill said. “When you (make) a move, do it explosive. If you don’t get it, that’s fine, just go hard. Don’t go at it haphazardly because that will get you in trouble down the road.”

Gerdes was the lone bright mark in the 54-21 loss, as the junior battled back from a two point deficit to win 8-6 in the waning seconds of the third period. 

Sawhill knows his team has to endure some growing pains this season but wants his guys to stay focused on improving each night. 

“We have to stay positive and make sure we correct some mistakes,” the coach said. “We know it’s not going to go their way every time, but if we can stay positive we will be OK. We will get there, we just have to be patient.” 

The Rams are on the road again tonight (Thursday, Dec. 1) as they travel to Carroll for a triangular with the Tigers and Winterset. Sawhill expects another battle for his young squad. 

“It’s going to be tough. Carroll is bringing back a lot of kids and Winterset is traditionally tough,” Sawhill said. “We are going to have a tough night, it will be good competition for us to see and see what it’s about. Who knows, we could make leaps and bounds improvement from (Tuesday). It’ll be a great night for us to see what we need to work on against really good teams.” 

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