Boone Central hosted tough competition for a wrestling triangular Tuesday, Jan. 10, coming out on the short side of both dual matches.
Beginning with the 126-pound weight class, Mid-State Conference foe Wayne took a 15-0 lead before Sam Grape (152) scored a pin victory for Boone Central. The Cardinals could never really challenge, however, as Wayne won seven of the 10 matches contested on the mat.
“Have to give Wayne credit for coming out swinging. The matchups were good matches – unfortunately we lost a lot of close ones you can’t lose,” Cardinal Coach Josh Majerus commented. “It comes down to who fights more for six minutes … we lost the battle tonight.”
Boone’s final dual of the night vs. Plainview was a nip-and-tuck battle finally decided 37-36 in favor of the Pirates by team tiebreak criteria.
Each team had three open weight classes, but Boone again lost the battle on the mat, 5-3. Plainview bolted to a 24-6 lead in the first six matches, beginning at 138-pounds, but the Cardinals rallied with consecutive pins by Thomas Roberts (195) and Hank Hudson (220) to trail by six.
In somewhat anticlimactic fashion, one or both of the teams had open weights in the final six matches of the rotation. The teams were tied 36-36 after the forfeit points were assigned, with Plainview getting the tiebreak criteria nod.
“Plainview has some tough kids, and beats us by criteria,” Majerus acknowledged. “Tieing the dual 36-36, it came down to Plainview having seven wins and we had six.”
Boone Central placed third in the Gibbon Bill Foster Invitational Saturday with individual results Coach Josh Majerus termed “mixed.”
“We had some ups and downs. We lost a few matches I thought we could have won, which is disappointing. We’ll get rematches down the stretch,” Majerus said. “We started off hot and got all but three guys in the top four. Unfortunately, we did not have a great final round, with three seconds and a couple of fourths.
“Hank Hudson wins another tournament though.”
Class B state #3 Hudson remained on a sizzling streak, winning the 220-pound weight class with three straight pins in 1:02, 3:33 and :50. Hudson won gold at the very tough Norm Manstedt Invite the previous weekend with five consecutive pins, and added another during the week in a triangular meet.
As part of triangular meet in Albion Tuesday, Jan. 10, the Boone Central girls wrestling team faced Wayne in dual competition.
The teams were even in open weight classes, but the visiting Blue Devils scored one more victory on the mat to edge Boone for the team decision, 36-30.
“The girls wrestled tough, just gave up too many matches to lose a close one,” said Boone Central Coach Josh Majerus. “We have to be able to wrestle six minutes and full matches.”
Majerus also mentioned several positives for the fledgling girls program, including a new ranking for Leynn Luna, who had one of the Cards’ most impressive performances of the night with a :43 pin.
“Leynn Luna hits the radar as #5 rated in the state at 115 pounds for the first time this season,” Majerus noted. “Cadence Wood is #10 in the latest ratings.”
The Boone Central Lady Cardinals enjoyed a lot of mat success at the Ord Girls Invitational Thursday, Jan. 12.
Boone Central placed a solid fourth in the 23-team field and Madison Reilly brought home a gold medal from the event.
Boone Central Coach Josh Majerus highlighted the Cardinal efforts.
“Maddie Reilly wins her first high school tournament,” Majerus praised. “Mishayla Slaymaker, Leynn Luna and Cadence Wood all placed third. It was a good night for the team with a lot of wins.” Reilly completely dominated her competition in the 140-pound weight class, scoring consecutive pins in :43, :49 and :34.
Complete Cardinal wrestling results in Print & Online editions of Albion News/Boone County Tribune
