The West Holmes wrestling team improved to 5-3 in dual meets with a 44-26 win against Clear Fork on Jan. 17.
According to the West Holmes wrestling newsletter, Coach Scott Vaughn was happy with the win against a “very tough Clear Fork team” that had already put together some solid wins in duals this season.
“I liked that we went out, were aggressive and took the match to them,” Vaughn said. “There were a couple matches that we left out there, but overall, I thought we looked good. Again, continuously improving is the key.”
Clear Fork went up 6-0 when Hezekiah Molina beat Wyatt Crabb by fall at 28 seconds in the 106 class , but Peyton Martin stepped up and took a win in the 113 class in his first match of the season. Martin has been injured much of the season and his return impressed Vaughn. He beat Colton Wenger by a 4-2 decision to make it 6-3.
“Man, it was nice to have Peyton back in the line-up,” Coach Vaughn said. “He's been out for a while with an injury and just got cleared on Monday. I was interested to see how he wrestled because he had to make scratch (exactly 113 pounds) and he was wrestling a very quality opponent. Overall, I liked what I saw. He showed grit during the match.”
West Holmes won the next thee matches. In the 120 class, Gabe Umstead defeated Walker Kirkpatrick 5-3 making it 6-6. In the 126 class Grady Toye pinned Jace Feeman at 0:30 to put the score at 12-6 Knights. AAJ Roberts pinned Tristan Cromer at 4:38 in the 132 class, making it 18-6.
After Damon Hoskins of Clear Fork won by forfeit it was 18-12, but then Louden Dixon and Hunter McCluggage picked up wins in the 144 and 150 classes. Dixon pinned Keaton Hunter at 3:59 and McCluggage defeated Landon Schlosser by 11-1 to make it 28-12.
“Louden did a nice job tonight,” Coach Vaughn. “He had a kid that was trying to stay in the match. I liked how Louden opened up the match by flowing and taking what his opponent gave to him. Louden’s fall win was huge for the team tonight.”
He also commended McCluggage for his work on the mat, saying that he was flowing a lot better, attacking the legs and looked tough on top.
Clear Fork won the 157, 165 and 175 classes to make it 28-26, but the Knights won the final three matches. Dylan Sours beat Sam Robinson 14-0 in the 190 class, Grant Miller pinned Tre Copeland at 1:11 and then Grady Hawkins won by forfeit.
Vaughn said Sours has been working on setups to leg attacks from the neutral position. He said he is “a hammer on top” and is “really hitting his stride. Vaughn added that Miller had good takedowns in the match and his practice has been paying off.
Next up is a 16-team tournament hosted by West Holmes on Jan. 27 at 10 a.m.
