The Columbus wrestlers braved the first wintery conditions of the season for a midweek road trip to take on Wapsi Valley and LaPorte City Union. In the first matchup of the evening, the Sailors would face a Union Knights squad with more empty weight classes than we are used to seeing from them historically. The Knights would forfeit matches to the heart of the Sailor lineup, and the Sailors would enter the first contested bout at 113 pounds with an 18-6 lead.
The Sailors received big contributions from John Hackett at 145 pounds and CJ Schuman at 152 pounds. John secured a first period fall, getting a takedown early and going to work on top, eventually locking up his signature cradle for the victory. CJ had himself a match for the highlight reel, as he hit a perfectly timed lateral drop, going big on the edge of the mat and also collecting the first period pin. The Sailors would take down the Knights 57-24.
In the second dual of the night, the Sailors would face off against #7 ranked Wapsi Valley in what was expected to be a tightly contested dual on paper. In reality, the Sailors did not match the intensity of the Warriors on the mat. Things started off well for the visitors, with Mason Knipp earning a second period fall to get the ball rolling, but momentum really shifted from there, as the Warriors would go on a run and win the next 7 matches, all of which were bonus point victories. John Hackett and Max Magayna would keep the score respectable earning falls of their own. Carson Hartz made his return to the full time line up, coming off an ankle injury and also pinned his opponent. Sailors would drop this dual, losing 24-59.
Coach Boleyn saw plenty of room for improvement on the night. “We had a game plan going in to both duals tonight. I thought that on paper they would probably be pretty close, so we needed some guys to step up, take on the challenge and execute. We had a couple guys that did step up and put in a solid performance. We also had some matches that we needed to get if we were going to win the Wapsi dual, and obviously we didn’t do enough to win those matches. We are going to have six more duals this weekend, so this isn’t a time to feel sorry for ourselves, we have to be able to bounce back first thing tomorrow morning, we have another matchup with an extremely solid team.”
Sailors will be in action on Friday December 15 for two days of competition at the Battle of Waterloo. Sailors will be opening the tournament with #1 ranked 2A Osage at 9 am.
Columbus vs Union
195- Carson Hartz- W Forfeit
220- Mason Knipp- W Forfeit
285- Connor Knudtson- W Forfeit
113- Francisco Mendoza Diaz- L Fall 0:42 to Jace Hedeman
120- Joe Hackett- L Fall 3:00 to Brayden Bohnsack
126- Mason Burr- W Fall 4:52 over Mays Weber
132- Calvin Smith- W Forfeit
138- Gavin Reed- W Dec 8-3 over Keegan Ellsworth
145- John Hackett- W Fall 1:50 over Brock Bergmeier
152- CJ Schuman- W Fall 0:19 over Justice Luke
160- Gage Gelner- L Fall 0:40 to Wyatt Walker
170- Max Magayna- W Fall 0:40 over Jay Peterson
182- Henry Erie- W Fall 1:40 over Hunter Anderson
Columbus 57 Union 24
Columbus vs Wapsi Valley
220- Mason Knipp- W Fall 3:29 over Keegon Brown
285- Connor Knudtson- L Fall 3:04 to Derek Hilsenbeck
113- Francisco Mendoza Diaz- L Fall 1:38 to Reece Hagenow
120- Joe Hackett- L Tech 15-0 to Brody Kleitsch
126- Mason Burr- L Fall 2:19 to Dawson Schmit
132- Calvin Smith- L Fall 0:48 to Easton Krall
138- Gavin Reed- L Fall 3:51 to Kanen Decker
145- John Hackett- W Fall 1:24 over Dallas Tisue
152- CJ Schuman- L Fall 3:13 to Garrett Miller
170- Max Magayna- W Fall 0:47 over Drew Lansing
182- Henry Erie- L Fall 1:16 to Cannon Joerger
195- Carson Hartz- W Fall 1:05 over Jake Schoer
JV 160- Ethan Harper- L Fall 0:22 to Jonah Frost
Columbus 24 Wapsi 59