DAVENPORT —
Clinton routed Davenport Central 65-15 in high school wrestling Thursday night, but it was a loss in the other part of the double dual that was drawing the comments.
The River Kings opened the dual against Pleasant Valley with three consecutive victories, but the seventh-ranked Spartans battled back and defeated Clinton 27-22 in Mississippi Athletic Conference action at Central.
“It was a tough dual meet to lose,” Clinton coach J.D. Lueders said of the match against Pleasant Valley. “Our kids wrestled with a tremendous amount of heart tonight. We had PV on the ropes; we just didn’t put them away.”
Rafael Ramirez set the tone for the possible upset in the opening match when he upset Devin Allbee 9-4 at 220 pounds. Allbee is ranked seventh in the state in the Predicament’s Class 3A rankings. Ninth-ranked Jake Oldaker followed with a 3-1 win at 285 against Landon Carney to expand Clinton’s lead to 6-0, then Sam Cruthis beat Destin Babcock 16-11 at 106 pounds for a 9-0 advantage.
“Sam Cruthis got his first varsity win in a very exciting match,” Lueders said.
Reed Brockhage ended Clinton’s run with a major decision at 113 pounds, but fifth-ranked Hunter Genco countered with a 9-4 win against second-ranked Travis Willers at 120 pounds. Willers was the state runner-up last year at 106.
“Hunter Genco looked extremely confident and wouldn’t be denied in the victory against Willers,” Lueders said. “He wrestled a great match.”
Pleasant Valley won the next three matches — including a technical fall by 10th-ranked Christian Foote at 132 and a pin from third-ranked Randy McPhee at 138 — to go in front 18-12.
Wins by the Caldwell twins — third-ranked Alex at 145 and fourth-ranked Dustin at 152 — put Clinton back on top 19-18, but decisions by sixth-ranked Grant Rosenboom at 160 and second-ranked Brady Letney at 170 and a 9-8 win by Seth Skahill at 182 gave the Spartans an insurmountable 27-19 lead.
“Our kids will bounce back, believe me,” Lueders said. “They will continue to improve, and I’m excited to see these guys come February. Our kids are fighters. I am very proud of them.”
The Kings bounced back quickly by leveling Central. Oldaker, Genco, Alex Caldwell, Dillon Chase (160) and Nick Hatheway (170) picked up pins for the River Kings.
Clinton returns to the mats Saturday when it competes at the Sterling (Ill.) Invitational.
PLEASANT VALLEY 27, CLINTON 22
220 — Rafael Ramirez (C) dec. Devin Allbee 9-4; 285 — Jake Oldaker (C) dec. Landon Carney 3-1; 106 — Sam Cruthis (C) dec. Destin Babcock 16-11; 113 — Reed Brockhage (PV) maj. dec. Riley Baker 13-3; 120 — Hunter Genco (C) dec. Travis Willers 9-4; 126 — Spencer Nevills (PV) dec. Curtis Ilg 5-0; 132 — Christian Foote (PV) tech. fall Jared Redman 18-1, 4:00; 138 — Randy McPhee (PV) pinned Riley Chapman :43; 145 — Alex Caldwell (C) maj. dec. Matt Nowak 11-2; 152 — Dustin Caldwell (C) dec. Jay Huettman 4-0; 160 — Grant Rosenboom (PV) dec. Dillon Chase 7-1; 170 — Brady Letney (PV) dec. Nick Hatheway 8-3; 182 — Seth Skahill (PV) dec. Josiah Molina 9-8; 195 — Justin Guilliams (C) dec. Connor Moroney 4-3.
CLINTON 65, DAVENPORT CENTRAL 15
285 — Oldaker (C) pinned Austin Lamar :27; 106 — Jacob Lamentia (DC) pinned Cruthis 1:03; 113 — Baker (C) wbf; 120 — Genco (C) pinned Ian Herrin :21; 126 — Ilg (C) wbf; 132 — Jacob Houghton (DC) pinned Redman 2:27; 138 — Chapman (C) inj. def. Nathan Kleinsmith; 145 — A. Caldwell (C) pinned Eli Kugler 2:54; 152 — D. Caldwell (C) tech. fall Alex Smith 16-1, 2:56; 160 — Chase (C) pinned Davian Thomas 3:59; 170 — Hatheway (C) pinned Jacob Behrendt 1:05; 182 — Molina (C) wbf; 195 — Guilliams (C) wbf; 220 — Logan Burke (DC) dec. Ramirez 6-4.
Sports
December 7, 2012
Clinton wrestlers earn split
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