GARNETT — Things went as expected for Iola High’s Mustangs in the 2010-2011 wrestling season opener Thursday.
Senior Marcus Sullivan notched two victories — one at his wrestling weight of 160 and one at 171 pounds. Three veteran wrestlers in senior Lee Berg, junior Devin Culler and sophomore Stephen McDonald each went 1-1.
And three freshmen earned a varsity win in their first high school action.
Iola competed against Eureka High’s Tornados and host Anderson County High’s Bulldogs in a double dual at ACHS.
Eureka went home with two team wins, beating Anderson County 43-36 then defeating Iola 40-16. Anderson County beat Iola 54-27.
Team points are given for match wins.
“We wrestled tough tonight and we knew coming in that we’d have our hands full,” said Ron Schomaker, Mustang head coach.
“When you don’t field a full team it’s tough because you just give away points without wrestling. We’ll have a fuller team later in the season.”
Schomaker said the Mustangs have several varsity wrestlers injured going into the start of the season. “We just have to get healthy.”
Following Eureka taking on Anderson County, the Mustangs hit the mat to wrestle the Tornadoes. Eureka got six points each for forfeits at 112 pounds and 140 pounds.
Freshman Michael Armstrong lost a 10-3 decision at 119 pounds to Steven Howard, who is ranked fifth in the Kansas Class 3A preseason poll. Cody Conner, another freshman, was pinned by Tim Wright in 29 seconds of their 125-pound match.
Berg dropped a 9-0 decision to Kegan Fisher in the 130-pound bracket. In the 135-pound match, Iola junior Brent Clark lost 10-0 to Chase Mayfield, who is ranked fifth in 3A.
Iola trailed Eureka 30-0 then scored its 16 points in three straight matches.
Culler earned the first win of the season for Iola. He pinned Eureka’s Montana Williams in 1:53 of their 152-pound match. Freshman Bryce Misenhelter put up six points for Iola with a forfeit win at 160.
Sullivan moved up a weight and wrestled Eureka’s Tate McCoy at 171 pounds. Sullivan found himself on his back several times in the match but came through with a 18-9 win.
McDonald went the full six minutes losing 8-0 to Eureka’s Tyler Lowe. Lowe is ranked fifth in Class 3A in the 189-pound division.
Freshman Quinton Morrison made it to the second period against Patrick Davis. Davis pinned Morrison at the 2:20 mark of the 215-pound match.
“Eureka is a very good team and we didn’t move very well on the bottom. We definitely need to be more aggressive when we’re on the bottom during matches,” Schomaker said. “As I tell the guys, if you’re moving and trying to escape, they can’t pin you.”
Iola was down 12-0 against Anderson County as the Bulldogs picked up forfeit wins at 103 and 112. The Mustangs got six points at 119 as Armstrong won by forfeit.
One of the most exciting matches of the night came at 125 pounds. Conner faced Ryan Alley and the two wrestlers waged a six-minute battle.
It was tied 4-4 at the end of the first period. Alley got up 11-9 after two periods. Conner tied it up with a takedown but Alley got an escape for a 12-11 advantage.
Conner took Alley down one more time and scored a near fall for three points. Conner delivered a 16-12 win for the Mustangs.
Berg put Iola in the lead 15-12 winning the 130-pound match. Berg pinned Kody Crook at the 2:49 mark of the match.
Anderson County re-gained the lead for good when Colby Brownrigg pinned Clark in 1:48 of the 135-pound match. Anderson County got another six points via forfeit at 140 pounds.
Zach DuPoint pinned Cull-er in 1:47 of the 152-pound class. Sullivan, wrestling at 160, was able to pin Lee Koch at the 4:52 mark. Junior Zack Vaughn was pinned by Max Hopkins in 1:25 at 171.
McDonald took on Cameron Hutchcraft at 189 pounds and won by a pin at the 1:40 mark. Morrison was pinned by Jason Reed in 27 seconds in the 215-pound match. Anderson County won the 285-pound by forfeit.
“We have a lot to work on and it’s a long season. We’re taking one thing at a time and working on it,” Schomaker said. “We lost to Anderson County but on matches wrestled we were 4-4 with them.”
Not much time to work on much before their next action. The Mustangs ready today for Saturday’s Caney Valley High tournament.
Mustang wrestlers open season
