The AP/GC boys wrestling team went 1-1 in Thursday’s home triangular in Grundy Center, as aired on 99 The Wave. The Falcons lost to #8 (1A) Denver 70-10 and beat AGWSR 57-23. The Cougars fell to Denver 66-18.
In the opening dual, AP/GC won just one contested match against Denver when Devan Eberhart picked up a 15-5 major decision at 144. The other six points were due to Denver being open at 215.
In the second dual, AGWSR had two wins against Denver and six points due to 215 being open. Kealain Urban won a 1:56 fall at 106 and Jariyah Bowles won a 4:53 fall at 138.
In the finale between AP/GC and AGWSR, the Falcons got pins by Brayden Jara at 113, Josh Ellsberry at 132, Parker Mulder at 157 and Jesse Brouwer at 285. Maison Copp won a 4-0 decision at 190, and 30 points came from AGWSR open weights. The Cougars got pins by Urban at 106, Brady Abbas at 120, and Kael Dodd at 165. Bowles won a 20-3 technical fall at 138.
AP/GC coach Joel Reints says the opening dual can serve as a reminder of the importance of coming out with a sense of urgency against elite opponents.
“I always preach to the kids, I always go back to my day when it was districts where four-man bracket, if you lost your first one, you were in a world of hurt,” Reints says. “So I always go back to that, like, we’ve got to be ready from the start of a day. We can’t go out there and lay an egg in that first match. And that’s kind of how I felt today. We didn’t have the best warm-up, I didn’t believe. I guess it’s a lesson learned and you get better from it.”
AGWSR coach James Abbas says the team accomplished what it could with a shorthanded lineup.
“Overall, tonight, I thought the guys came out and wrestled,” Abbas says. “We had four open weights tonight, and that’s tough going into a dual like that. But also, that team’s got some good wrestlers. They’re very respectable. I’m not negative on our kids’ performance tonight. I’m not measuring success right now on dual meet scores. We can’t evaluate ourselves that way when we don’t have a full lineup.”
During the triangular, AP/GC recognized its Grundy Center seniors at the first and only wrestling competition at Grundy Center this season.
AP/GC will return to action at Saturday’s Kurt Hinschberger Invitational at Belle Plaine. AGWSR will have over a week before returning to action at the NICL Tournament on Saturday, February 1 at AP/GC.
Joel Reints interview:
James Abbas interview: