Junior High Wrestles at Oberlin
The junior high wresting team opened competition on Thursday, January 26, in Oberlin. Five teams including Decatur Community, Phillipsburg, Rawlins County, Smith Center, and St. Francis competed during the event. The junior high wrestlers made a good showing for their first competition of the year. No team scores were kept. The Indians won 10 matches and lost 16 during the competition.
Individual Results for the St. Francis wrestlers are listed below.
Vladimir Chinik: lost by fall to Sauvage, Oberlin, lost by fall to Lapaille, Smith Center; lost by fall to Jaeger, Smith Center.
Kobe Tice: lost by fall to Wilkinson, Smith Center; won by a 4-2 decision over Ford, Phillipsburg; lost by a 3-2 decision to Grismore, Phillipsburg.
Eli Mills: lost by fall to Hanson, Atwood; lost by fall to Moon, Phillipsburg; lost by fall to Paz, Atwood.
Caleb Todd: lost by fall to Moon, Phillipsburg; lost by fall to Paz, Atwood; lost by fall to Hanson, Atwood.
Garin Cooper: lost by a 3-2 decision to Kirchhoff, Smith Center; won by fall over Leidig, Phillipsburg; won by fall over Crouse, Atwood.
Tyson Poling: won by fall over McKenzie, Smith Center; won by fall over Hughes, Phillipsburg; won by fall over Ford, Phillipsburg.
Shadyron Blanka: won by fall over Cassaw, Atwood; lost by fall to Uehlin, Oberlin.
Jesse Baxter: lost by fall to Uehlin, Oberlin; won by fall over Cassaw, Atwood; won by fall over Blew, Phillipsburg.
Colton Neitzel: won by a 10-0 major decision over Chessmore, Atwood; lost by fall to Green, Atwood; lost by fall to Timmons, Smith Center.
Coach’s Comments:
"After roughly 3 and a half weeks of practice time the St. Francis junior high wrestling team finally had their first competition. I know talking with the kids they were ready to be able to go out and compete against someone else other than against one another. This is a very young and green group so they still have a lot to learn but, I was excited to see the amount of fight that they had. We still have a lot of our technique that we still need to show so, a lot of the mistakes that were made was mainly due to the face that we just hadn’t shown it yet. However, it’s always encouraging to see kids who may not have a lot of experience have a sense of “feel” and mat awareness; knowing where they’re at, and when to hip in, etc. The goal as we move forward is to always improve and hopefully come end of the season these kids will be beating some of these kids who have previously defeated them.
Individually, Vladimir Chinik really did do a great job. This kid had never stepped on a wrestling mat until a couple weeks ago. He just has a lot to learn but, he’s got a high motor and he is fearless. Eli Mills is another one who just goes. He really has a pretty good feel of where he’s at just needs to get a little more experience under his felt. Kobe Tice could have come away with a 3-0 record on the day, but just had a couple slip ups which is to be expected first time out. He’s got a lot of potential just needs to keep working and get to his leg attacks. Caleb Todd was a lot of fun to watch. He doesn’t have a lot of experience yet, but he really pays attention to detail and is very coachable. Garin Cooper had a good day. He was sick on Wednesday and missed practice and you could tell in his first match fatigue creeped in but, he finished the day strong with two pins in dominating fashion. Tyson Poling had a very dominant performance pinning all three of his opponents. Tyson has a lot of natural feel and just has a style that is very difficult to game plan for. Shadyron Blanka had a pretty good day. The match he lost he was actually ahead 5-0 in the match. He just got a little over zealous and tried to force a situation he didn’t necessarily have to but, he will learn from that mistake moving forward. Jesse Baxter has come a long way from where he was last season. He really got to his attacks and wrestled with confidence that he didn’t have last season. He will be a lot of fun to watch as the season progresses. Colton Neitzel did a great job of battling. His two matches he lost were to bigger kids but he went out and battled tough. He’s another one that’s very coachable and listens extremely well. He’s made a lot of improvements from last season as well.
Looking ahead to this week the team will travel to Norton. It’s always fun to compete against some different competition and see teams these kids haven’t seen yet in any sport this season. Going up against the MCL teams is a lot fun and it’s always good to be tested. Being tested is crucial to making the gains needed to get better. It will be a lot fun for sure."
The junior high wrestlers will travel to Norton on Thursday, February 2. Wrestling begins at 4:00 p.m.
