By Giovanni Coronel
RIVERSIDE
Highland served as one of the best places to find some highly competitive wrestling matches this past weekend, as the Huskies hosted their annual Gary Curtis Invitational, welcoming more than 10 schools to their humble abode.
Amidst some fierce and stout competition, the young Highland boys squad ended the day with a team score of 33.5, good enough for 13th place in the final standings.
“I thought as a team that we competed hard in a very tough tournament. We are a young team that was battling some of the best in the state,” Highland head coach Nick Cole said. “We had some glimpses of really good wrestling, and we saw some situations where we still need to improve and focus on the details and positioning.”
On the day Highland was led by the duo of Cash Cole (19-12) and Brock Thomann (16-11), who both earned 5th place finishes.
Continuing to put together a productive freshman year, Cole went 3-2 in the 113 lbs bracket. After being defeated in his first match, Cole picked up two straight victories (by 18-2 tech fall and 10-3 decision).
In the consolation semifinals, Cole suffered his second setback of the night, being defeated by 13-7 decision. Rebounding in the fifth-place match, Cole ended the tournament with a win by fall in 5:26 over Mount Pleasant’s Landon Beckler.
“I thought Cash competed as good as he has all season. He was in a bracket with some very good upperclassmen, and he battled his way through it,” coach Cole said. “He just needs to continue to wrestle where he is good and believe in his abilities. He’s right there when he is believing in himself and training with a purpose.”
Thomann, a junior wrestling at 126 lbs, also began his day with a loss but won his next match by fall in 1:22. The consolation semis is where Thomann lost his second match of the tourney but in the fifth-place match he was victorious over Carter Slager of Regina IC due to a medical forfeit.
“Brock had a pretty good day and wrestled some very tough competition. Brock wrestles hard, we have to continue to get to shots sooner and more frequently,” coach Cole said. “Positioning and just being athletic in big matches will be a continued focus for us with him. His effort is never a question. I have a lot of faith in Brock and believe that he will continue to grow.”
Also earning a top six placement for Highland was Aiden Yoder (9-19). Yoder, a freshman wrestling at 120 lbs, went 1-3 (his lone win coming by 12-2 major decision) to capture sixth place.
“I think the biggest takeaway that we learned is that we cannot compete with fear of losing,” coach Cole said. “We need to understand that wrestling is still a game and that we cannot compete scared. It should be fun and exciting each time we step on the mat.”
Mid-Prairie Results
Led by a pair of third place finishes from senior Burke Berry (19-4) and sophomore Tommy Miller (16-6), the Golden Hawks placed 11th in the final team standings with a score of 61.5
Berry, wrestling at 285 lbs, has been more than impressive in his final year wrestling for Mid-Prairie and his performance at Highland continues this trend.
Ending the day by going 3-1, Berry won all his matches by fall (1:58, 32 seconds, and 2:29). His only loss came in the semifinals, being defeated by 12-3 major decision against Alburnett’s Sevy Redel.
For Miller, wrestling at 215 lbs, he also went 3-1. After winning by fall in 1:11 in the quarterfinals, he suffered his lone setback of the day when he was defeated in the semifinals by fall in 1:03 against Caden Forristall of Riverside, Oakland.
Rebounding from the loss, Miller won his next match by 7-0 decision and in the third-place match he won by fall in 1:16 over Wilton’s Garrett Weaver.
Other Golden Hawks to secure a top five finish were senior Max Howe (20-9) and junior Josh Turner (13-13).
Howe battled it out at 138 lbs and overall, he went 3-2, winning a close-fought fifth place match by 10-9 decision over Kellen Oliver of Riverside, Oakland.
Turner, wrestling at 165 lbs, also placed fifth by going 3-2 on the day with his victory in the fifth-place match coming by way of fall in 34 seconds over Fort Madison’s Jack Benner.