Tyrant Gridiron Duals
Gridiron Duals Recap
This past weekend, we sent a K-6th team to compete in the Hall of Fame Village located in Canton, Ohio. The team competed against some great competition over two days of competition. At the end of day one, we finished with a 3-2 record, placing us in the bronze pool. Overall, we went 6-2 in duals, including a 4 dual win streak to close out the weekend.
Our first dual was against Donahue Wrestling Academy. After a tough start, Bowen Gardner got us on the board with a 19-0 Tech Fall. Next up was Breccan Kellogg, getting a second period pin. Logan Lakhlani, joining us from Toledo Whitmer, also picked up a shutout victory 16-0. Quinn Smith ended a 4 match drought with another pin. Rounding out the dual, Eli Phillips won by medical forfeit. The final team score was 56-28 in favor of Donahue.
In round 2, we faced Brawler Elite. This dual was an ABSOLUTE BARN BURNER from start to finish. Brawler Elite jumped out to an early 23-6 advantage after the first five bouts. Gardner, Kellogg and Lakhlani came in clutch with 3 big wins, evening the dual at 23-23. After two falls for Brawler gave them a 12 point advantage, Eli Walters picked up a crucial 18-3 tech fall to bring the score to 35-28. With only 3 matches left, the energy around the mat for both teams was electric. At 92, Aaron Munn had a back and forth match that unfortunately did not go his way. Quinn Smith picked up a dominant major decision 18-4, bringing the team score to 41-32. Brawler did not have a 130 lb. wrestler so the score was essentially 41-38. It all came down to Cameron Koflowitch. Cam got to his offense right off the whistle. Once on top, he quickly secured a deep half-nelson and came up with a first period pin. The final team score was 44-41 in favor of Pursuit (good guys).
Next up for Pursuit was Warner Elite (Black) in round 3. Stepping up at 48 lbs. was Everrett Hess with a fall early in the second period. A win by forfeit for Jayden Writesel at 52 extended the team lead to 12-0. At 60, Easton Fields, joining us from London, Ohio, got his first win of the day with a first period fall. This win really set the tone for the rest of the dual, sparking a 12 match win streak. With pins from Schifer, Gardner, Lakhlani, Gillies, Munn and Phillips and tech falls from Kellogg, Sterner, and Smith, the final score in round 3 was 80-6.
The fourth dual of the day was against Buxton, a renowned club team from New Jersey. The dual started off pretty rough, we were bested in the first ten matches and things were looking very bleak. Eli Walters stepped up to the mat at 88 and came away with a clutch 5-4 victory to get us on the board. Aaron Munn would get a forfeit at 92 and next up was Quinn Smith at 96. Quinn faced a high quality opponent, a timely 4 point turn and a ride out in the second period gave him the win. Eli Phillips would also get a forfeit to end the dual with a final score of 17-62 in favor of Buxton.
Our last dual of the first day was against OMP. After an early 12-12 start, Pursuit would rattle off 7 straight victories including pins from Gardner, Kellogg and Lakhlani. Pursuit wrestlers would get their hands raised in 12 of the 16 matches in this dual which included 7 forfeits and the final score was 61-22 in favor of Pursuit.
Day 2 started off with a dual with Lake Wrestling Club. The dual was 6-6 after two matches, Logan Simpkins showed off his sweep single three times in a nice victory. Up at 68, Bowen Gardner ignited a 7 match winning streak for Pursuit with a dominant 10-0 major decision. That major was followed up by pins from Kellogg, Gillies and Sterner, tech falls from Lakhlani and Walters and finally a 13-0 major decision from Aaron Munn. To finish the action for this dual, Koflowitch picked up a second period fall and Phillips got his hand raised for a forfeit ending the dual with a 57-20 win for the good guys.
Next, we entered the Bronze Pool facing a different Warner Elite squad stacked with tough wrestlers from top to bottom. Everett Hess kicked the dual off with a fall in just under 40 seconds. Jayden Writesel then picked up a dominant 16-0 tech fall. Simpkins would fall at 56 pounds, but Fields would quickly get us those points back with a 42 second fall of his own. Bowen Gardner would also get a quick fall, clocking in at just under a minute. Lakhlani came away with an assertive 14-3 major decision bringing the team score to 27-18 after the first half of the dual. Barrett Sterner would get right to work in his match, getting the fall in the first period. Eli Walters followed that up with a fall of his own, just 30 seconds into the second period. Aaron Munn showed no mercy, doing everything he could to get the fall, but eventually settling for an 18-3 tech fall. Quinn Smith and Cam Koflowitch got the job done, both getting first period pins leading into the final match of the dual. The final match of the dual was Eli Phillips vs. Knox Fockler. Though the dual win was secured, this was still a big match that could possibly have post season implications. Eli wrestled a near perfect match, getting multiple takedowns and nearfall points to secure a 12-0 major decision. Our final team score was 60-24, again in favor of the good guys.
Our last match of the weekend was against Crossroads Wrestling Club. Crossroads did not have a 48, but had the rest of the weights filled. We did not have a 100, but had 2 wrestlers at 48. We decided to bump up from 48-96 lbs so that we could wrestle every weight. After a forfeit for the birthday boy, Sam Schifer, gave us a 6-0 team lead, the next three matches were tough ones where Crossroads would jump out to a 15-6 lead. The next 5 matches would be pins from Fields, Schifer, Gardner, Kellogg, Lakhlani to propel Pursuit to a 36-15 lead. That would be followed up by pins from Sterner and Walters, both in the first period. With only 3 matches left, the team score was 48-27 in our favor. After giving up the opening takedown, Quinn Smith dominated the rest of the match, earning an escape and takedown in the final seconds to secure a 14-5 major decision. Koflowitch opened up with a quick takedown and secured a fall at the 30 second mark by stacking his opponent. Phillips would follow that up with a quick fall of his own. After nearly 30 seconds of hand fighting, Eli snapped his opponent down and secured the match ending cradle. Pursuit finished the dual with a 64-27 team score.
Overall, our guys wrestled really well and battled each time they toed the line. Each team in the tournament selected a Most Valuable Wrestler for their team. While we had plenty of wrestlers that could have received this award, we decided to nominate Eli Walters as ours. Eli lost his first match of the weekend 12-11, but finished with a 7-1 record. His wins, at the time, were crucial in momentum for the team and he was consistent from start to finish.
We are thankful for all of the families that joined us this weekend, especially the parents who added a great deal of support to our wrestlers each and every match.
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