There are no resources to display
Small SLUH squad turns heads at tough MCC meet, earns statement pins

Things are looking up for the SLUH Wrestling team after this week's MCC Tournament helped them find their footing. SLUH righteously battled in the MCC dual meet tournament last Tuesday against De Smet, CBC, Chaminade, and Vianney. Although the SLUH team’s numbers were smaller due to various other problems, the varsity team still held their own and racked up a strong number of wins. Heading into the meet, the SLUH team brought seniors Cayden Owens and Alex Nance and junior Connor Whalen. The trio fought hard all night. 

First up to the plate was CBC. Junior Connor Whalen (138) fought a hard match, constantly pushing the pace for the full 6 minutes. In the end, Whalen walked away with more points to seal the win. 

Next was senior Alex Nance (170) who started the match with a snatch to the front head and a lift into a tilt. Nance was set up for an easy pin within the first minute of the match, but ended up holding his opponent until the end of the round. He fought hard into the third round where he locked his opponent into the same pin position. This time, the move stuck and Nance took the pin. 

Star wrestler Cayden Owens (195) fought a match so quick that if you blinked you would miss it. In the first 30 seconds, he finished a textbook shot and pinned his CBC opponent. 

For the next duel, SLUH faced Chaminade. Whalen was the only competitor they had a matchup for. He wrestled an excellent match, but was caught on the defensive side for too long. Whalen’s shortcomings  allowed the Chaminade opponent to gather more points and win the match. Nance and Owens both took byes for the round. 

De Smet followed, and proved a tough obstacle. Whalen was not looking forward to this match, as his next opponent had placed at State and had already won previous spars with him. Although the challenge was big, Whalen came out aggressive, but to no avail as his opponent had sprawled and reshot, taking down Whalen. He was caught off guard by an advanced cradle move and was pinned at the end of the first round. 

Nance strutted up to the circle ready for his next opponent. The De Smet wrestler started the match with a heavy hand, and went for the steering wheel. Nance fought back with a hard snatch to the back of his head, pushing the opponent's head toward the ground. When his opponent lifted his head, Nance went in and took him to the ground. This allowed him to set up the pin, keeping it stable and effective. After a couple of turnovers, Nance pinned his opponent with the nearside cradle.

Owens’ next match was against a 180 opponent whom they decided to bump up to 195. Owens wrestled hard, focusing on his position placement and takedowns. In the second round, Owens chose to defend from his base in hopes of getting an escape point and another point to tie the match. Sadly, Owens lost by one point as his opponent had run the clock, leaving him with no time to score the final point. 

Finally, after an already difficult night, the Jr. Bills were ready to take on Vianney. Whalen started again with an easy takedown. It was textbook, rolling his opponent to his back. He had accumulated several back points, which started weakening his opponent. Seeing his opportunity, Whalen caught the pin and held it, winning the match. 

Nance started the match strong with several back points, almost scoring the pin. Down by two points in the last round, Nance could not escape and to garner the points he needed, resulting in a loss. 

Luckily, Owens sealed the night on a high note for SLUH. Owens’ opponent didn’t seem to be doing much, leaving Owens in an awkward situation of trying to take down his opponent. After a nasty hook that missed Owens’ head and knocked him in the face, Owens was out for blood. In a matter of seconds, Owens had reversed the guy into a pin to seal the match. 

SLUH had held their own during the MCC meet and competed wonderfully. Although there are flaws that still lurk, the coaches were pleased to see some positive development within the team.

“I’m glad that our wrestlers are responding to our coaching, and finding the successful results we had work towards in the previous practices,” said coach Espen Conley. 

Overall, the MCC meet was promising for the program, who only put forth a few wrestlers and still earned wins. Beneath the varsity wrestlers too, SLUH saw some strong results. Freshmen Franklin Buckeridge and Michael Sise, for example, remain undefeated in their seasons so far. Both were the Champions in their division. 

The Jr. Bills’ next big competition will be the MICDS Invitational tonight, which will feature even more teams. 

 

 


 

 

 

No post to display.

Prep News – the weekly student-run newspaper of St. Louis U. High
Copyright ©2020 of St. Louis U. High's Prep News
No material may be reprinted without the permission of the editors and the moderator.