The SLUH wrestling team was hoping for just a bit less snow last week. Enough to call off school, but not enough to cancel the Senior Night scheduled for last Friday. Sadly, one of those conditions was met and one wasn’t, so the event ended up being canceled, which was unfortunate for the small but dedicated group of seniors who have led this year’s squad through the highs and lows of a wrestling season.

With no match last week, the focus was shifted to the smaller dual meet against St. Mary’s on Monday. Only three varsity level wrestlers went for SLUH that night, making it a short end to the regular season. Senior captain Jack Onder (152) was up first for SLUH, and he managed to earn a strong win. After a back and forth start, Onder quickly capitalized on a mistake from his St. Mary’s opponent and spent the remainder of his match on top of the bout in an attacking position. When he finally earned the pin a few minutes in, it felt inevitable given Onder’s dominance. 

Senior Alex Nance (170) went next, but faced more adversity than he was expecting. With no wrestler from Nance’s weight class, St. Mary’s put forth a technically skilled wrestler from the 160 class. With a slight height advantage, his opponent managed to get Nance on the ground with a forceful ankle pick early and spent the remainder of the fairly short match on top of him. Without a way to escape, the match ended in a pin and Nance walked away disappointed. Fortunately, It was clear to Nance what skills and abilities he needed to sharpen to improve before districts. 

Junior Pau Thang (182) closed out the night for the varsity wrestlers. His match was by far the closest contest. His opponent, who has a clear height advantage, fought closely with Thang in the opening round, as both wrestlers refused to go down. Later in the match, as fatigue set in, the physicality of the match was clear. 

Thang and his opponent went back and forth between attack and defense as the minutes went on and both wrestlers racked up points. In the final seconds, Thang survived a brutal throw to the ground to execute a clean double leg move with a few seconds left in the match. With his opponent on the floor, Thang ended in a dominant position. It wasn’t enough, though, as the refs ultimately handed the match to his St. Mary’s opponent, who won on points. 

Onder thinks the snow had a negative effect on the way the match went..

“Some of our guys were thinking it was going to be the end of the season and it showed during the St. Mary’s meet,” said Onder. “The guys weren’t exactly ready for it.” 

Still, he’s feeling loose heading into the District matches, which will be tonight. Since wrestling works differently than most winter sports, there is no team competition heading into the playoffs. That means that it will be up to each individual wrestler to determine his standing. With senior talent like Onder and his fellow captains Caden Owens and Alex Nance, the Jr. Bills have the chance to make a deep run this year. 

“I’m feeling good,” said Onder. “I’m just getting ready to go out there and do what I do best. Hopefully things fall the right way.”