(February 4th, 2015) – TOLEDO: Wauseon stepped onto Toledo Central Catholic’s home turf expecting to win. While they were unable to pull off the win, the Indians still had a very strong showing in the 45-33 loss.
Central Catholic brought 7 experienced seniors to the match, while Wauseon had 11 freshmen and sophomores in their lineup. This was partly due to the strategy of Wauseon Head Coach Mike Ritter, who made some serious adjustments to his lineup in order to give his team the best chance to come away with the victory.
“Most of our line up moves worked out, some didn’t but we still found ourselves in a position to win going into the last 2 matches.” Coach Ritter stated. “It didn’t go our way this time, but I felt really good about how our kids battled and kept us in a position to win.”
In the 120 pound weight class, Mauricio Barajas pinned Central Catholic’s Jordan Rodriguez in 1:06. Sandro Ramirez was able to keep Billy Corley’s shoulders to the ground in 1:12 in a match against 132 pounders. At 182 pounds, Jackson Sluder scored a pinfall victory over Aaron Grau in 1:57.
But it was Tre Campbell who had the most impressive victory of the night. The 195 pound Wauseon standout dispensed of Central’s isaiah Jackson, pinning him in a mere 28 seconds.
While not as physically impressive as Campbell’s victory, Wade Hodges won the most difficult match of the evening, winning a 3-1 decision over Josh Mossing, an extremely talented wrestler for Central Catholic. This win is particularly significant as Hodges has now tied Zane Krall for the Wauseon Wrestling career wins record at 159 victories.
Coach Ritter expressed his feelings on his team’s performance against Central Catholic.
“I’m disappointed for our kids not winning the match, but not disappointed in their effort. We knew we had an uphill battle going into the match.”
And the Indians nearly conquered that hill.