Royal Valley's Matthew Bailey (shown above, left) picks up his opponent from Silver Lake before throwing him to the mat in dual action last week. Bailey continued to look strong in his return to action, picking up two more wins in the double dual.

Young RV wrestlers coming along

 

In a perfect world, as Royal Valley wrestling coach Jason Puderbaugh noted, many of the young Panther wrestlers would be able to get mat time and experience at the junior varsity level instead of going through the trial by fire of varsity competition.

With injuries taking their toll, that just has not been an option for RV and the heat got turned up on the Panthers in their return to action last week at the Seaman dual tournament.

Royal Valley faced some of the top 5A and 6A teams at the tournament and was unable to come away with a win. While it was a tough way to start 2015, it was also something Puderbaugh used to challenge his wresters’ resolve moving forward.

“I sent out text messages to them on Sunday about when you get knocked down seven times, you get back up eight and we continued to press the issue the first part of the week about bouncing back strong and keeping their heads held high,” Puderbaugh said. “I told them to keep that in mind and to just keep working hard and trying to improve and success will come as long as they can stay with it. I think the bought into that. I think they believe that.”

After going back to the drawing board in practice at the start of the week, Puderbaugh said fundamentals were a big focus for the Panthers and the work paid off as Royal Valley split its duals in Silver Lake last Wednesday night.

The Panthers took a close dual with the host Eagles, winning 37-31, before coming up short against Washburn Rural by a final of 54-24.

If not for a few matches, the dual with Washburn Rural would’ve been closer. While the Panthers struggled in the lightweight divisions, lacking experience and size, Puderbaugh said all of the RV wrestlers excelled in setting the tone in the matches and coming back strong.

“I felt like we were the more aggressive team and our guys attacked in the neutral position and especially on bottom. Those were points of emphasis for us winning those two positions,” Puderbaugh said. “We were winning those takedowns and we were controlling the matches and setting the tone as far as being the bigger aggressor. I thought our guys wrestled with confidence and it was exciting.”

Several individual RV wrestlers had strong nights, starting with some sophomores who have had bumpy starts to the season. Tim Martin Jr. and Jerry Coan both finished 1-1 on the night for Royal Valley and very easily could’ve been 2-0.

Martin Jr. dropped a tough match by decision to Silver Lake’s Dalton Dultmeier, who took third at 113 lbs. at the 3-2-1A state tournament last year before coming back to shut out his opponent from Washburn Rural.

Meanwhile, Coan started off with a win against his Silver Lake opponent and was in control of his match in the Washburn Rural dual, but Coan made a technical error trying a new technique that ended up costing him the match.

Still those two, along with a consistent Jacob Box, looked strong for the Panthers while Matthew Bailey and Charles Todd continued to round back into form in their second meet back from injury for Royal Valley. Bailey won both of his matches handily, while Todd was in control of his one match before letting up a little in the final period, leaving an opening for his opponent to take advantage.

Noah Hart also continued to look sharp getting a win by pin in the Washburn Rural dual after falling to defending 126-lb. state champion Haegan Schaefer of Silver Lake. If not for a close takedown that wasn’t scored in the second period, Hart may have been victorious, though Puderbaugh said that doesn’t take away from his increasing odds as a 145-lb. contender in Class 4A.

“He just continues to be more and more of a threat against the better kids in the state and I think that he himself is becoming one of the top contenders at 145,” Puderbaugh said.

After a tough outing in their previous tournament, Puderbaugh said he was impressed with how his wrestlers responded and he hopes this will put the Panthers back on track and provide some momentum for the wrestlers to continue taking strides forward as Royal Valley gets ready for some individual tournament competition. Following action at St. Marys over the weekend, RV will return to competition in Kansas City at the Piper tournament this Saturday starting at 8:30 a.m.

Silver Lake double dual

Team results:

Royal Valley 37, Silver Lake 31

Washburn Rural 54, Royal Valley 24

Individual results:

vs. Silver Lake

(106):  Jordan Priddy (SL) won by fall over Dalton Ware.

(113):  Michael Marsh (SL) won by fall over Ethan Ashley.

(120):  Dalton Dultmeier (SL) won by major decision, 10-1, over Tim Martin Jr.

(126):  Lane Bailey had an open round.

(132):  Zack Lux had an open round.

(138):  Jerry Coan won by decision, 8-3, over Caleb Schwarz (SL).

(145):  Haegan Schaefer (SL) won by decision, 3-2, over Noah Hart.

(152):  Both teams were open.

(160):  Hunter Howerton (SL) won by fall over Garrett Rodewald.

(170):  Michael Schaefer (SL) had an open round.

(182):  Matthew Bailey (RV) won by major decision, 14-5, over Coltin Morgan (SL).

(195):  Jacob Box had an open round.

(220):  Blake Garrison had an open round.

(285):  Charles Todd had an open round.

 

vs. Washburn Rural

(106):  Christian Madill (WR) won by fall over Dalton Ware.

(113):  Nick Huffman (WR) won by fall over Ethan Ashley.

(120):  Tim Martin Jr. won by decision, 6-0 over Cashton Taggart (WR).

(126):  Austin Jenkins (WR) won by fall over Lance Bailey.

(132):  Zack Lux had an open round.

(138):  Alec Stindt (WR) won by fall over Jerry Coan.

(145):  Noah Hart won by fall over Matt Voigt (WR).

(152):  Laron Jackson (WR) had an open round.

(160):  Jared Shipley (WR) won by fall over Garrett Rodewald.

(170):  Kyle Palenske (WR) had an open round.

(182):  Matthew Bailey won by fall over Devin Blackwell (WR).

(195):  Jacob Box won by decision, 6-2, over Nathan Iles (WR).

(220):  LaVale Jackson (WR) had an open round.

(285):  Michael Mattox (WR) won by fall over Charels Todd.

 

JV

(113):  Austin Frakes (WR) won by fall over DJ Kester.

(120):  Alex Ackerman (WR) won by fall over Colby Burger.

 (132):  Caleb Burnworth won over Lacey Henderson (WR).

(138):  Eli Shane won by decision, 7-3, over Lacey Henderson.

(195):  Blake Garrison won by fall over Dalton Reed.

The Holton Recorder

109 W. Fourth St.
Holton, KS 66436
Phone: 785-364-3141
 

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