Class 6A number-eight ranked Piedmont beat Newcastle January 26 in a dual, 4930, but the Racers came back and placed second at the Midwestern Conference Tournament at Shawnee FireLake over the weekend.
Coach Zach Hale said, “We participated in the Midwestern Conference over the weekend and came home with plenty of hardware for all. It is always a great tournament with 24 teams in the conference ranging from 3A-5A teams, ranked and unranked.
Harrah placed first, with Newcastle second and Little Axe coming in third.
Hale said he felt the Racers were mentally prepared at Conference, even though they had just come off the Piedmont loss. Newcastle also graduated 15 seniors last year when they placed second, so Hale knew it would be an uphill battle. He said it didn’t matter, though, as the Racers “came out of the gate firing on all pistons.”
Individuals placing are the following: Mason Dobbs, 113, 5th; Ryder Jones, 138, 5th; Max Rinehart, 150, 2nd; Shane Lovejoy, 165, 3rd; Blake Johnson, 175, 2nd; Randy Nix, 215, 1st; and Nicholas Lozano, 285, 5th.
Junior High placers are: Colton Dobbs, 80, 3rd; Gage Stark, 98, 1st; Eason Beaty, 106, 6th; K’Den Davis, 119, 6th; Kage McLean, 132, 5th; Aiden Froysland, 132, 4th; and Ethan Bunch, 140, 2nd.
Hale said Gage Stark at 98 pounds was named Outstanding Wrestler for the Lower Weights, as well as Champion of Champions. With the Midwestern Conference over, the junior high season also concludes.
Hale said there will be a lot to look forward to as they progress for Newcastle Wrestling.
Against Piedmont, the Racers were facing a team that had also beat several other quality Class 5A programs by similar margins. Hale said Piedmont beat Guthrie, ranked nine in Class 5A, by the score of 47-30. Piedmont also beat number 11-ranked Shawnee, 45-30.
“So for our first year competing in Class 5A, I do feel as though we can compete as a team, but time will tell as we get closer to the Regional Tournament,” Hale said.
Piedmont had some tough kids, Hale said, and there were a lot of scrambles and dog fights to be had on the mat, but ultimately the Racers had big wins from freshman Jaxon Mitchell at 144, senior Max Rinehart at 150, and senior Randy Nix at 215. He added that seniors Boog Jefferies and Hayden McKinney had tough losses but not without effort and determination.
Hale said, “With it being senior night I feel as though there’s always a little bit more pressure on the wrestlers to perform whether it’s their senior night or they are wrestling for the seniors, but it’s always a fine line because a lot of time wrestlers will put too much pressure on themselves to perform in front of a hometown crowd and go out with a bang.
“I did feel as though our squad was honed in.”
