SEYMOUR
It may have been senior night, but the underclassmen stole the show on Thursday night for the Seymour wrestling team.
The Owls fell to Jennings County 45-21, but Aiden Mora, Dunnigan Huddleston and Ben Kriete got the host fans excited in the more exciting matches of the night.
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Mora, a freshman, had a tall task in his 220-pound match falling behind 2-0 after the first two periods.
Yet he battled back, getting a takedown and some back points to take the lead 5-2 in the third period. His opponent, however, turned the tide in the final minute to escape with the 8-5 decision win.
A few matches later and it was Huddleston who completed the comeback during his match at 120.
Three periods wasn’t enough for Huddleston and his Panther counterpart to find a winner. Huddleston quickly pounced in the extra period with a takedown and three back points to secure a 10-5 decision.
Kriete also won in extra time, grabbing a takedown and holding on for dear life to nab the win at 138 pounds. Kriete had been in control for much of the match, but a late charge from his Panther opponent forced the extra period.
Though the Owls would have loved to get a win over their Hoosier Hills Conference rivals, Seymour coach Todd Weaver was pleased with the way his athletes competed.
“We’ve got some younger guys that maybe shouldn’t be in their weight classes, but they just came out and competed,” Weaver said. “When things are going well, you don’t have underclassmen wrestling at upper weights, but they’re going out there and working hard for us.
“We know they’re not always going to win, but to go out and compete like that makes us happy.”
Though the upperclassmen may have been upstaged, the Owl seniors once again showed up strong.
Three of the five seniors came away with victories with only Connor Ellis and Kate Snook falling by pin in their matches at 152 and 170, respectively.
Jake Rotert opened up the night with a 6-0 decision victory at 160. He was in control from the very beginning and very nearly came away with bonus points, but was unable to get the pin.
Nate Banister did get a pin in the first period of his match at 132. After securing a takedown, Banister went straight to work and got the fall in just 1 minute and five seconds.
Two matches later and Jake Kriete followed Rotert’s lead and blanked his opponent for a 7-0 decision victory. After a scoreless opening period, Kriete earned five back points in the second period and a takedown in the third.
Yet, wins and losses aren’t going to be what defines this senior class according to Weaver.
“For the first time in awhile we’ve had some leadership, and when this group goes we’re going to lose some leadership,” Weaver said. “To be honest though, we’ve got some younger guys coming up that are going to be even better leaders.”
Rounding out the Seymour victories: Ty Woods hung on for a win at 126. After scoring the first seven points, his Panther opponent rallied back, but was unable to complete the comeback thanks to the toughness Woods displayed late.
Preserving sectional seeds played a factor in Thursday’s lineup change, but with the postseason right around the corner neither coach wanted to risk having their guys get bad draws in two weeks.
Weaver said he wishes the Jennings County meet wasn’t so late in the year, but was once again proud of the way his younger wrestlers went out and wrestled aggressively.
The Owls have the next several days off to rest and prepare before they tackle their first stop on their postseason journey. The Jennings County sectional is slated for Saturday, Feb. 1 and will start at 9 a.m.