“It doesn’t affect us as a team at all,” senior Harry Schauwecker said. “It was a really fun dual with two state ranked teams, and we lost close.”
Schauwecker, in the weight class 170, dominated his match in a major decision against opponent senior Adrian Walton. Major decision is where the wrestler wins the match in seven points or more. At the end of the match, he went 13-2.
Another strong senior, Trent Johnson, wrestled fellow senior Payne Stark and also stole the match, his with a 14-4 outcome. Johnson went to state last year, earning fifth place.
Along with the seasoned seniors, the Bruin wrestlers are loaded with young talent. Sophomore Cody Maly pinned opponent junior Zach Eggen at 1:36 in their 182 weight class, a fast end to an easy victory against the Jay; sophomore Eli Stout came out on top at 9-0 against Jeff City wrestler junior D.J. Jones.
Putting the cherry on top of the sundae, comeback kid sophomore Quinn Smith made the evening almost perfect for the younger bunch. After losing to senior Spenser Roberts two times this season, Smith showed up tonight to defeat Roberts this time, 3-0.
Despite the team loss, the Bruins look forward to the district tournament as the ultimate goal. Everything else is just a build-up to post-season.
“As for me, I feel great after that match,” Schauwecker said. “I wrestled well and aggressive[ly], so I’m getting excited for a really tough tournament. [I’ll be] leading the team into the district tourney just by bringing it at practice and keeping up spirits [and] getting everyone excited.”