On Saturday the RBHS wrestling team traveled to Warrensburg for their last regular season tournament before districts. Typically the Bruins send the junior varsity to this tournament and the varsity wrestles at Francis Howell North but this year the varsity team headed to Warrensburg and the junior varsity took the weekend off.
Highlights:
132: Sophomore Henry Cleavinger went 2-1 in pool matches recording a technical fall and a pin. In the championship bracket Cleavinger pulled out a semifinal victory before falling in the finals 7-4 to senior Jalen Miles of Webster Groves.
138: In the 138 pound B bracket sophomore Isaac Lage took second behind the strength of two pins.
“I did well at getting back point and turning people,” Lage said. “[I still need to work on] becoming aggressive and taking more risks.”
170: Senior Graham Ratermann improved to 42-2 with three pins and a major decision to take the title at 170 pounds.
182: In the 182 pounds B bracket freshman Don Hammers won the tournament by pinning his way through the field, with three of those falls coming in the first period.
As a team the Bruins scored 67.5 points to finish eighth. Helias won the tournament with 125.5 team points. The team effort was hampered as returning state qualifier Brock Davis didn’t travel with the team due to illness, returning state champion Josiah Kline didn’t wrestle due to a knee injury and junior John Flanegin was scratched at weigh-ins.
The tournament offered some of the Bruins younger athletes a chance to wrestle other novice competitors and improve their technique. Kline didn’t wrestle but did watch his teammates and was proud of how they did.
“They seemed to wrestle pretty well, some made a few mistakes here and there but overall they did good,” Kline said. “They seemed to be able to be doing better on their feet and were starting to get an offense going for them.”
Tomorrow the Bruins take on Jefferson City at home in the auxiliary gym in a dual that will serve as another learning experience for the younger Bruins against the battle hardened Jays.
With that in mind Kline offered an analysis of what the underclassmen wrestlers should work on.
“To not give up big moves for some of them,” Kline said. “And they need to learn to keep wrestling.”