Frazier wrestlers top West Greene, 35-27
PERRYOPOLIS – Frazier hosted West Greene for a rare brunch matinee wrestling match late Friday morning, and the Commodores didn’t disappoint the assembled student body with a 35-27 non-section victory.
“It was a great environment. It’s the first time we did this. It was really exciting,” said Frazier coach Buck Watkins. “This is what you want for a wrestling culture.
“You want it to be loud. You want it to be aggressive. You want to see everybody have a good time and being excited.”
Since the student body was situated behind the West Greene bench, coach Gary Whyte can attest to the loudness of the crowd.
“It’s different. We have pretty good crowds. Any time you get in front of the student body, you’re going to have the cheering and yelling beside you,” explained Whyte.
West Greene silenced the crowd early when the Pioneers’ Noah Collins pinned Tanner Hayes to the mat at 1:27 in the opening 121-pound bout.
Frazier tied the match when Landon Hough received a forfeit at 127 pounds.
West Greene regained the lead when Seth Burns pinned Chase Celaschi at 3:25 in the 133-pound bout. Frazier tied the match at 139 pounds when Tyler Clark pinned Caleb Orndoff at 2:57.
The Commodores followed with back-to-back pins by Adam Kortina (145) and Jonah Erdely (152).
West Greene’s Hayden Hamilton avoided being pinned by Andrew Bandish in the first period of his 160-pound bout, and the effort paid off when he was able to turn the tables for a fall at 4:34.
“I believed those two wrestled back in junior high and it was a close match back then, too,” said Whyte.
The Pioneers’ Josh Archer also managed to stay off his back in the first period at 172 pounds, but Frazier’s Ryan Celaschi kept applying the pressure for a 15-0 technical fall at 2:54.
Jackson Angelo’s first-period pin against West Greene’s Johnny Lampe extended Frazier’s lead to 35-18 after 189 pounds.
The Pioneers cut the deficit with Morgan Kiger’s decision at 215 pounds and Colin Whyte’s pin in the match finale at 285 pounds.
The final three weights – 107, 114 and 121 – were not contested.
Watkins was pleased with the win, but wants his team to perform at a higher level.
“I’ll be honest with you, I expected better. We got the W, that’s all that matters. We have to be better,” said Watkins. “We have to wrestle our best in February and March. These are just tuneups. Guys aren’t completely in 100 percent shape yet and we have some guys with nagging injuries, some sickness.
“But, in February and March we have to be at the top. We have to be ready to roll. That’s all that matters.”
Gary Whyte also expects his team will steadily improve throughout January.
“Coming in, we knew it was going to be a tough match. There were a few bouts we didn’t get that we thought we’d get,” said Whyte. “It goes fast. We still have guys rounding into shape.”