Polk County’s chance to clinch the outright Western Highlands Conference regular season wrestling title against Owen on Wednesday night went all the way to the heavyweight match.
Tanner McKinney made sure the drama didn’t last much longer than that.
With the Wolverines leading 35-31 and needing to avoid giving up a major decision, McKinney went out and dominated his match from the beginning, building a 7-0 lead after one period and leading 11-0 before notching a pin with 40 seconds remaining in the second period, giving Polk County a 41-31 win and the regular season crown.
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“Tanner’s a first-year wrestler, and he’s one of our most improved kids because he wrestles like he’s been doing it all four years,” Polk County assistant coach Chase Emory said. “I’m very proud to see his development. He goes out there, he’s consistent and he always wrestles hard.”
McKinney’s win capped a wild night that swung back and forth before Polk County was able to escape with the win in a match that lasted a little less than an hour. That’s in part because the Wolverines got forfeit wins at 106, 165, 175 and 190 pounds. The last three turned a 25-17 deficit into a 35-25 advantage for the hosts.
Owen built that lead thanks to a couple of gutsy performances in the lower weights. With Polk leading 18-6 after the forfeit victory at 106, a double forfeit at 113 and pinfall victories from Liam Jackson (126) and Amon Villareal (132), the Warhorses started chipping away. Bryson Perkins got a first-period pin at 138. Kaiser Perkins followed with a major decision at 144 pounds, scoring late to make his win worth four and cutting the Polk County lead to 18-16.
That lead was erased in the next match, as Polk’s Brody Wolfe and Owen’s Mason Wheeler staged an all-out war. Wolfe led by as many as 8-1 before Wheeler mounted a furious rally, tying the match at 9-9 to end the third. The action stopped twice for blood in the third period, and again in the first overtime period when Wheeler suffered a cramp. He was able to bounce back and score a takedown with fewer than 30 seconds left in the extra period, and with a team point deduction, he gave Owen a 19-17 lead.
Joaquin Leunda-Freeman followed with a pinfall victory at 157 pounds to make it 25-17 Owen before the Warhorses ran out of bodies, with forfeits to the strongest part of Polk’s lineup, running the Wolverines’ lead to 35-25. Owen’s next chance was at 215, where Allen Oldfield’s quick pin cut Polk’s lead to 35-31 and set the stage for McKinney’s decisive win.
He got a takedown midway through the first and very nearly scored a first-period pinfall, getting four back points instead. The second started much the same way, with an escape and a takedown extending his lead to 11-0 before he put it away with a pinfall to give the Wolverines their first conference crown since 2004. It didn’t come easy.
“There were a couple of matches where we were in control, we were winning, and we end up getting beat,” Emory said. “That’s something that can’t happen. We have to work to improve on that going into the conference tournament and on to state. But if you look at the poster up there, it says 2004. These kids weren’t born then. This is a big win for them, and it’s a big win for us as a program.”
The Wolverines have little time to enjoy their success. This weekend’s expected weather has accelerated the Western Highlands Conference Individual Tournament to Thursday beginning at 3 p.m. at Madison.
