As they have so often this season, Polk County’s wrestling squad had the upper hand on the mat for most of Friday’s Western Highlands Conference match with Mountain Heritage.
But as has been the case for so much of the season, the Wolverines just needed a few more hands.
Forfeiting five weight classes to the Cougars proved too much for a determined Polk County squad to overcome, the Wolverines dropping a 45-30 decision in a match moved to Polk County Middle School after a power outage at Polk County High.
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For the Wolverines who did dress out, there was little shortage of power. Polk County won five of the night’s nine matches and did so all by pin, including falls by seniors Chase McMurray and Franklin Sandoval, each recognized before the match as Polk celebrated Senior Night. But with starters Jerry Cox and Chase Emory out sick, Mountain Heritage capitalized and did just enough to take home the conference win.
“There isn’t much you can do about the forfeits when you have people sick,” said Polk County head coach Phillip Miller. “If we have those two kids here, this is a totally different thing.
“But the ones who were here wrestled well. I can’t ask for much more than that. The kids put all they had into it and wrestled hard. I can’t ask for more effort than I’ve been getting.”
Trailing 24-0 after five matches, Polk County began to surge at 138. Dustin Calvert and Nick Yelton staged a competitive match, entering the third period tied 4-4. Calvert was able to escape Yelton early in the period and seize control to take a 7-4 lead, then finally pinned Yelton with just two seconds left in the match.
Anthony Marino followed at 145 with a second-period pin of Jimmy Silvers before Sandoval also won with a second-period pin. A forfeit and loss led to the 182-pound class, where Damion Cantrell displayed a variety of moves in overwhelming Timothy Edwards, winning by pin in 34 seconds.
That led to the 195-pound class and the match of the night. Freshman Gabe Lail fell behind 10-1 and seemed near being pinned on a couple of occasions before battling back. Lail began scoring points, then looked ready to himself win by pin early in the third, executing a trip on Logan Bryan to drop Bryan on his back. But as Lail moved in for the pin, the match was paused due to concerns over Bryan’s health. Those proved unfounded, and Lail nearly executed the same move again. Ultimately, Bryan pulled out a 13-11 decision.
“I couldn’t be prouder of Gabe,” Miller said. “You can’t ask for any more effort than what he showed.”
Heritage captured the 225-pound class before McMurray closed the night with a first-period pin of Tyler McFarland.
Polk County closes its regular season on Tuesday with a tri-match with Brevard and East Henderson at East before the WHC tourney next Friday at Owen. Polk County will also travel Saturday to a tournament in Walhalla, S.C.
“The kids have wrestled as hard as they can wrestle,” Miller said. “It’s been a great year for them. With the forfeits it’s been hard to win as a team, but you can’t fault their effort. They’ve had a great year.”
Mountain Heritage 45, Polk County 30
106: Ethan Wilson (MH) forfeit
112: Double forfeit
120: Tay Phillips (MH) p. Gabe O’Brien
126: Camron Stamey (MH) forfeit
132: Isaiah Buchanan (MH) forfeit
138: Dustin Calvert (PC) p. Nick Yelton
145: Anthony Marino (PC) p. Jimmy Silvers
152: Franklin Sandoval (PC) p. Alex Welsh
160: Jacob Morgan (MH) forfeit
170: Manuel Leyva (MH) p. Ryan Badger
182: Damion Cantrell (PC) p. Timothy Edwards
195: Logan Bryan (MH) dec. Gabe Lail, 13-11
225: Jake Phillips (MH) p. Marquise Lipscomb
HWT: Chase McMurray (PC) p. Tyler McFarland
