Thanksgiving meals may taste just a bit better this week for Polk County Middle’s wrestling team.
The Wolverines head into the holiday break with a 5-0 record after posting a dominant 84-18 victory Monday over visiting Rugby Middle in a Blue Ridge Conference East Division match.
Polk Middle opened a 30-0 lead with a flair for the dramatic. Ellis Searcy won the afternoon’s opening match at 76 pounds with a pin with 8.2 seconds remaining. Ethan Dotson captured his match at 83 pounds with a first-period pin with 1.3 seconds left. Silas Amorelli, Jared Contreras and Rhys Jackson each added wins by fall in the final 25 seconds of a period.
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By the time the Wolverines reached halftime – yes, Polk Middle home matches this season include an intermission for the Wolverine cheerleaders to perform – they were well on their way to their 37th consecutive victory and a 1-0 record in the East Division race.
“It’s nice going into the break 5-0,” said Polk Middle head coach Jerry Cox. “It’s also nice to get started well in the divisional sector.
“We kind of outwrestled them today. At 144, Matt (Sokil) met an athlete, and he just outwrestled him. Xander (Worley), same thing, just kept moving on the bottom and good things happened.”
Rugby scored a pair of victories at 150 and 165 before Polk, following a double forfeit at 175, closed the match with Worley, Landon Plylar and Hudson Hyde each winning their matches via fall. Hyde’s effort especially pleased Cox.
“If I had to point to somebody who has a bright future, it’s hard for a heavyweight to get down on his back and then come back,” Cox said. “Hudson’s not really a heavyweight. We’re bumping him up some. But to have a heavyweight that can fight off his back within 15 seconds, that just shows the fight that he has. This is our fifth match, and at least twice he’s got thrown straight to his back and he’s fought it off and picked up a win.”
A challenging week will await the Wolverines when they return from the holiday, beginning with a December 2 match at Apple Valley Middle.
76: Ellis Searcy (PC) p. Eliam Calvert
83: Ethan Dotson (PC) p. Asher Yudenfriend
90: Silas Amorelli (PC) p. Kade Hunter
98: Jared Contreras (PC) p. Raughlin Lecker
106: Rhys Jackson (PC) p. Hannah Brown
113: Reese Breslin (R) p. Oakley McDowell
120: Riley Morgan (PC) p. Silas Morris
126: Gavin Waldbillig (PC) p. Brayden Durner
132: Alex Labreche (PC) p. Allison Pena-Torres
138: Jared Logan (PC) p. Rhett Ridgeway
144: Matthew Sokil (PC) p. Brody Hamlin
150: Lella Varadore (R) p. Easton Queen
157: Andy Serrano (PC) p. Jayden Flagg
165: Brynyn Jones (R) by forfeit
175: Double forfeit
190: Xander Worley (PC) p. Theron Thomas
215: Landon Plylar (PC) p. Conner Dollar
HWT: Hudson Hyde (PC) p. Cameron Morris
