Trojans open post-season in Jefferson today
By Dan Truttschel
Correspondent
In its regular-season finale last week, the East Troy High School wrestling squad showed it was ready for the next part of its schedule.
And the Trojans did so emphatically.
East Troy won 10 matches on the mat en route to a dominating, 54-24, Rock Valley Conference victory at Edgerton on Jan. 25.
There were a number of positives that came from the win, East Troy coach Mike Howard said.
“(I was) real proud of the whole crew,” he said. “Edgerton has done a nice job this year, and we dominated for the most part. We won the close matches and left no doubt that we were there to wrestle.
“Evansville, who is leading the conference, only beat Edgerton by one point, and we beat them by 30 points. This is a good sign of us improving throughout the season.”
Eight of the Trojans’ 10 victories came by pinfall – and that was a huge factor in the 30-point victory, Howard said.
“We always emphasize getting the pin, and this was one of those nights where it happened,” he said. “Kids are starting to beat their opponent up a little before pinning them. By beating them up, I mean taking them down and letting them up hard, being physical and not going for the pin right away, softening them up first.”
Winning by pin were Joe Moede (120), in 1:59 over Jacob Davis; John Veselka (145), in 1:23 over Andrew Hanson; Chase Coleman (160), in 1:06 over Mitchell Popp; Jake Dessart (182), in 1:26 over Trevor Evans; Jacob Price (195), in 1:11 over Tyler Bavery; Chris Storandt (220), in 37 seconds over Lucas Kessel; Tommy Larson (106), in 4:59 over Ryan Hazzard; and A.J. Hall (113), in 5:18 over Quinn Kotnour.
Also earning victories were Calvin Collins (126), 4-2 over Daniel Clark; and Jacob Mast (285), 8-2 over Reed Farrington.
There were a number of highlights up and down the lineup, Howard said.
“Tommy Larson, Chris Storandt and Chase Coleman all dominated their opponent in the win, but most importantly, imposed their will and their pace for the match the entire time,” Howard said. “John Veselka, Jake Dessart and Jacob Price continue to improve drastically each week. A.J. Hall dominated a kid with a nice record, so that was great to see as well. Calvin Collins had a very close match where he won in the final seconds.”
Dropping matches to Edgerton were Dustin Bartell (132), by pin in 1:08 to Cole Bavery; Mason Orgas (138), by pin in 3:37 to Carter Klein; Jackson Dedick (152), by pin in 3:25 to Trevor Wilkinson; and Sam Tuttle (170), by pin in 1:06 to Garrett Ison.
Conference meet Saturday
East Troy begins its postseason journey today when it travels to Jefferson for the RVC Meet at 9 a.m. The Trojans finished second in the regular season behind Evansville, which handed East Troy its only dual loss of the season, so there’s a lot at stake, Howard said.
“If we can win the tournament, and they place second, we tie for the conference (title),” he said. “With a little luck and a lot of effort, we can win the conference outright. We shall see come Saturday.
“The key is to get contributions from everyone, win the close matches and place as high as you can. We need to get a couple championships, of course, but we also need to win a few matches we might not be favored in. We need everyone to be ready to fight for every point. Not giving out major (decisions) or pins is also important to the other team. Every match counts. This is where the team effort comes into play.”
East Troy’s three returning state qualifiers – Larson, Coleman and Storandt – enter the meet at 34-3, 31-6 and 35-2, respectively. Larson is ranked second in the state, Storandt fourth and Coleman ninth.
