Team sweeps RVC duals
By Dan Truttschel
Correspondent
With the calendar now in mid-January, it’s just about time for high school wrestling teams to begin putting their best foot forward in anticipation for the end of the season.
In East Troy’s case, the Trojans didn’t just put one foot forward on Saturday – they used both.
East Troy swept through all four of its matches to finish a perfect 4-0 at Saturday’s Rock Valley Conference Duals at Evansville. Individual match scores were unavailable.
The Trojans were a focused group from the start, East Troy coach Mike Howard said. East Troy knocked off Big Foot (78-0), Clinton (72-6), Brodhead (71-9) and Whitewater (44-24), which received honorable mention recognition in the latest Division 2 state poll.
“We came to wrestle,” he said. “We knew Whitewater was going to be tough out of the gate, being the first dual meet of the day. They have a solid lineup, and they always come with a full team of wrestlers.
“We continued with our positive attitude and intensity from last weekend and wrestled very well against them. We are in better shape, both physically and mentally.”
Highlighting the win over Whitewater were victories by John Veselka (145) and Jackson Dedick (152), along with Tommy Larson, who moved up to 113 pounds for that match.
“John Veselka continues to make a difference and impress the coaches,” Howard said. “Both him and Jackson Dedick started off the dual meet with tough opponents and grinded out a win in close matches.
“Both matches were hard-fought battles, and these two wins were key in getting the rest of the team fired up for this rival dual meet with Whitewater.”
Veselka and Dedick finished the day perfect, as did Tommy Larson (106/113), A.J. Hall (113), Joe Moede (120), Calvin Collins (126), Chris Storandt (220) and Jacob Mast (285).
“When you have eight kids out of 14 weight classes go undefeated for the day, things are going well,” Howard said. “But we still have work to do.”
As usually is the key with success in a dual, Howard pointed to his team’s ability to avoid pinfalls in tough situations throughout the day.
“We are fighting off our backs and coming together as a team,” he said. “Everyone is cheering on their teammates and motivating them to get the win. We are winning the close battles and not backing down from the tough opponents.
“It’s great to see the leaders step up and the camaraderie of the team. Some of our inexperienced kids are having more success and starting to believe in themselves.”
