Senior Night Slaughter

Senior Corey Horner on senior night

It was another exciting evening under the spotlight in the Ram Arena as the Southern Rams played host to the visiting Northern Huskies.   The gym was packed and it was senior night for the Southern Rams.  The atmosphere could not have been better for a match with huge post-season implications.

 

The evening began with some exciting youth action pitting the Southern Mat Club against the Northern Mat Club.  After those bouts, we went straight into our senior night celebration.  Seniors, making their final appearance in the Ram Arena as members of Southern Wrestling, were Ethan Bittinger, Bernie Sislo, Corey Horner and Devan Hamrick.  We also acknowledged senior cheerleader Nicole Baker.  Mothers were presented flowers and fathers were given framed pictures.

Patrick Duggan with a huge pin!!

When the celebration was over, it was time for the match to begin.  The match was set to begin at 170 and Patrick Duggan took the mat for the Rams to get things started.  Northern sent out Kyle Beard, who is a state ranked wrestler for the Huskies.  In a flurry of action, Beard seemed to be ready to score, but Duggan was quick to come out on top and score a huge pin!  The Rams were up 6-0 and the Huskies were reeling.  Joey Embleton earned a pin of his own at 182 and the Ram Arena was going crazy.

Brison Dixon in control

At 195, Hunter Park kept the ball rolling with a decision in a rematch from the last dual that he had lost to give the Rams a commanding 15-0 lead.  Northern was able to pick up wins at 220 and 285 to cut into the lead heading into the lower weights.  At 106, Brison Dixon won by fall to bring the team score to 22-12 in favor of Southern.  Nate Tasker and Jake Sweitzer both lost close decisions and the Huskies still had hope that they could pull off the win.

Devan Hamrick with a senior night pin!

Jace Guy took the mat at 126 in another rematch from the January meeting.  In that match, Tyler Thomas got the upper hand, but last night things were different.  Guy slammed the door shut on Northern by pinning Thomas in the second period.  Senior state champion Devan Hamrick followed with a pin of his own and the Rams were in control 34-19 with four bouts remaining.

Alec Horner pins Luke Lowery

Sophomore Alec Horner took the mat at 138 and shocked the Northern crowd when he stuck Luke Lowery with a cradle in only 19 second to drive the final nail in the Huskies coffin.  Jimmy Schwab and Corey Horner each went out and scored pins for the Rams and we forfeited the final bout to finish the season sweep of Northern with the huge 52-25 victory.

The win was the 32nd of the season for Southern and the 18^th in a row.  The Rams have also qualified for the regional duals which will be held at Middletown High School on Wednesday evening.   Southern will enter the duals for the 12^th time in the last 15 years, are seeded 4^th and will face the host school in the semi-final round starting at 5:30pm.  The finals are scheduled to begin at 7:30pm.  The winner of the regional duals will qualify for the state duals to be wrestled on Saturday.  Photos courtesy of Alex Flanigan and Kelli Fulmer.

Southern 52 – Northern 25

106 – Brison Dixon (SG) pins Nick Opel (NG) 1:21
113 – Devin Wilhelm (NG) dec Nate Tasker (SG) 6-1
120 – Jarrett Kelly (NG) dec Jake Sweitzer (SG) 5-4
126 – Jace Guy (SG) pins Tylor Thomas (NG) 3:33
132 – Devan Hamrick (SG) pins Richard Ravenscroft (NG) 1:02
138 – Alec Horner (SG) pins Luke Lowery (NG) :19
145 – Jimmy Schwab (SG) pins Tony Miller (NG) 4:18
152 – Corey Horner (SG) pins Jordan Grove (NG) 1:33
160 – Brysan Day (NG) via forfeit
170 – Patrick Duggan (SG) pins Kyle Beard (NG) :59
182 – Joey Embleton (SG) pins Hunter Shockey (NG) :53
195 – Hunter Park (SG) dec James Lewis (NG) 7-6
220 – Riley Brick (NG) pins Bernie Sislo (SG) :43
285 – Ben Beeman (NG) pins Cole Sweitzer (SG) 3:02