The Ada HIgh School wrestling team traveled to Bucyrus Wednesday, December 22, for a rare mid-week afternoon dual match.
"It was definitely a different sort of environment," said Ada head coach Eric Perkins. "When you get their whole school packed into the gym being loud and rooting against you, it can be a very tough challenge mentally.
"I thought our guys did a great job rising to that challenge, staying aggressive and focused on the right things."
The contest was conducted with Bucyrus still in school, so there was a large student crowd on hand. Buoyed by the crowd, the host Redmen defeated Ada, 60-7.
"From a results standpoint, it was a tough day for us," Perkins admitted. "I was really happy with the approach we took in our matches, and the way our guys went out there and put it all on the line and battled.
"We had guys giving up some weight in some matches, and guys wrestling opponents who were maybe stronger or more experienced, but none of our guys backed down or gave up," he added.
Rowan West posted a Bulldog win with a late comeback effort.
"Rowan wrestled his best match of the season today. Down five points in the third period in a tough environment like that is an easy place to run the time out or give up," said Perkins.
"But Rowan dug deep and found the strength to earn four takedowns in the third period, including two in the final 30 seconds to win by one point. He was relentless with his attacks and would not be denied. It was a perfect example of the mentality it takes to be successful in this sport," said the coach.
Feisty Clayton McClain also authored an impressive comeback.
"Clayton fell behind a bit early," Perkins said. "It is hard to turn the momentum when the whole gym is loud and excited, and you have had a few matches in a row go against you.
"He settled in and wrestled a nice match, controlling the action all the way to a major decision. Mental toughness has been one of his biggest areas of development this year, and this match was a prime example of that."
Several other Bulldogs battled hard but came up just short.
"Aaron Arnett was put in a tough spot, leading off the match in a pretty tough environment," noted the coach. "He did some good things and battled a little bit, but wasn’t able to be successful.
"Colton Cole wrestled a pretty good match even though he didn’t quite get the win we were hoping for," Perkins said. "Things are starting to slow down for him a bit on the mat, and his instincts and timing are getting a lot better.
"Landon Simon always competes, gives great effort and does almost enough really good things to win a match," Perkins reported. "He did some good things, (and) has made some adjustments even since Monday that are getting him closer to winning matches.
"Liam (Vieira) is one of the guys who was giving up some weight," said Perkins. "He had a couple opportunities to overcome that, but just wasn’t quite able to finish the job. I was really happy with his aggressive approach to the match.
"Trevor (McGue) was another guy who had a tough match giving up some weight against a bigger stronger opponent. He gave his best effort, but physically he was out-matched and it showed," said Perkins.
In junior high action, Ada's Marley Bulerin won by pin.
Bulldog Langston McClain won his youth match by technical fall, 18-3.
The Ada matmen wrestle at Woodmore Friday, January 7.
