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GREENFIELD – Nodaway Valley was able to come out of Thursday’s triangular with two wins, beating Martensdale-St. Marys, 36-34, and Pleasantville, 42-40.
The night kicked off with Nodaway Valley facing Martensdale-St. Marys at the 285 weight class. An immediate win from the Blue Devils led to a back and forth through the lower weight classes. It wasn’t until a Josh Tibbits pin over Caelen DeVault that began a run for Martensdale-St. Marys.
The Blue Devils made quick work of the middleweights, winning by pin or by forfeit from the 132 class to the 152, going up 19 points.
The faceoff between Tyler Breheny and Robert Criswell turned out to be the bout of the night with both wrestlers having no clear advantage for the 160’s. The match went the distance, with Breheny coming out in decision, 6-2.
Following Breheny’s win the Blue Devils were unable field a wrestler to hold off the lead, forfeiting four straight, including a double forfeit to end the night. The final score ended up in favor of the Wolverines, squeezing by 36-34.
In the second duel of the night, Nodaway Valley found itself rolling from the get go.
Twenty-four straight points from Nodaway Valley gave the Wolverines a big advantage as they reached the 132 weight class. Then four straight wins from the Wolverines was followed by four straight from the Trojans, pulling the score to within two.
The Wolverines were able to answer back with another important win from Tyler Breheny, along with a quick pin from Trevor Flettre. The two wins were big in creating a lead for the Wolverines, as it was enough to make a comeback.
A pin and two forfeits were not enough to end the night for the Spartans, falling to the Wolverines, 42-40.
The 21-point comeback and besting a resilient Pleasantville team was imporant for the young Wolverines, said head coach Jesse McCann.
“I could tell they felt pretty good and were excited because we’re trying to rebuild the program and get it back to its winning ways. They’re definitely excited and it makes them want to compete harder and work harder and you can see it in practice,” said McCann.
After having only seven wrestlers for last season, coming away with two wins on Thursday were important for building a team culture.
“For such a young team this is good for the morale,” said McCann. “They’re going to feed off of it. Last year we only had seven wrestlers, so we were mathematically out of duels pretty much. They’re going to feed off of this and it’ll be great for them.”
Coming into tonight, McCann felt his team could come away by splitting the night. Thankfully, that wasn’t the case.
“Tonight I was expecting to go at at least 1-1,” said McCann. “I’m glad we pulled the win against Pleasantville. I knew they would have a full team and I knew we were missing some bodies, so some guys stepped up and made weight and pins. I feel great.”
With the two wins fresh in the minds of his young team, McCann feels that this could be a turning point for his team as they enter the net portion of the season.
“Going forward, it looks promising. I still have some young kids out there, a lot of freshmen. I’d love to hear that question in a couple years when I can groom them a little bit. It’s looking good, it feels good to finally field a whole roster.”
UP NEXT – Nodaway Valley will participate in the Lenox Invitational on Saturday, at Lenox High School.
Nodaway Valley 36, Martensdale-St. Marys 34
106 — Elliot Cooney (NV) pinned Christopher Craig (MTSM) 0:51. 113 – Ben Breheny wins by forfeit. 120 – Cael Cassady (MSTM) maj. dec. over Jaxon Christensen (NV) 14-3. 126 – Jordan Brewer (NV) dec. Logan Major (MSTM) 7-2. 132 – Joshua Tibbits (MSTM) pinned Caelen DeVault (NV) 2:36. 138 – Dominick DiCesare (MSTM) pinned Colby Harris (NV) 1:20. 145 – Vincent Girardi (MSTM) wins by forfeit. 152 – Devin Schall (MSTM) pinned Ryan Wilson (NV) 3:35. 160 – Tyler Beheny (NV) dec. Robert Criswell (MSTM) 6-2. 170 – Trevor Flettre (NV) wins by forfeit. 182 – Kooper Brown (NV) wins by forfeit. 195 – Jeffrey Ressler (NV) wins by forfeit. 220 – double forfeit. 285 – Alan Allsup (MSTM) wins by forfeit.
Nodaway Valley 42, Pleasantville 40
106 – Elliot Coney (NV) pinned Devon Luing (PV) 0:21. 113 – Ben Breheny (NV) pinned Sayde Mull (PV) 1:12. 120 – Jaxon Christensen (NV) pinned Jackson Jordan (PV) 1:26. 132 – Nolan Roff (PV) maj. dec. Caelen DeVault (NV) 16-4. 138 – Kitt Lundy (PV) pinned Colby Harris (NV) 1:48. 145 – Drew Bartels (PV) pinned Ryan Wilson (NV) 3:00. 152 – Dalton Turner (PV) wins by forfeit. Tyler Beheny (NV) pinns Jacob Heimstra (PV) 2:42. 170 – Kooper Brown (NV) wins be forfeit. 182 – Trevor Flettre (NV) pinned Kelly Sautter (PV) 1:33. 195 – Daniel Kenyon (PV) over Jeffrey Ressler (NV) 0:49. 220 – Alex Sampson (PV) wins by forfeit. 285 – Matthew Kauffman (PV) wins by forfeit.