CHILLICOTHE — At some time, every successful program needs players to step up and successfully fill roles that are left empty due to unforeseen circumstances. In wrestling, it can be injuries, missed weight cuts, or other unforeseen gaps in a line-up. On Thursday night, Dec. 12, five Miami Trace freshmen stepped into the varsity line-up and helped their team earn a convincing 69-3 victory over the Chillicothe Cavaliers.
After a pair of forfeits at 106 and 113-pounds, the 120-pound freshman, Aiden Johnson, was down 15-8 going into the third period and came back in exciting fashion to win by pin over Michael Hicks of Chillicothe.
On the night, two other Panther freshman wrestlers won by pin over their opponents. Aaron Little (132 pounds) and Luke Hoppes (220 pounds) won by pin and also picked up their first varsity wins.
In other action, Graham Carson (145 pounds) avenged a defeat from last year by beating Caleb Lake of Chillicothe 4-3. Jayden LeBeau (170 pounds) and Grant DeBruin (285 pounds) from Miami Trace also pinned their Chillicothe opponents.
Coach Ben Fondale was pleased with the Panther performance on Thursday night. The Panther coach stated, “I was mostly excited to see our young guys show a lot of heart in their close matches.”
The Panthers return to action Saturday in the Hamilton Township Invitational.
Miami Trace 69, Chillicothe 3
106 – Titus Lehr (MT) Forfeit
113 – Weston Melvin(MT) Forfeit
120 – Aiden Johnson (MT) Pin over Michael Hicks (C)
126 – Atraylyew Howard (C) decision over Riston LeBeau (MT) 11-6 SV OT
132 – Aaron Little (MT) pin over Gage Miller (C)
145 – Graham Carson (MT) decision over Caeleb Lake (C) 4-3
152 – Mcale Callahan (MT) forfeit
160 – Kylan Knapp (MT) forfeit
170 – Jayden LeBeau (MT) pin over Cade Williams (C)
182 – Dawson Wallace (MT) forfeit
195 – Bryce Bennett (MT) forfeit
220 – Luke Hoppes (MT) pin over Samuel Park (C)
285 – Grant DeBruin (MT) pin over Trevor Banks (C)
