Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
The Kimball High Wrestling Team closed out the early portion of their season at a triangular in Imperial this past week before going on break for the Holiday lay off, mandated by the NSAA. With only 6 wrestlers on the roster, it is hard to win a dual competition against teams with more numbers. Despite this, Kimball had some positive results according to coach Wade Brashear.
Kimball lost to Chase County 64-18 with Jordan Cluff winning by fall over Alex Gomez at 120 with fall time at 4:00, and Stephen Bateman at 285 also won by fall in 2:00 over Travis Rowley. Toby McManigal at 220 won by forfeit to account for Kimball’s other win. Connor Cluff at 126 lost by fall as did Ethan Culek-Schaeffer at 160, and Izaak Rohde at 195 lost a major decision of 15-5.
Coach Brashear said, “When battling teams with full, or nearly full, lineups, it is very difficult to compete with team scores. We wrestled fairly well in this dual, but gave up too many points by forfeit. A highlight for us was Izaak Rohde’s match and although we lost 15-5, it was one of Izaak’s best matches to date. His opponent, Evan Fisher, is a very solid wrestler who looks to compete for the Class C 195 pound state championship. Stephen Bateman also looked impressive with his pin of their heavyweight at the very end of the first period. Ethan Culek-Schaeffer also wrestled very well, being he is a first year wrestler as a senior in a middle weight class. He is getting better all the time”.
The Longhorns lost to Hershey 36-21 and again in this dual were out matched by numbers.
Coach Brashear said, “We had a legitimate chance to win this dual. Connor Cluff wrestled a tough 3 period match earning a 7-3 decision, and Izaak and Stephen also both wrestled well, earning falls.”
Rohde at 195 pinned Halstead of Hershey in 3:42, and Bateman a 285 won over Francescato in a first period fall in :56 seconds. Connor Cluff at 126 won 7-3 over Sam Frame. Jordan Cluff at 120 lost by fall as did Culek-Schaeffer at 160. Toby McManigal at 220 won by forfeit.
The NSAA Moratorium for all Nebraska winter sports activities begins December 22nd with no practices. Kimball returns to action on January 5th at the Garden County Invitational Tournament.