Jonathan Alder’s 190-pounder AJ Delong (right) takes a shot on London’s Braylon Ernest during the first period. The Pioneer suffered a 9-7 loss.
(Journal-Tribune photo by Aleksei Pavloff)
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Jonathan Alder’s boys wrestlers completed their regular season dual meet schedule with a 44-28 victory over London.
The Pioneers secured an 8-0 record during their regular season dual slate.
Despite the lopsided score, JA head coach Tony Watson was frustrated with some of the performances on the mat.
“We were a little relaxed,” he said. “What I am asking them to do is be solid the whole time and do solid things.”
Starting at 106 pounds, Jonathan Alder’s Rayce Watson took care of business. He pinned Evan Crawford midway through the first period,
That gave the Pioneers a 6-0 lead.
Junior Anderson of Alder followed suit during the 113-pound bout.
He gave Jonathan Alder a 12-0 spread when he put London’s Bryce Tinney to the mat during the opening period.
The Red Raiders bounced back at 120 pounds.
Carder Napper earned a 14-2 major decision over Jonathan Alder’s Aiden Ricker.
That narrowed London’s deficit to 12-4.
The Pioneers got back on track when 126-pounder Grant Teach pinned London’s Julian Ward.
The first-period maneuver padded Jonathan Alder’s lead to 18-4.
The scoreboard continued to separate at 132 pounds.
Jonathan Alder’s Ernesto Perez had his arm raised after a Red Raider forfeit.
That elevated the Pioneers’ team lead to 24-4.
Nixon Baker (138) gave Alder a 30-4 lead with a pin over Ernest DeRose. The pinfall came in the first period.
At 144 pounds, Jonathan Alder’s Ethan Kuhns went the distance with London’s Clayton Skaggs.
He claimed a 6-5 victory for a 33-4 Pioneer margin.
The lead slightly closed (33-10) at 150 pounds after London’s Thaddius Crawford secured a first-period pin over Jonathan Alder’s Cameron Watkins.
The Red Raiders cotninued to climb a bit following an 8-3 victory by Taven Huff.
His win came over Jonathan Alder’s Paul Byerly.
JA’s advantage slipped to 33-13 at that stage of the match.
London’s Rakai Archbold (165) put another six points for the Red Raiders on the board after taking a forfeit.
The Red Raiders continued to whittle away at the JA lead and now trailed 33-19.
The Pioneers got back on the winning track at 175 pounds.
A 20-5 technical fall by Anthony Kroninger over Jesse Rojas gave the host team a 38-19 lead.
At 190 pounds, London’s Braylon Ernest outlasted Jonathan Alder’s AJ Delong.
He secured a 9-7 decision as London pulled to within 38-22.
The Red Raiders’ 215-pounder Chase Payne followed up with a second-period pin against Jonathan Alder’s Jesus Ventura.
That added another six points for the Red Raiders.
As such, the visitors pulled to within 38-28.
In the final matchup of the evening, Jonathan Alder’s 285-pounder Dominic Kroninger pinned London’s Joseph Young in the second period.
That gave the Pioneers their final margin of victory.
At this point in the season, Watson voiced concerns about competing for an entire match rather than tapering off in the latter portion.
With the Division II postseason just around the corner, techniques along with mindsets are the key to winning close matches.
“When a guy wrestles 80% of a match super solid and doing things solid, and to lose it on 20% of things we shouldn’t be doing is disappointing,” he said.
While looking at the team’s shortcomings, Watson complimented the resiliency of his younger cast.
“My young guys are good,” he said. “My freshmen are tough.
“I think London was stronger than us in a couple of ways,” he said. “However, we battled and wrestled cleaner and better.”
The Pioneers will be back on the mat Saturday for the Central Buckeye Conference Tournament.
The event will be hosted by Indian Lake and begin at 10 a.m.
“To win a fifth league championship in a row, we will have to wrestle better than we did today,” Watson said.