Marysville senior Josh Melms (right) goes up against Watkins Memorial’s Landon Hines., Melms eventully won the match with a pin during the Bob Williams Classic at MHS. (Journal-Tribune photo by Aleksei Pavloff)
Marysville’s wrestling team hosted the Bob Williams Dual Meet on Saturday.
The Monarchs were shorthanded, winning one out of five dual matches against opposing teams.
If a filled parking lot wasn’t telling enough, it was a packed morning in Monarch country as grapplers began competition roughly around 10 a.m.
Short a few weight classes, Marysville sought to take advantage of the day.
“It was great to be back in a setting with a full gym,” said MHS coach Shawn Andrews. “It was a lot of work hosting the equivalent of three tournaments in one day, but we have a great group of parents and volunteers that made it happen.”
The Monarchs went 1-4 in terms of dual meets as a team with their first loss coming from Watkins Memorial with the final score 36-33.
Marysville was at a disadvantage all day sacrificing the 138, 190, 215 and 285 weight classes.
“It wasn’t just the forfeits that were an issue,” Andrews said. “We are a team that returns 11 district qualifiers out of 14 weight classes.
“This weekend we only had four of them in the lineup.”
Andrews said the team has struggled with injuries and illnesses in the last two weeks.
Each dual team match basically starting with a 24-point deficit before it even started.
That thorn continued to give the Monarchs headaches following up with another team loss to Parkersburg South (45-30).
On a positive note, Andrews stated a few young grapplers had their first taste of competition for the season and received much-needed experience.
“The upside is we had some young wrestlers like Ethan Heckel (freshman), Gage Riley (sophomore) and Boston Burkhardt (freshman) get some varsity time that they might not otherwise have gotten,” said the coach. “Additionally guys like Joey Eley (senior), Riley Miller (senior) and Alton Dobyns (junior) had the chance to get valuable varsity experience for the first time.”
The third loss of the day came from Delaware Hayes with Marysville tallying 36 team points compared to the Pacers’ 42.
The match against Ashland gave another loss for the Monarchs with the final score 46-33.
The only team win for Marysville came against the All-star Extras.
That was a group of wrestlers, each from separate schools at the meet.
Double forfeiting 138 and 190, the Monarchs were able to win five out of six matches, ending in a final 45-24 score.
Overall, it was a productive weekend for individual Monarchs.
Heckel (106) and Jack Golla (157) both went undefeated after five matches Saturday.
Junior 132-pounder Zach Pfarr, senior 165-pounder Josh Melms and 150-pounder Miller went 4-1 .
Senior 120-pounder Eley ended up winning three out of five matches.
Other participating wrestlers for Marysville included sophomore 113-pounder Gage Riley (2-3), freshman 126-pounder Boston Burkhardt (2-3), senior 144-pounder Lincoln Witt (2-3) and junior 175-pounder Alton Dobyns (1-4).
“I think our guys showed they were in pretty good shape for this time of year,” Andrews said. “We have been focusing on bottom position as an area we really need to get better at and we saw some improvement in that area.”
St. Paris Graham won the tournament with a record of 5-0.
The runner-up was Delta (4-1), followed by Parkersburg South of West Virginia (4-1), Ashland (4-1) and Teays Valley (3-2) to round out the top five.