MUSKEGON TWP. – So that settles that.
The Reeths-Puffer and Fruitport wrestling teams finished second and third, respectively, at last weekend’s Greater Muskegon Athletic Association City Tournament.
But it’s hard to make a team-to-team comparison in a tournament format, because the wrestlers are competing against kids from a bunch of different schools.
On Wednesday, however, the Rockets and Trojans went head-to-head in a non-conference dual match, with everyone wondering how it would shake out.
In the end it was all Reeths-Puffer, which put on a dominant performance with 11 wins in 14 matches that added up to a 55-15 victory over the Trojans in the Rockets' long-awaited home debut.
E-P's Bryce Muskovin is picked up by a Fruitport wrestler. Photo/Joe Lane
Six of Reeths-Puffer’s 11 victories came by pin, illustrating the Rockets’ dominance.
Even in the most entertaining match of the night, R-P came out on top when Max Knowlton overcame an 8-4 deficit to defeat Fruitport’s Phillip Stone-Tyler 9-8 at 113 pounds.
Despite the one-sided victory, R-P Coach Jared Fleming played down the final score.
“It was nice,” said Fleming, whose team also beat Muskegon 47-21 on Wednesday and is now 17-7 on the season. “The score doesn’t tell the story, though. Fruitport is a really good team, but that’s just how wrestling goes sometimes. Our good guys are where their good guys are, and we just happened to get the wins.”
R-P senior wrestler Owen Schab put it another way, saying the fact that Fruitport is so good makes the big win even more special.
R-P's Devin Welch tries to keep his balance against Fruitport. Photo/Joe Lane
“To take care of business was a big thing,” Schab said. “Fruitport is a tough team, and we knew that. But it was good that we did what we did and brought it to them.”
The dual started with two R-P individual city champions putting the Rockets out in front.
Jake Rozycki (126 pounds) won via a 4-1 decision before Ian Cook (132) pinned his opponent to give the Rockets a 9-0 lead.
Hunter Eek (138) kept the Reeths-Puffer streak going with a pin just one minute into his match, which made the score 15-0.
Fruitport got on the board when Cooper Lengkeek (144) picked up a pin with 40 seconds left in the second period to cut the Trojan deficit to 15-6.
R-P's Jake Rozycki puts a move on his opponent. Photo/Joe Lane
In the next match, R-P’s Andrew Corradin (150) picked up a third period pin to extend the lead to 21-6.
A Nathan Reeves (157) 12-4 major decision victory, followed by a Lyric Stewart (165) first period pin gave the Rockets a 31-6 advantage.
Schab (175) picked up a 7-2 decision victory, which extended the lead to 34-6.
After R-P’s Sage Secrest (190) picked up a forfeit victory, Fruitport’s Luke Westerlund (215) won his match 7-3 to make the score 40-9.
Reeths-Puffer’s Nathan Stafford (285) and Arin Maynard (106) each pinned their Trojan opponents to give Reeths-Puffer a 52-9 lead.
R-P's Ian Cook, top, on his way to a pin victory. Photo/Joe Lane
Knowlton followed with his comeback win over Stone-Tyler, then Fruitport’s Zack Aardema (120) won the final match with a first period pin.
While the non-conference victory over Fruitport was nice, the Rockets are currently battling for their second straight O-K Green conference championship, and that’s their biggest concern at the moment.
They kept pace in the conference race by defeating Muskegon on Wednesday, and will host another O-K Green opponent next Wednesday.
“Tonight was really great,” Coach Fleming said. “It was good, and we did a good job. But the season isn’t over, and we have to keep our focus on things.”
