The Reeths-Puffer wrestling team was dominant on Saturday, winning the championship at the Mat Cat Duals at Montague High School with a perfect 5-0 record.
The Rockets defeated five opponents with ease – Battle Creek Central 65-18, Tri County 66-18, Montague 64-18, Muskegon Catholic 66-17 and Grand Rapids West Catholic 52-24.
Eight R-P wrestlers had perfect records over the course of the day.
Posting 5-0 records were Kaden Malotke (138), Ian Cook (126), Jake Rozycki (113), Brayden Chase (106), Matt McConnell (215), Nathan Stafford (285) and Owen Schab (144).
R-P's Jaxson Mastenbrook tries to break away from his opponent's hold.
Caleb Zimmerman (190) was 4-0. Nathan Reeves (15) went 4-1.
The Rockets had an amazing 31 pins against their five opponents.
Stafford had a very impressive day, recording first-round pins in four of his five matches. He might have been 5-for-5, but one match was a victory by forfeit.
Stafford pinned West Catholic’s Ibrahim Manani in 34 seconds, Muskegon Catholic’s Aaron Barnhill in 1:18, Montague’s Joe Winkelman in 1:05 and Tri County’s Brandon Wert in 49 seconds.
Reeths-Puffer's Brayden Chase (top) ties up his opponent.
“He's starting to build some confidence and piece together his technique with the mental side of things,” R-P Coach Jared Fleming said about Stafford.
Overall, Fleming was thrilled with the way his team bounced back after a pair of losses earlier in the week.
“We came out firing on all cylinders and it was a great day on the mat,” the coach said. “Everything we've been working on seemed to come together. I'm very proud of how we came together as a team and were encouraging and hyping each other up throughout the whole day.
R-P's Nathan Reeves after winning a match against Tri County.
"Those were five great team wins. It feels good to string together some wins and have lots of success. We are going to enjoy this one, then get right back to work on Monday analyzing our film and looking to refine the little things.
"Moving forward, we know we have some tough competition over the next two weeks with holiday tournaments at Hudsonville and Grandville. We have to keep our foot on the gas pedal and our nose to the grindstone because our goals aren't achieved yet. We want more.”