The Reeths-Puffer wrestling team turned in a strong overall performance in a series of dual matches against some very tough opponents on Wednesday at Hudsonville High School.
The Rockets started the day with three losses, 40-30 to Byron Center, 54-21 to Hudsonville and 42-37 to Greenville, then won their last two dual matches, 54-25 over Comstock Park and 48-32 over Cedar Springs.
Kaden Malotke (132 pounds), Ian Cook (120) and Jake Rocycki (113) all posted perfect 5-0 records on the day.
R-P's Kaden Malotke, who was 5-0 with five pins.
Caleb Zimmerman (190) went 3-1 while Nathan Stafford (285), Nathan Reeves (150) and Sage Secrest (165) all went 3-2.
Malotke had a tremendous day, pinning all five of his opponents. He stopped Byron Center’s Austin Coleman in 4:50, Hudsonville’s Brady Lester in one minute, Greenville’s Troy Courtney in 53 seconds, Comstock Park’s Caleb McNabb-Olson in 1:19 and Cedar Springs’ Gavin Bravata in 3:30.
Cook registered four pins, stopping Hudsonville’s Aiden Wilkins in 56 seconds, Greenville’s Connor Lewis in 1:36, Comstock Park’s Logan Whidden in 3:56 and Cedar Spring’s Keaton Klaason in 1:33.
R-P's Ian Cook, who was 5-0 with four pins.
“I’m very proud of how our guys went out there and fought,” said R-P head coach Jared Fleming. “We had tough duals against Byron Center and Greenville to start and our guys were ready to go and took it to them. We didn't win, but what we've talked about all year is making other teams not want to wrestle us again with our intensity, pace, and rigor. I think we did that today in a number of matches.
“I'm super pumped with how our guys responded and fought back after losing in the third round to Hudsonville to win our final two duals. We can go toe-to-toe with some really good teams, so that excites me for the future.”