SCOTTVILLE — Hart enjoyed another successful West Michigan Conference quad Wednesday night, downing county foe Hesperia 74-6 and routing Holton 59-16.
The Pirates had many individuals stand out, one of which was Jordan Thies, who pinned a couple of ranked opponents, said coach Rocky Smith. Thies took down Hesperia’s Carter Fuentes in his first match and Holton’s Kole Nichols in his second.
“Both kids are ranked and Jordan pinned both of them tonight pretty quick,” Smith said. “He’s been wrestling really well lately. He pinned a Martin kid (Adler Hofer) Saturday that was top-4 or top-5 ranked, so he’s having a good last couple weeks.”
The Pirates’ win over Hesperia was an impressive one, with a slew of pin victories for the Pirates. Jude Salazar, Sawyer Boos, Kole Thomas, Logan Jorissen, Halen Boos, Haegan Hansen and Kevin Galindo all picked up pins.
Smith credited his team’s mindset for those results, as they didn’t let the Panthers’ relative lack of team success so far this season color the way the Pirates approached the match.
“We’re high intensity all the time,” Smith said. “It doesn’t matter who we’re wrestling, how good a kid is or isn’t. We’re doing the same thing. We’re wrestling our style with high intensity. We’re looking for six (points) every time we go out there.”
One highlight for Hesperia came in the final bout of that dual, as heavyweights Noah Walker and Adrian Lara went at one another in a match that went into overtime. Walker was able to score an escape point when he chose the down position, and then managed to hold Lara from doing the same.
In the final seconds, Lara went down with an injury that Smith said was a dislocated kneecap. He did not wrestle against Holton, but luckily the team trainer was able to pop the kneecap back into place. The hope is Lara will be ready for an important invitational coming up this weekend at which Hart is slated to take on Ogemaw Heights and Cedar Springs in matches that could be factors in future seeding decisions for the team.
“We don’t look back,” Smith said. “We’re always looking forward. There’s a lot of things for us to continue to work on as a team and get better. We wrestle Whitehall in a head-to-head dual in two weeks, and we’ve got a lot of work to do to get there.”
Walker said the win over Lara was a big one for him as the two have had many battles in the past, calling Lara his “rival.” The win adds a jolt of confidence for one of the Panthers’ top wrestlers, who has designs on a state run.
“I think I could make a good run for it at the state finals, but I’ve just got to keep showing out,” Walker said.
Coach Mark Arbogast enjoyed seeing Walker come up big in that bout with Lara, pointing to it as an example other Panthers can follow in pressure-packed overtime matches.
“The biggest thing is about keeping your composure and not getting worked up,” Arbogast said. “You want to maintain your position. You want to be patient. When you’re wrestling heavyweight, that’s a lot of weight to throw around, and you need to be patient and capitalize on situations when it comes. But don’t lose your head. I’ve been in a lot of state final matches, and you’ve got to be calm.”
"He’s just been showcasing really well and really been listening in practice and doing the best he can and really performing for the team,” Arbogast added of Walker.
Walker also won his other bout Wednesday, by pin, joining teammate Aiden Smith in posting 2-0 records. Smith won a decision match and scored a pin against Mason County Central, in a match the Panthers lost 48-30.
Still, there was a lot to like for Arbogast, who was pleased to see 106-pounder Grayson Gould show more fight against Salazar than he did at the previous Saturday’s Allendale Invitational. Gould also stormed back to earn a pin against MCC, a win he and his teammates were especially excited to see.
Another Panther Arbogast was impressed with, though she did not win a bout, was Lacey Mey. Mey, said the coach, dropped to 132 pounds this week to fill a hole in the lineup and fought well against two tough opponents, including Hart’s Thomas and MCC’s Wyatt Herwig.
“She stepped up to the plate, and it’s a big tall order she had tonight with a couple tough matches. It’s only going to make her tougher for sure,” Arbogast said.
The focus for Hesperia the rest of the season is competing harder in matches and focusing on being “a six-minute man,” said Arbogast, meaning doing their best not to allow bouts to end via pin or technical fall.
“I really liked when some of the guys were getting down in matches, but they kept fighting,” Arbogast said. “I liked some of our young guys that are fighting hard, and are continuing to listen and continuing to wrestle.”
