Trojans wrestle well at Desert Pines despite loss
The Trojans wrestling team traveled to Desert Pines on Wednesday and took on a team with six seniors and did surprisingly well in their 39-30 loss.
The young team, without a single senior, got four pins from sophomore Dylan Grossell (132 pounds), who got a pin in 1 minute and 33 seconds, junior Dustin Rily (152) got a pin in 3:31, sophomore Christian Monje (182) got a pin in 50 seconds, and sophomore Jakob Landis (220) got a pin at 1:55. Junior Jeremy Albertson (195) got a forfeit.
Despite the loss, Trojans coach Craig Rieger looked at the positives.
He said Grossell got his fifth league win and his league record is 5-0. Tristan Maughan experienced his first league loss, but he is 4-1 in league.
“We went up against a good physical team and almost came out with a win,” he said. “Our wrestlers if they stick with it will give us a good team next year and almost all the teams in our league have told me this.”
He said many of his sophomores wrestled well during the dual.
“Landis (220) is wrestling better,” Rieger said. “Many of our guys are coming off illness. Dustin Rily, a tough kid, is coming off illness and it was good to have him back. He got a good pin and was very aggressive.”
The wrestling team will be working toward doing well at the 3A Southern Regional Championships at Western High School on Feb. 3.
“It would have been nice to get another win, but the focus is now getting as many individuals to state,” the coach said.
The Trojans finished league competition at 3-2.
Contact sports editor Vern Hee at vhee@pvtimes.com
