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Eagles Win OVAC Duals

By Staff | Feb 11, 2015

In the photo, in no particular order, are the wrestlers who represented Magnolia High School in the 2015 OVAC Class-AAA Dual Championship: Chase Deluerrio, Joe Layman, Donovan Sawyers, Hunter Partridge, Jack Booth, Cameron Ramsey, Harley Price, Cameron Ramsey, Dalton Pritchard, Kyler Cecil, Riley Nice, Doug Riter, Clay Adams, Skyler Yoho, Robert Campbell, Chase Street, Kaleb Simpkins, Paden McConaughey, Caleb Nice, Joel Hatfield, Brian Wilson, Silas and Sienna McKeever, MHS Coaches Vince Monseau, Eric McKeever, and an unidentified member of the US Marine Corp. (Photo by Bruce Crawford)

The Magnolia Blue Eagles won their first OVAC Dual Meet Crown, besting the River Pilots 47-24 and the Linsly Cadets 45-26 Feb. 4 inside the John Marshall Fieldhouse

The Blue Eagles placed second to the Cadets in the OVAC Championships, where every wrestler grappled different opponents from all classes. It was head-on-head in dual competition in the dual contest against one team, where Magnolia excelled.

In the championship round, the Eagles’ Kyler Cecil (106 lbs.) opened with a pinfall to get the Blue and Gold off to a good start. And, after a double-forfeit in the 113 weight division, Riley Nice (120 lbs.) would also get a pinfall to extend Magnolia’s lead.

However, the Cadets won a 9-1 decision to get on the board, but Clay Adams (132 lbs.) scored a pinfall on his opponent to push Magnolia’s lead a bit farther. However, Linsly countered with a 14-1 decision, before Magnolia won their next six bouts for an insurmountable Blue Eagle advantage.

Robert Campbell (145 lbs.) won 11-5; Chase Street (152 lbs.), Kaleb Simpkins (160 lbs.), Paden McConaughey (170 lbs.) and Caleb Nice (182 lbs.) all won by pinfalls.

The Cadets won their next three bouts, including a forfeit in the heavyweight division to end the championship round. Magnolia finished the season at 14-2 in dual competition.

“We worked on mental toughness and the kids wrestled a lot more tonight with greater intelligence,” said Magnolia Head Coach Vince Monseau. “I think I was more proud of that, even with some of the kids losing. They didn’t put themselves in bad situations that gave them no chance of coming out of. So they worked hard on that and we are proud of them for that.

“In both matches, we used a lot of kids. We gave them a chance to wrestle and they performed pretty well. Even against River, we gave some of the kids a chance to compete,” added Monseau.

In the semifinal match with the River Pilots, the Eagles secured wins via forfeits in four of their first five matches, while the Pilots’ Josh Stewart beat Magnolia’s Doug Riter and Aiden Taylor pinned Robert Campbell to get back into contention. However, Joseph Layman (152 lbs.) pinned Zac Talbott and Harley Price (160 lbs.) of Magnolia won another forfeit.

River’s Tucker Boggs (170 lbs.) defeated Dalton Pritchard by a pin late in the match, while the Big Blue’s Caleb Nice won by a pin over Nathan Rainney. Joel Hatfield (195 lbs.) won an exciting 5-4 match over Luke Matusik, whereupon Brian Wilson (220 lbs.) won an 11-5 decision over Tyce Felton. The Pilots Luc Baker (285 lbs.) won the final match by forfeit.

The next night, Class-4A and Class-2A competed for their respective OVAC crowns. Caldwell edged Shadyside, breaking a 42-42 tie on the most pin falls. Oak Glen claimed the 2-A title with a 43-28 victory over Meadowbrook.

The Pilots will compete in the Magnolia Invitational Feb. 14 then head into sectionals and district play later in February. Meanwhile, Magnolia will host it’s own Invitational Feb. 14 then compete in regionals Feb. 20-21.