Wrestling team earns a win on senior night

It's been a trying season for the wrestling team; they entered Thursday night's match with only one win. However, on senior night, they had some added motivation to strive for the win. Check out our bout-by-bout capsules.

Johnny Franklin

"As they were wrestling for the 170 pound weight class, it was obvious that it was going to be a quick duel. Franklin's opponent viciously goes for the headlock on Franklin, but the opponent squirms to the outer ring; eventually Franklin flips him over and pins him for six points."

Owen Hess won his bout, helping L-S to victory

Jake Kelly

"A tall terror, Kelly's giant-like stature may be an advantage to the smaller wrestler, as he towered over him. Kelly dived for his legs. Both had several attempts trying to bring one another to the ground, but all attempts failed until Kelly rapidly pins him to the ground in under two minutes, gaining six more points for L-S."

Josh Beiler

"Both wrestlers go in for the immediate headlock, and Beiler pulls him to the ground leaving his opponent defenseless as he pins him with 50 seconds to spare, creating three consecutive wins for the Pioneers."

Connor Feister

"Both wrestlers begin to shove one another, but neither makes an actual move. Feister's opponent tries to pin him, but Feister does not give in and time runs out, sending them into the second round. Feister has a chance, starting beneath his opponent. The crowd shouts for him to grab his opponent’s lower leg, but the suggestions are drowned out. The second round ends with no victory, and the third begins with with Feister on the ground. He stands up, not allowing his opponent to pin him. Coach Morgan yells for him to use the underhook, but his opponent is too quick and drops Feister to the mat, giving nine points to Lebanon."

Michael Hazboun

"Following in his brother’s footsteps onto the wrestling mat, Hazboun eagerly tackles his opponent and he sprightly attempts to pin him. Cradling is instructed from both teams and coaches. His squirmy opponent manages to squirm all the way into the outer ring, where Hazboun tries to pin him. The second round expires, moving them into the third and final round. Hazboun begins on the mat and quickly flips over his opponent and he ends up winning four points for L-S. After the struggling of a match, L-S then gains eight easy points from a forfeit, increasing the score to 34-9."

Mason Blank

"Mason Blank immediately goes for his opponent’s legs in the 120-pound match, and he almost had him until they stepped out of bounds. He began to twist his opponent 'head to knee' and rolls him into a solid hold, until his opponent turns the tables and seeks to pin him instead. The second round begins with Blank trying to flatten the Lebanon wrestler, he dives for his lower legs and holds him to the ground, leading into the third round. Blank again dives for his opponent’s lower legs and wins by fall, making the score 38-9."

Ramon Estevez

"Ramon began in his opponent's never-ending headlock, until he was pinned to the mat. Yet another match timed out in the first and second rounds, leading to the third round where Estevez fell, allowing Lebanon to gain three points."

Jeff Elser

"Jeff Esler’s match was one to remember; neither wrestler gave up their fight. In the first round, Elser was continuously pinned without success, further going into the second round, when while being pinned, Jeff escapes and runs to the other side of the mat, where he is yet again caught. This game of cat and mouse went on for some time until in the third round, Elser got the upper hand and attacked the Lebanon wrestler. The crowd was ecstatic, but the Lebanon wrestler takes advantage of his crowd distraction and flips him over onto the mat. Elser seemed to acquiesce to his opponent’s plans until at the last minute he flipped over and reversed the pinning. Although Elser did not win against his opponent, the fight was still there. His opponent from Lebanon altered the score by four points when he wrestled Elser."

Cameron King

Keith Littler grapples with his opponent

No opponent: an automatic victory!

Keith Littler

"The final match was between Keith Littler and his 160 pound opponent, Littler had a strong start and his coaches encouraged him to cradle his opponent. Immediately after that, he was put into a headlock until the second round begins, when he was dropped to the mat as he tried to go for his lower legs. However, Littler was put back into the headlock until he runs out of bounds, forcing the return to the center circle. The third round then began with Littler attacking his opponent and the instruction from a spectator to 'break his face'; instead he grabbed too high and the opponent flipped him onto the mat. After being flipped, his opponent lifted Keith into the air and dropped him onto the mat. A fault on the time and score-keeper, the clock had not been started during the last ten seconds of their match. After several minutes of whispering between coaches and referees, a full minute was granted to the boys to finish their match. In the last minute, Keith went for his opponent’s legs one last time, but his attempts fail and Lebanon earns a few points, but not enough, as L-S won 48-19."

Conclusion

Overall, the victory by L-S was a challenge, especially since all of the L-S wrestlers were wrestling up because of the forfeits from Lebanon. According to head coach Brad Heeter, the victory helped with the mood of the night. 

"The match was a good win for senior night," he says. 

--Maggie Johnson, LSNews.org Assistant Sports Editor

Edited: BP