Ottawa grapplers sweep Morris, Dwight on senior day

OTTAWA — The Ottawa wrestling team posted solid performances during Thursday's senior day triangular here at Kingman Gym against Morris and Dwight.

Seniors Riley Hanson, Brandon O'Brien, Luke Fleming, Austin Howard and Michael Morse, along with girls wrestler Casie Duncan, were honored for their contributions to the program prior to the event.

The Pirates first earned a 43-30 Interstate Eight Conference victory over the Redskins, then topped Dwight 46-28 in a nonconference match to improve to 16-6 overall and 4-3 in the league.

"This is great group of seniors for the program to have," said OHS coach Peter Marx. "They have come in and worked very hard from Day 1. They have done whatever we've asked of them, whether it was filling in varsity spots or wrestling up or down a weight class, they've always been willing to do it for the team.

"Riley could have easily taken two forfeits today, but he choose to bump up and test himself against a returning state placer. It great to see that passion, whether they win or lose.

"It's going to really hard to replace them all when the season is over."

Coming off an impressive championship at the Princeton Invitational Tournament last weekend, Fleming rolled to an 11-0 victory over Dwight's Jullian Gonzalez in his only bout of the day at 132 pounds.

"I was super tired today, so I kind of wrestled a little slow," said Fleming, who went 4-0 at the PIT, including defeating reigning Class 1A state champion Gabe Spencer of Heyworth for the championship. "That win really boosted my confidence level.

"I had wrestled (Gonzalez) last year, so I felt good going in against him again today and I had a game plan. I'm now looking forward to this weekend's tournament at Reed-Custer ... there should be some really good competition there."

Also against Dwight, Morse bolted to a 15-2, second-period lead before finally pinning Toby Martinez with 1:29 left in the third period at 152.

"It was definitely exciting, but on the other side this is the last time I'll get to wrestle in Kingman Gym," said Morse, who previous wrestled at Seneca. "I have learned so much in the past two years here, and the coaching staff has been so great.

"I was able to get takedowns using a cross-body fireman and had an opening for a near cradle, but I just couldn't get it locked up. I was able to get that situation two or three times during the match, but he had a lot of fight in him. I just stuck with it and finally was able to get the pin.

"There is no better feeling than hearing the official's hand hit the mat and then raise your arm in victory."

At 126, Howard earned a first-period pinfall against Morris' Brandon Mazzoni, then dominated Dwight's Emmett Emmons for a 13-2 decision to bounce back from a frustrating PIT.

"I just got back from a family vacation in Hawaii, and I lost both of my matches at the PIT, so to come back today and get a couple wins, especially on senior day, is pretty special to me," Howard said. "I lost some conditioning and also wrestled a couple of good guys at Princeton, but today I felt better and more comfortable. I just wanted to be aggressive today, and I felt I did that in both of my matches."

O'Brien was solid in both his matches, posting late first-period pins against both Morris' Juan Gutierrez and Dwight's Michael Gamble.

"I always get nervous and jittery before matches, and it was a little more today with it being senior day, but I just went out and wrestled as hard as I could," said O'Brien. "I just wanted to wrestle smart today, not go for throws in the wrong situations, and I feel I did that.

"I struggled at the PIT, but watching (Gamble) against Morris, he just likes to go straight in, so I knew I wanted to use the double-leg takedown against him. I just wanted to use tactical moves today, and I feel I did that."

Also collecting mat wins for Ottawa against Morris were: Cole Flores (pinfall at :54) at 106, Hunter Wilson (pinfall at 1:15) at 138, Hunter Duffy (pinfall at 3:01) and Cedric Fairrow (5-1 decision) at 182.

Against Dwight, the Pirates also received contested wins from: Wilson (pinfall at 1:10) at 138, Duffy (pinfall at 1:38) at 160, Colton Johnson (pinfall at 5:02) at 170 and Fairrow (pinfall at :58) at 182.