By John Leggett | The Courier-Herald
Sumner High’s wrestling bunch hasn’t won any matches this season, but coach Jeremy Horsley says he is happy with his crew in that they, “have a lot of heart and are eager to learn.”
The most recent setback, win-loss wise, was to Franklin Pierce 44-36, but Sumner only had one forfeit and that was at the scarce as hen’s teeth, 103-pound weight classification.
Franklin Pierce’s Victor Toledo won the next weight class, pinning 112-pound Sumner contender Anthony Martin. Jeremy Jackson of Sumner, wrestling at 119 pounds, then recorded one of the handful of Spartan pins as he toppled Brady Berth. Franklin Pierce retaliated though, bringing it with the Miller twins as Matt Miller at 125 pounds and Damon Miller at 130 pinned Sumners Markus Forhan and Cole Lepper, respectively.
Meanwhile, after Sumner’s Andre Sloan, 135 pounds, and Zack Wooding, 140, prevailed over their Franklin Pierce foes, then Cardinal matman Tori Turner edged out Sumner’s Tyler Hidalgo with a narrow 8-7 decision.
The 152-pound weight class was claimed by Sumner’s Matthew Wilson who pinned Coleman Bird. Up next was Franklin Pierce’s Allen Kim facing off against Sumner 160-pounder Peter Marth. Kim quickly dispatched Marth, but Sumner’s 171-pounder Alex Bricker, probably the most solid grappler in the Sumner pack, quickly made Austin Engelhart of FPHS disappear with a pin and first-year Spart wrestler Nick Hultberg pinned Sililo Samaga of Franklin Pierce.
Then came the dancing bears as Sumner’s Tanner Seablom was decisioned by Faapo Reedes and the enormous Sumner freshman Marc Cicernos eventually pinned Cardinal earth mover Tom Cruz.
“This was a good match for us because both of these teams are in about the same place right now…rebuilding. We both have and don’t have our strong suits, but at this stage it is all about learning and having a little fun in the process,” Horsley said.
The next match for Sumner’s Spartans will be Jan. 6 when the Spartans will battle Timberline in a nonleague bout beginning at 7 p.m. in the Spartan encampment. The next league tussle will come a day later when Sumner makes the trip to Lakes’ facility Jan. 7. Then, two days later, Sumner will host the Ed Arima Memorial Tournament Jan. 9.
