Last Wednesday, the Chieftains came out scared intimidated and unprepared to wrestle powerhouse Santa Fe Trail.

Mike Andrews won his match. Willie Altman, wrestling a three-time state champion actually had his opponent on his back before losing.

Otherwise, there weren’t many bright spots for the Chieftains.

“Trail has a really good team,” Bill DeWitt, Tonganoxie wrestling coach said. “I didn’t really expect us to beat them, but I expected us to wrestle a lot better than we did.”

After the match, DeWitt talked to the team. He cited Altman’s effort as an example of what the team needed to do. Senior Chris Calovich, the team’s top wrestler challenged the team to come out and attack Piper.

Against the Pirates, the Chieftains did wrestle better well enough for a 45-36 win.

DeWitt and the Piper coach knew that the 140-pound, 145-pound and 152-pound divisions could determine the outcome of the team competition.

When Altman, wrestling at 140 pounds, stepped on the mat for the second time of the evening, the team score was tied at 18.

What followed was an exciting if drawn out match. The referee stopped the match several times, once for an extended period because the Piper wrestler had a bloody nose.

In between breaks, Altman was all over the mat, generating an 8-2 lead in the first period and a 16-3 lead in the second period.

In the third period, Altman’s lead shrank as he gave up nine points and was nearly on his back in the final minute. But he squirmed, twisted and fought to the final buzzer, winning the match 19-12 in six minutes of exciting competition.

Steve Adcox made shorter work of his 145-opponent. With 50.5 seconds left on the clock in the second period, Adcox pinned his man.

Not to be outdone, Andrews took advantage of an early mistake, pinning his 152-pound opponent in 10 seconds. Andrews said after the match that he saw his opponent’s head on the mat.

DeWitt called what happened next smart wrestling. Andrews grabbed the Piper wrestler and had him on his shoulders for the pin before he could react.

“Everybody came out fire up like they had something to prove,’ DeWitt said. “That’s the attitude we want.”

During the break, DeWitt will work with the wrestlers on fine tuning their technique. Wrestlers will also work on specialty moves and have some fun, playing games like mat ball, a soccer knock off.

Up next

The Chieftains don’t wrestle again until January. They will travel to Immaculata in Leavenworth for a double dual Jan. 6.Continued from page 1B

extended period because the Piper wrestler had a bloody nose.

In between breaks, Altman was all over the mat, generating an 8-2 lead in the first period and a 16-3 lead in the second period.

In the third period, Altman’s lead shrank as he gave up nine points and was nearly on his back in the final minute. But he squirmed, twisted and fought to the final buzzer, winning the match 19-12 in six minutes of exciting competition.

Steve Adcox made shorter work of his 145-opponent. With 50.5 seconds left on the clock in the second period, Adcox pinned his man.

Not to be outdone, Andrews took advantage of an early mistake, pinning his 152-pound opponent in 10 seconds. Andrews said after the match that he saw his opponent’s head on the mat.

DeWitt called what happened next smart wrestling. Andrews grabbed the Piper wrestler and had him on his shoulders for the pin before he could react.

“Everybody came out fired up like they had something to prove,’ DeWitt said. “That’s the attitude we want.”

During the break, DeWitt will work with the wrestlers on fine tuning their technique. Wrestlers will also work on specialty moves and have some fun, playing games like mat ball, a soccer knock off.

Up next

The Chieftains don’t wrestle again until January. They will travel to Immaculata in Leavenworth for a double dual Jan. 6.