Pitt High grapplers top Fort Scott for the first time in Rieck's tenure Tiger tamers
Pitt High grapplers top Fort Scott for the first time in Rieck's tenure
By Peter Euler | The Morning Sun
Check one thing off Scott Rieck's Christmas list.
In his eighth year as the head coach of the Pittsburg High School wrestling team, Rieck had never had a team that defeated Fort Scott High School in a dual match.
The Purple Dragons did it in dominating fashion Tuesday night, scoring 46 straight points en route to a 55-21 rout of the Tigers at PHS' new wrestling facility at the Megan Mallatt Activity Center.
"I told the boys that I wanted to win by 20 and if they didn't win by 20, I would be disappointed," Rieck said. "They didn't leave me disappointed, so I was pleased with that."
After scoring the first nine points, six on a forfeit victory for Austin Haake at 103 and three more on a 10-5 decision by Mario Corado over the Tiger's Justin Sharp, the Dragons dropped the next four matches, two by forfeit as they had nobody at 119 and 125.
But from then on, it was all PHS, as they won the final eight matches, seven of them by pin.
PHS took the lead for good on Brad Somerfeldt's 12-3 major decision over Lee Culbertson at 152. That gave them a 25-21 lead, and they never looked back.
"Once we hit 152, that's where our old guys are and our strength is at," Rieck said. "They kind of finished off the business that was at hand and took care of what the young guys started."
But while victories were expected of Somerfeldt (152), Jordan Brown (160) and Tyler Koehn (171), Rieck said he was extremely proud of many of his wrestlers in the bookend weight classes, which he referred to as the extremely light weights (103 and 112) and the heavier weights (215 and 285).
Many of those wrestlers were wrestling out of their weight category, including freshman Austin Winner, who gave up at least 50 pounds to his opponent, Nick Wallace, in the 285 weight division.
"He represented his name well," Rieck quipped.
Rieck said the benefit of the Pittsburg Wrestling Club and the middle school wrestling program is starting to pay off for PHS as wrestlers are coming into the program with experience.
"A lot of it too has to do with the success that has started in the middle school program," he said. "Without that middle school program, those kids would be coming in and this would be first year instead of their third year."
The next competition for PHS comes after the Winter Break, when they travel to the Derby Invitational Jan. 4-5.