Pioneer grapplers celebrate Senior Night against Hawks

[grappler87]

MOORESVILLE

 

As Senior Nights go, this one turned out all right, especially for Mooresville?s three seniors.

 

Stuart Tollison, Rhonda Pryor and Ryan Bailey all emerged victorious, as did the Pioneers, who decisioned short-handed Decatur Central 57-16 in a Mid-State Conference match in the Curry Center Gymnasium.

 

Bailey needed just 31 seconds to pin junior George Cowans in their 285-pound match.

 

?It?s Senior Night, but it?s a normal night. You go out and do the same thing you always do,? he said. ?The objective is to win.

 

?You just do your job and do what you can do to help the team.

 

?But yeah, it does feel good to win this one.?

 

Tollison, wrestling at 135 pounds, used his speed to get the upper hand and built a 15-2 lead over freshman Kyle Powell before pinning him in 4:15.

 

?A dominating win. That helps to cap a good senior season,? Tollison said.

 

Most of the season, Tollison has wrestled at 140 pounds.

 

?I?ve not gotten to wrestle my (135-pound) competition yet,? he said. ?So I?m looking forward to the competition.?

 

Tollison said wrestling at a heavier weight has been a good experience, though he?s absorbed seven defeats against his 14 victories.

 

?It?s a god thing,? he said. ?Hopefully, with my winning percentage, I?ll get a good seed and do well,? he said of next week?s Mid-State Conference meet.

 

?We have five matches this weekend (at Madison), so hopefully, I can get five more wins and get a good seed.?

 

Pryor didn?t have an opponent, so won her 112-pound match by forfeit.

 

She wasn?t overly disappointed.

 

?I?d rather wrestle, but these are easy wins. I enjoy those,? she said with a laugh.

 

?Pryor said the hardest part came before the match began.

 

?I do my job, and make weight,? she said. ?That?s the hardest part. Cutting down to 112 isn?t easy.?

 

Being a girl wrestling in what has primarily been a boys? sport is not as unique as it once was, according to Pryor.

 

?Before this year, I only wrestled one girl,? she said. ?This year, we have two or three in our conference. They?re popping up more and more.?

 

That, in turn, promotes more interest in her side of the sport, Prior noted.

 

?A lot more people watch my matches, because I?m a girl,? she said. ?But that?s not bad. It?s a good thing.?

 

Good things were plentiful for the Pioneers in the match that began at 152 pounds.

 

Joey Juliano started the Pioneers? run with a technical fall against Dennis Popp.

 

At 189, Todd Hacker needed just 1:36 to pin Tyler Bailey.

 

Evan Wooding was another forfeit winner at 215.

 

Jake Swigert won by forfeit at 103 pounds.

 

Damon Martin outpointed Zomice Barr 19-7 at 126 pounds.

 

Gavin Douglas won by forfeit at 130 pounds before Tollison won his match.

 

Matt Gibson won the 140-pound match by forfeit to give the Pioneers their final point total.

 

Pioneer coach Zach Errett was impressed.

 

?Joey looked good, continuing from the Holiday Classic,? he said. ?Todd Hacker and Ryan Bailey looked great. Damon Martin has been so close to winning a lot of matches. It?s good to see him come out and dominate the way he did.?

 

Hawks battle well

 

Decatur Central?s wins came at 145, 160, 171, and 119 pounds.