Montague certainly gave its student body an exciting match Friday in the program's first-ever Assembly Dual, rallying from a huge early deficit to defeat Grant 42-41.
Maverick Osborne delivered the dramatic final pin in the last match of the dual, sending a huge crowd into a frenzy and swinging the dual Montague's way.
The Wildcats, who were shorthanded by illness, lost the first six matches to fall behind 35-0, but the coaching staff, said coach Kris Maddox, saw an opening for a comeback when Toby Heykoop was able to avoid a pin in the sixth of those matches. That set the stage for Montague's top wrestlers to start a rally.
Gavyn Maddox led off a run of four consecutive pins for the 'Cats, and Kaiden Jeffery, Fletcher Thommen and Michael Jones followed with their own pins. After a Grat win at the next weight class, the 'Cats needed three more pins to win the dual. Mason Bassett, Isaac French and Osborne delivered.
"Having the opportunity to wrestle in front of the entire school was a
great experience, and it was amazing how into the dual the students were," coach Maddox said.
"I think starting off in a deep hole and starting to pin our way through
really got the students excited. I have to hand it to our guys as we
are young and need to learn that sometimes just not getting pinned can
be very beneficial.
"I’d like to personally thank our administrators and the students for the
opportunity today. Hopefully many of them who have never seen a dual
can continue to support the sport at our many home events."
