HART – The scene was a bit different in Hart’s gym Friday, Jan. 24 as the Pirates’ wrestling program hosted its first ever assembly-style dual with rival Shelby.
The stands were packed with students – who had been let out of class to attend in the middle of the school day – and parents alike. Hart pumped up the fanfare by dimming the lights, adding a spotlight over the center of the mat and introducing each weight class with a meeting in the center of the mat between the competitors.
All those elements came second to Hart’s domination over Shelby, claiming a 70-12 victory and making it look relatively easy.
Hart won in all but two weight classes, taking 11 wins by pin and another two by technical fall.
Starting at the 106-pound weight class, Hart’s Jordan Thies won by fall over Shelby’s Antonio Cano. Aiden Schaner (113 lbs.) and Kole Thomas (120 lbs.) followed that up with consecutive 15-0 victories over their opponents, scoring five points each for victory by technical fall.
That started a string of four straight victories via pins as Caden VanGelderen (126 lbs.), Julian Vazquez (132 lbs.), Ty Thomas (138 lbs.) and Logan Jorissen (144 lbs.) notched six points each.
Shelby found a break in the Pirates’ lineup where they had favorable matchups, winning two matches back-to-back at the 150 lb. and 157 lb. weight classes. Brody Fessenden was the first to win his match, pinning Hart’s Emmanuel Ortega, while Jaylin Henderson followed up with a pin over Kai Miller to grab the Tigers’ only points of the day.
Haegan Hansen (165 lbs.), Alex Hicks (190 lbs.), Abdel Lopez (215 lbs.) and Adrian Lara (285 lbs.) all scored wins via pin after that point. Emmanuel Hertzler also added points for the Pirates, taking a victory via forfeit.
