Cardinal grapplers kick off season

DAVIS COUNTY ? The Cardinal wrestling team forfeit more than half its matches en route to dropping a pair of duals vs. Ottumwa and host Davis County on Monday.

The Comets forfeit seven matches vs. Ottumwa in a 60-16 loss, and they forfeit another eight against host Davis County to fall 60-18.

Cardinal?s season-opener wasn?t completely devoid of bright spots, however, as 113-pounder Ryan Cale scored 10 points on a pair of victories. The Comet, who qualified for state last season as a sophomore, pinned Davis County?s Walker Henderson in 3:32 and won by 15-4 major decision vs. Nathan Cary of Ottumwa.

Cardinal?s Josh Ramos also improved his season record to 2-0. At 170 pounds, Ramos pinned Ottumwa?s Isiah Cox in 5:31, and the junior earned a forfeit in the dual with the Mustangs.

Michael Owings split his matches but won the shortest one of the day. In the 138-pound match vs. Ottumwa, Owings pinned Storm Beltran in just 14 seconds.

Also scoring for Cardinal was 106-pound rookie Drayton Hamm, who received a forfeit vs. Davis County.

The Comets will be back in action Saturday at Pekin?s tournament.