Comets split only home meet of 2015-16, celebrate Senior Night

Cardinal?s only home wrestling meet of the season saw a split, as the Comets defeated Louisa-Muscatine 45-24 but fell to the Wapello Indians 43-24.

Senior grapplers Dakota Miller and Kayvin Johnson and cheerleader Shelby Smith were recognized before the final dual.

?Senior year has been pretty good to me, I?ve done a lot better than I expected to,? said Johnson. ?This year, I?ve placed in every tournament I?ve been in and that?s big since I?ve never placed before. I was in the championship match at Tri-County and that was a lot of fun. I wish we could get more home meets down here, but that?s how it goes I guess. It?s nice to see the home fans here to support us, but it?s disappointing that we aren?t able to wrestle in front of them.?

Miller and Johnson unluckily were unable to compete due to neither opposing team having a wrestler in their respective weight classes. The two seniors received 12 points apiece on the night on wins by forfeit.

?We?ve just got conference left and I?m really excited,? said Miller. ?It?s always better to get wins when you deserve it and get to go out there. I wish we would have had more matches in this first dual, but there?s nothing we can do about it. It feels great to be here at home and prove to our crowd and let them cheer us on here in our gym.?

The first dual featured two double-forfeits; forfeits from Cardinal at the 106, 118 and 182-pound matches and Louisa-Muscatine surrendered the 120, 126, 138, 145, 152 and 160-pound matches.

Will Gonzalez won his match by 3-1 decision for Cardinal at the heavyweight bout over Louisa-Muscatine?s Max Wetzel. The juniors battled through a scoreless first round before Gonzalez earned an escape from the ground position to open round two. The score would stay 1-0 until the third round, when Gonzalez earned a near-fall to go up 3-0 before Wetzel escaped to force the 3-1 final tally.

Falcons? junior Austin Leopard got the better of Cardinal sophomore Zach Cox at 138 pounds. Leopard scored an early takedown, got the Comet onto his back and earned the pinfall victory in 24 seconds.

After the Falcons and Indians concluded their dual, it was Cardinal?s turn to take on Wapello.

Cox earned some revenge for himself, earning a victory over Wapello?s Jarret Paris. He successfully took down the Indians? junior, earned a quick near-fall and then finally got the shoulders down before the first round ended, getting the pin in 1:44.

Cardinal?s Andrew Martinez and Wapello?s Clayton Meeker had one of the more interesting matches of the night. Meeker went to lift Martinez by the leg, but the Comet junior secured a headlock on the Indian grappler and ended up on Meeker?s shoulders. The two stayed in that position for a short time before Martinez finally earned a takedown from that position, whirling around Meeker?s body to bring them both to the mat. Meeker would earn the last laugh, securing a 14-2 major decision over Martinez at the final buzzer.

Wapello?s Rogan Pforts earned a pinfall victory over Cardinal?s Austin Bride. Pforts took down the Cardinal junior early in the first round and was able to secure the pinfall victory in 38 seconds.

?A lot of these kids have progressed pretty well and that?s been fun to watch,? said Johnson. ?I wish that the win today didn?t come down to a couple matches, but that?s how it goes I guess. I?ve helped out a few of them and it?s fun to sit there and when they need a little bit of help, I?ll yell and scream from the bench to do what I can.?

After his senior season, Johnson plans to attend Indian Hills Community College to pursue automotive studies. Miller is considering both Indian Hills and William Penn to pursue a degree in teaching to be a math teacher. He would like to continue his wrestling career at the collegiate ranks.

?I?ve had some losses this season, but I?m ready to accept the challenges on my plate and move forward,? said Miller. ?Coach Lamansky?s really inspired me to be a teacher and I really like math, so we?ll see where it goes from here for me.?

Next up, the Comets will participate in the Southeast Iowa Superconference tournament on Saturday at WACO High School. Van Buren and Pekin will also be in attendance. The sectionals? contest will be at English Valleys High School on Saturday, Feb. 6.