Fairfield wrestlers finish 2011 on high note

IOWA CITY ? Headed into the final meet of 2011, first-year Fairfield head coach Steve Miller admitted it?d been a while since he last smiled.

He hadn?t seen many reasons to ? not with over half of his varsity roster sidelined with injuries and illness and no first-place team finishes to speak of through the first six meets of the season.

He finally cracked one at the Iowa City Regina Invitational on Saturday, however.

With only five Trojans in attendance, the team took fourth place out of 12 teams with 94.5 points. Two Trojans, Seth Davisson and Tanner Metcalf, won their respective weight classes while the other three took third place in consolation matches.

?I?ve never been on a team where we won all the finals matches. To win them all, it was pretty unique,? said Miller. ?You could just see in some of those coaches and their wrestlers, they didn?t want to wrestle a Fairfield guy. It was fun to be a part of. I finally smiled Saturday.?

Davisson, a junior ranked 10th at 182, wrestled his way to the championship match following two pins. In the final against Maquoketa Valley?s Troy Hunt, Davisson recorded a 9-2 decision for the first-place finish. Metcalf (220) was Fairfield?s other champion, pinning two opponents before recording a 2-1 decision in the finals match.

Ammon Shaner (138), Aaron Gevock (145) and Quinton Bradfield (152) also went out winners with third-place finishes. In their respective consolation matches, Shaner won by fall in 3:38, Gevock recorded a 10-2 major decision and Bradfield won by technical fall, 23-8.

?They all looked awesome,? said Miller. ?I would say all five of them, if they didn?t wrestle their best match of the year at some point Saturday, I would say they wrestled close to it.?

In the team standings, Mount Vernon won the tournament with 200 points, followed by West Branch at 168.5 and Maquoketa Valley at 166.

Miller said he thinks his wrestlers are finally starting to buy into his concept ? to not just win but to dominate ? and he looks forward to what a new year can bring following the break.

?The main thing is mental toughness: to go out and give everything you?ve got every time you go out there,? he said. ?Go out there and dominate your opponent. Don?t just win but dominate so that next time you face your opponent he doesn?t want to wrestle you.?

Fairfield returns with its first home meet of the season, a triangular vs. Keokuk and Mid Prairie Jan. 5.

Final Team Standings

1. Mount Vernon 200, 2. West Branch 168.5, 3. Maquoketa Valley 166, 4. Fairfield 94.5, 5. Pekin 86.5, 6. Columbus 85.5, 7. Sigourney-Keota 85, 8. Regina 72.5, 9. Lone Tree 68, 10. Cascade 65, 11. North Cedar 62, 12. Tipton 37.5

Fairfield Individual Results

138 ? Shaner (3rd), 145 ? Gevock (3rd), 152 ? Bradfield (3rd), 182 ? Davisson (1st), 220 ? Metcalf (1st)