Panthers paddle Fairfield

Mt. Pleasant looked like the dominant squad on Thursday night in their Southeast Conference dual against Fairfield. The Panthers not only trumped the Trojans 61-12, but they did so on a historic night. Head coach Anthony Blint picked up his 100th dual win, the first Mt. Pleasant coach to reach that number in school history.

'It's definitely a great honor to be here long enough to get 100 wins,” Coach Blint said. 'It's always a plus to have parents helping you out, and all the people in the community. They've been a part of it with our 5K and the off-season with all the fundrasing and stuff. It's not my wins, it's just all the kids throughout all the years and the community.”

Fairfield got things started with a pin at 195 lbs. Aidan Pohren picked up a victory over Mt. Pleasant's Trevor Wellington in the opening match to give the Trojans a 6-0 lead. The Panthers, however, scored the next 34 points of the meet.

Zach Beason had an 18 second pin at 220 lbs. Then, after a double forfeit at 285 lbs., Abby Blint got the victory by forfeit at 106 lbs.

Brayden Ackles and Carson Coleman both won via technical fall in the 113 lbs. and 120 lbs. matches respectively. Ackles won his match 16-1 in 5:30, and Coleman took his match 19-4, in 4:53.

Mt. Pleasant picked up two first-period pins in a row to close out the run. Dalton Moyle pinned his man in 1:40 at 126 lbs., and Avante Henley had a one-minute pin at 132 lbs.

Fairfield's Logan Adam outlasted Mt. Pleasant's Tyler Raub in the 138 lbs. match, pinning him late in the third period, but Mt. Pleasant won every match after that to run away with a blowout win.

Nathan Wallace won via a 4-0 decision at 145 lbs. Abe Wilson had a pin in 1:54 to win the 152 lbs. match. Jayden Davis had a 30-second pin at 160 lbs. James DeMeyer had a pin in the 3:02, and Sam Carrasco ended the night with a pin in 2:28.

'Any time you can wrestle a conference opponent and beat them, that's a great accomplishment for the kids,” Coach Blint said after the win. 'Everything we've been working on in the room, and then to actually come out here on Thursday night. The guys did a really good job wrestling, all the way through the lineup, even the matches we lost.”

In junior varsity matches, Gannon McNamee (145 lbs.) and Jeff Taylor (160 lbs.) won by pin, and Conner Coleman lost on a 5-1 decision.

Mt. Pleasant ended the conference season at 2-2. The Panthers won against Keokuk and Fairfield but lost to Ft. Madison and Washington.

Full results from Thursday night's dual can be found below, with the Mt. Pleasant wrestler listed first.

MT. PLEASANT 61 VS. FAIRFIELD 12: 195: Trevor Wellington pinned by Aidan Pohren, 3:28. 220: Zach Beason pins Wyatt Baker, 0:18. 285: Double forfeit. 106: Abby Blint wins by forfeit. 113: Brayden Ackles wins by technical fall over Jacob Bland, 16-1, 5:30. 120: Carson Coleman wins by technical fall over Brecken Courtright, 19-4, 4:53. 126: Dalton Moyle pins Tommy Jones, 1:40. 132: Avante Henley pins Cael McClaren, 1:00. 138: Tyler Raub pinned by Logan Adam, 5:55. 145: Nathan Wallace dec. Peyton Cline, 4-0. 152: Abe Wilson pins Arya Patel, 1:54. 160: Jayden Davis pins Nathan Trower, 0:30. 170: James DeMeyer pins Carter Spalla, 3:02. 182: Sam Carrasco pins Grady Flynn, 2:28.