Washington wrestling team wins at Fairfield

FAIRFIELD (GTNS) ? Local rivals Fairfield and Washington locked horns in a dual wrestling meet Thursday night in Fairfield.

Washington won the meet convincingly 57-15. The Demons thoroughly dominated the lightweights and even most of the middleweights. By the time Fairfield?s heavy hitters in the upper weights took the mat, Washington had the contest in the bag.

Trojan head coach Steve Miller said Washington is one of the top 10 teams in the state, and the Demons showed that Thursday night.

?I told our guys that I don?t care if you win or lose, just put up a good fight,? said the Trojan coach. ?We need to work on closing the gap in the matches we lost, and work on widening the gap in the matches we won. We definitely have a lot of things to work on, but I was pleased with the team?s effort last night.?

The Demons earned an easy six points right out of the gate when the Trojans were forced to forfeit at the 120-pound weight class. The first actual combat of the evening was at the 126-pound division between Washington?s Dillan Sanders and Fairfield?s Gannon Courtright. Courtright was able to push the match into the second period but was eventually put on his back as Sanders earned the pin for a 12-0 Washington lead.

Washington kept the ball rolling into the next match between the Demons? Kyle Anderson and the Trojans? Stetson Spees. This match looked like it might go the full six minutes, but late in the third period Anderson gained an advantage. As the clock ticked down under a minute, Anderson put Spees on his back for the pin and an 18-0 Demon lead.

Derek Beasley gave the hometown fans something to cheer for when he defeated David Hora in a 2-1 decision to cut the Demons? lead to 18-3. Beasley?s win was the last piece of good news the Trojan fans would hear for the next five matches. At the 145-pound weight class, Washington picked up right where it left off as Austin Hazelett pinned Charles Heisel in 1:03.

Hazelett?s pin was the first of four consecutive pins for the Demons. Trey Van Weelden followed by putting Bailey Jones on his back to score six points for the visitors at the 152-pound weight class. At this point, the Demons were leading 30-3 and looking for the knockout blow. Tristin Westphal-Edwards and Logan Escher would deliver that blow in the next few minutes.

Westphal-Edwards pinned Carter Spalla just before the end of the first period, and Escher followed by pinning Jesse Birlson early in the second. The Demons completed their impressive run when Collin Murphy defeated Simon Spalla 6-4 at the 182-pound division to push Washington?s lead to 45-3. The Trojans? trio of Michael Fritz, Trenton Hanen and Brendon Lunsford had performed very well in Saturday?s Bob Murphy Invitational in West Delaware. On Thursday, they did what they could to get Fairfield back in the match. Fritz started things off by winning a 7-2 decision over Tanner Murphy at the 195-pound class.

Hanen earned Fairfield?s only pin that evening when he put Lane Keeler on his back in 69 seconds at the 220-pound division. At heavyweight class, Lunsford and Mitchell Huisenga were locked in an evenly matched contest. At the end of six minutes, Lunsford emerged with a hard-earned 1-0 win.

The match then turned back around to the lower weights, where Washington proved it had the upper hand. Walker Ikerd pinned Fairfield?s Jonah Cooper in 1:51 at the 106-pound weight division, and Matt Collett earned an easy six points when Fairfield forfeited at the 113 pounds.