McClain wrestling sweeps tri-match against Hillsboro and Paint Valley
GREENFIELD — The McClain Tigers varsity wrestling team picked up a tri-match victory Thursday (Jan. 21) by defeating Hillsboro and Paint Valley on their home mats.
The Tigers, who improved their overall dual meet record to 9-4 on the season, defeated the Indians 39-21, followed by a 48-12 victory over the Bearcats. Hillsboro defeated Paint Valley, 39-24 in the opening match of the evening.
Even more impressive for the Tigers was the fact that they lost only one match the entire night while going 12-1, and the lone defeat was a double-overtime nail-biter by McClain freshman Ethan Hill, who despite the loss was very competitive.
“I thought all of our kids wrestled really well tonight,” McClain first-year head coach Rich Bivens said after the match. “They really showed what they’ve been practicing and working on for weeks.”
[[In-content Ad]]
This year's squad is made up of some raw and talented underclassmen who are led by three experienced seniors with state tournament aspirations on their mind.
“My three seniors, Lucas Jansen, Justin Kegley and Kade Rawlins, are hard workers and my team leaders who all have a good shot making it to the state tournament,” Bivens said. “Jansen has come into this season and developed a little bit of a killer instinct and has really taken over some matches, but still needs to learn how to control all of that aggression.
“Justin has really turned the corner this year. He came into this season around a .500 wrestler but has already beaten a couple of state-ranked wrestlers and is so far 27-3 this season.”
“Kade is just a freak of nature. He comes out every match and just dominates. You don’t need to tell him anything ... he already seems to know what to do and just does it.
“He’s ranked number nine in the state right now and is undefeated on the season at 19-0. I expect him to get back to state this year.”
Jansen and Rawlins have both gone over the 100-win plateau of their high school careers this season, as Jansen has 120 victories and Rawlins has 116.
Two other McClain wrestlers, Landon Wheeler (152 pounds) and Ethan Burns (160 pounds), are also having impressive seasons. Riley Pottrof, who took last season off, is also having a fine comeback season for the Tigers.
“Ethan a junior wrestler for us has shown a lot of growth this year and Riley has made great progress after taking last year off,” Bivens said. “Coach (Shane) Paul left me with a really good stable of wrestlers that we’re just sharpening the skills that he gave to these kids. He definitely left the program in really good shape when I took over.”
McClain High School will be hosting the 2020-21 Frontier Athletic Conference Wrestling Championships on Tuesday, Feb. 9.