Traverse City Record-Eagle

Wrestling

January 28, 2010

TC West beats TC Central in lone home dual

Titans win on final match

BY MIKE ECKERT

TRAVERSE CITY -- Caleb Horn came to the mat with a .500 record in limited action and the weight of his team resting squarely on his shoulders.

He left in celebration.

Horn won the final bout of the night Wednesday with a pin to lift host Traverse City West to a 33-27 win over rival TC Central.

"I used what I knew," Horn said. "(I got an opportunity), took it, ran with it and pinned him."

The win gave the Titans (11-15) four straight wins over the rival Trojans, including two last year and a 45-30 victory earlier this year at the Ed Haughn Classic.

"These two schools, there's a huge rivalry, but I think there's a ton of respect," Central coach Rick Rinal said. "I think that's what makes a great rivalry. That's what our kids look forward to."

Injuries were a factor in Wednesday's bout as Central was void at 103 and 112 pounds and both teams were void at 140.

"It's always a classic, it doesn't matter who's out of the lineup," West coach Berard Priante said. "We always come up with a way for this meet to be close."

Central led 24-21 after the double void at 140 pounds with three weight classes remaining. Kyle Schaub then gave the Titans their first lead of the night with a pin over 145-pounder Phothivath Phengkhamkip.

The Trojans answered right back as 152-pound junior Keegan McGillivary scored a takedown with 30 seconds to go for a 7-6 win over Tyler Shaefer.

"He had lost to that kid previously," Rinal said. "That kid's (McGillivary) improved from the beginning of the season. The last time they met, I think he got pinned, actually. For him to come back and beat that kid was phenomenal."

That squared the meet at 27-27 heading into the final 160-pound weight class. Horn got a takedown in the first 20 seconds and later scored the pin at 1:44 to secure the team victory. It moved his season record to 4-3.

"I have a lot of confidence in Caleb," Priante said. "He's been with me for three years and he's a very technically sound wrestler. I knew that he wouldn't put himself in a bad position, and that's what I was hoping for. He hasn't wrestled much here because we've had some good kids in front of him, but now he can. He's with us for the rest of the year."

TC Central jumped out to an early 15-3 lead after a 1:48 pin from 171-pounder Zach Roberge, a 12-8 win for Scott Rademaker at 215 pounds and a 1:04 pin for heavyweight Cody Vickers.

Rademaker's win over Brandon Dalzell was big after previously losing to the Titan standout.

"West's kid is a very good wrestler and Scotty had lost to him a couple of times before," Rinal said. "For him to come through and win that match for us was huge."

The voids at 103 and 112 pounds evened the bout at 15-15. Central's Justin Ray had an 11-9 win at 119 pounds, but TC West came right back with Zach Bragdon's 11-10 victory at 135 to even the dual again.

Julian Diaz's pin in 44 seconds at 130 pounds gave the Trojans a 24-18 lead, but West's 135-pounder Robert Innis followed it up with a 5-2 decision.

"That's the way we want it," Rinal said of the tight dual. "We want to get this rivalry back to what it was a few years ago."

The win for the Titans came in their only home appearance of the season.

"It's really important, because most of the kids, unfortunately, on the team are young," Priante said. "They don't know what it's like to wrestle on this stage. It's good for them."

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