Indian Valley posts big margin on Lewistown

by Jeff Fishbein

Posted on January 23, 2009

LEWISTOWN - On the scoreboard, Lewistown's effort against cross-county rival Indian Valley could not be classified under the heading of close - the Warriors sailed to a 57-12 victory in the annual dual meet between the two teams.

But Indian Valley coach Joe Daubert was quick to point out that the match was close where it counted - as it was being wrestled.

"If you look at it, it was a dogfight. It was a dogfight on the mat," Daubert said. "Each and every kid for Lewistown and for Indian Valley wrestled extremely well."

It was that effort put forth by the grapplers from both teams that led to a few surprising outcomes, and more than a few exciting moments. Who, for example, would have thought that Lewistown's Jake Schultz would pull off the thriller of the night, a 6-3 overtime comeback against Kyle Miller at 130? Or that Warrior Mason Grove would have to stave off a late challenge to score a 7-6 win over Cody Hower at 112?

As it turned out, those were among the more exciting matches of the night, both Daubert and Lewistown coach Ken Whitsel agreed.

"They both wrestled tough," Whitsel said, but admitted small victories are hard for his team to accept even in what everyone knew would be a rebuilding year.

"It's just tough on this team right now. We've got to pick up the pieces and keep wrestling," Whitsel said. "I know it's coming."

Tyson Searer (215) gave the Panthers a lift to start the match, pinning Ian Lindsey in the first minute. And Mitch Ritter, filling in for an injured Stephen King at heavyweight, held Indian Valley's Jared Kreider to a 1-0 decision. But when Kaleb Loht collected the first of three forfeits Lewistown gave in the match, Indian Valley had the lead for the night.

Hower, in the first back-and-forth contest of the night, turned a 2-0 deficit into a 3-2 lead when he tilted Grove early in the second, but Grove escaped and took Hower down in a move so fluid that the two were barely neutral. Hower started on top in the third, and was reversed before escaping and getting a takedown of his own.

Without enough time to let Grove up and try for another takedown, Hower had to work for the back points. He got close - just not close enough.

Joe Short and Gage Smith both pinned their Panther opponents before Lewistown won another bout, by far the closest of the night, between Miller and Schultz. Miller scored the only offensive points in regulation, a first-period takedown, but Schultz matched that with escapes in the first and second.

Miller, working from the bottom in the third, got free to retake the lead, but was hit before the period ended with a second stalling call, leading to a tie on the uncontested penalty point. The two went without a point in the sudden victory overtime, a tough break for Miller, who would have had control had Schultz not been clinging to his leg for dear life.

Miller failed to break loose in the first 30-second tiebreaker. Schultz not only got free when it was his turn, but put Miller on the mat and scored three for a 6-3 finish.

"They were both barn burners," Daubert said of the 112- and 130-pound bouts. "And we put Mason Grove down - he didn't want to go down. He knows Hower has tilts.

"But you have to get out of the bottom. In District 6, if you can't get out of the bottom, you're going to get pounded on."

Indian Valley pinned a couple more, grabbed two more freebies and scored one major and a tech fall on the way to the win. Lewistown got just one more to go its way, a 1-0 decision for Colton Spade over Nick Grimm at 152.

"That just shows the determination of Nick Grimm," Daubert said. "That shows his will, his desire to win, and also shows how difficult he is to wrestles. (Colton) is a classy, great young man. I got to shake his hand afterward and said, 'He's tough to wrestle, isn't he?' And he said, 'Absolutely.'"

"It came to about what we expected," Whitsel said. "There's not much to say - Joe has a good team, does a good job out there. We've just got to go in the room, pick ourselves up - we've just got to survive the year."

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