Pirate wrestlers drop home finale against Mexico, fall to 5-9 overall and 1-4 in NCMC

The Boonville Pirates wrestling team wanted to give the five seniors a send off to remember last night while hosting the Mexico Bulldogs in NCMC action at the Windsor gymnasium.

While honoring the seniors and their parents prior to the match against Mexico, the Pirates also knew that they would be giving up four forfeits compared to just two for the Bulldogs.

That proved to be the difference as Mexico recorded wins in eight matches, four by forfeits, while the Pirates had four wins and two forfeits in a 48-31 setback.

While the loss dropped Boonville to 5-9 overall and 1-4 in the conference, head coach Christian Stock said it wasn’t a bad night but they fought the opens again.

“I wish all of our seniors would have gotten a match for the last one at home,” Stock said. “We knew we had a lot of ground to make up with four opens going into this dual. The injury bug had bit one or two of our wrestlers and this is a bad time of the year for that to start.”

Junior wrestler Kyle Cook didn’t seem to have a problem with his opponent in the 220-pound weight class. While entering the match with a record of 32-1 overall, Cook proved without a doubt why he is one of the top wrestlers in the state in Class 2 by pinning Mexico’s John Lummis in 1:59.

Stock said Cook continues his roll. “I am excited to see where it leads him,” Stock said.

Junior Tanner Hulbert also picked up a much needed win against Mexico’s Porter Goodman in the 120-pound weight class. While improving to 16-16 on th season, Hulbert dominated Goodman from the start while recording a pin only 58 seconds into the match.

“Tanner went out and really dominated his opponent,” Stock said. “He did exactly what we wanted in getting the fall to try to make up some of those points in opens.”

With opens at 160, 170, 192 and 285, the Pirates also took hits in the 106 and 113-pound weight classes to begin the evening down 12-0. At 106, Hunter Smith won by fall over Jeff Ruffalo in 1:38. Meanwhile, at 113, Jadin Taylor picked up a second period pin against senior Kristen Stevens in 3:04.

Of course the Bulldogs also had two opens at 126 and 132, which gave Boonville its first lead of the match by a score of 18-12. Then, in the 138-pound weight class, freshman Ben Rumbaoa won a hard-fought match against Mexico’s Sam Fayad 7-0 in the 138-pound weight class. The win improved Rumbaoa’s record to 19-9 overall.

Stock said Rumbaoa wrestled what looked like his polar opposite; a tall lanky long wrestler. “He worked hard to get the fall but time ran out on him,” Stock said.

Rumbaoa may have also had the most impressive win on the night as well. After a 0-0 tie at the end of the first period, Rumbaoa came back and picked up two points for a reversal and two for a takedown to lead 4-0 after two. Meanwhile, in the third period, the freshman grappler picked up three more points for a nearfall and had Fayad on his back for nearly the entire period to record the shutout.

Unfortunately for Boonville, they never led again in the match after the win by Rumbaoa as Mexico picked up back-to-back pins at 145 and 152. In the 145-pound weight class, Jake Vitale won by a pin over Dylan Snapp in 56 seconds. Meanwhile, in the 152-pound weight class, Dylan McClain picked up a first-period pin against Jake Nelson in 1:29.

The Bulldogs also picked up two forfeits at 160 and 170 to lead Boonville by a score of 36-21.
Stock then used a little bit of strategy by dropping junior Kelsey Callaway down one spot in the lineup to the 182-pound weight class. The move paid off as Callaway dominated Mexico’s Anthony Brower while leading 7-1 after the first period and 11-4 after the second for a 18-8 victory.

The win also improved Callaway’s record to 23-15 overall.

“Kelsey really dominated his wrestler in his match with four takedowns and two three-point nearfalls,” Stock said.

Of course with two more forfeits at 195 and 285, the Pirates had only Cook to pick up their final win in the 220-pound weight class.

The Boonville Pirates wrestling team will closeout the regular season on the road against the Kirksville Tigers on Wednesday, Feb. 1 starting at 6 p.m. Then, on Saturday, Feb. 4, Boonville will compete in the Lexington Tournament starting at 9 a.m.

The Class 2 District 3 Tournament will be held on Saturday, Feb. 11 at Clinton High School.
Teams competing in the tournament along with Boonville are: Bolivar, Buffalo, Clinton, Harrisonville, Logan-Rogersville, Marshall, Monett, Nevada, Odessa, Osage, Pleasant Hill, Reeds Springs, Seneca and St. Francis Borgia.