The Columbus North wrestling team put up one of its strongest performances of the season Wednesday night against Madison.
The Bull Dogs picked several victories via fall to cruise past the Cubs 60-21.
"The guys are starting to finally come along. We’re finally getting to the point where we have gotten most of our starters into the lineup," North coach Matt Joyce said. "That was really what we’ve been pushing toward, and we’re excited about getting there. Tonight, we had a full lineup for the first time this year, which was great to see."
The most thrilling match of the meet was the final match of the contest at 106 pounds between North’s Josh Nelson and Madison’s Bryce Turner.
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Nelson fell behind early in the match 9-2, but in the second period, was able maneuver his opponent to score the fall for the Bull Dogs.
"It was just determination. I didn’t give up," Nelson said. "I had to keep fighting through it, no matter how many points I was down by."
Joyce was proud of how Nelson, a freshman, battled during the match.
"Josh is a strong kid. He’s young and has only wrestled a few years," Joyce said. "He’s learning every day and feels things sometimes. He kept on wrestling. He was down some points, but kept wrestling through and came out on top."
The match kicked off at 113, where North’s Morgan Smith defeated Madison’s Noah Burkhardt by a first-period fall.
The Bull Dogs picked up wins at 126 and 132 via forfeit and also claimed wins at 160, 195 and 220 by forfeit.
At 120, Madison’s Jacob Skirun won against North’s Dylan Chavez by a first-period fall. At 138, The Cubs’ Mason Long scored the second-period fall over the Bull Dogs’ Carlos Rodriguez.
At 182, Dalton Berry of Madison defeated Keegan Hill of North by fall in the first period. In one of the most competitive matched at 145, the Bull Dogs’ Connor Essick lost to Madison’s Luke McCarty by decision.
The rest of the matches all belonged to North. At 152, Dallin Anderson scored a first-period fall over Trent Stockdale. At 170, Hector DeDios won by via fall in the first period. At 285, Bradley Gutierrez won by fall in the second period.
"We had high energy and good attitudes," Joyce said. "We wrestled pretty tough tonight."
