Whitnall Wrestlers Score Convincing Season Opener

Whitnall High School's wrestlers opened the school's 50th wrestling season with a lopsided 75-6 win over an outmanned squad representing Greendale and St. Thomas More high schools. The Wednesday night contest on the Whitnall mat saw the home team claim eight victories by forfeit, assuring a win for the Falcons before the matches began.

Whitnall's Kameron Bourgeois (112 pounds), Mason Howard (152), Nathan Barnhart (160) and Sam Howard (189) each scored pins, while teammate Evan Olson (135) took a 6-4 decision in the night's only match to go the distance.

Greendale/More forfeited matches to Whitnall's Ruben Garcia. Alec Bartosiak, Peter Moore, Matt Price, Ian Coleman, John McGee, Josh Langenhohl and Jeremy Brunner. The visitors' only points were scored when Jared Rosen pinned Joey Price.

"It's a nice way to start the year," said Whitnall coach John Quinlan following the opener. Noting that Greendale/More's forfeits determined the outcome before the meet began. the coach was concerned that his squad might lack intensity. "It's sometimes hard when we know we have the win," he said. "But we were aggressive for the most part. We did what we had to do."

Quinlan specifically praised the effort of Sam Howard, a junior who had a difficult season a year ago. "It was good to see him get a win. He worked hard in the weight room and in practice and it showed tonight," said the coach. Howard scored a second-period pin over Greendale/More's Jake Rosen.

The Falcon wrestlers will get a more difficult test Saturday when they travel to East Troy for an eight-team dual meet that features Illinois powerhouse Harvard, plus strong teams from West Allis Central, Sun Prairie and Green Bay West. The team returns to Woodland Conference action Wednesday (Dec. 8), hosting Cudahy in a meet that gets under way at 7:00 p.m.

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