WRESTLING: Marlington “Dukes” Louisville 45-28
VIDEO
Marlington 45, Louisville 28
For the second straight dual meet, the Leopards let a double digit lead evaporate allowing the Marlington Dukes to win 45-28 over the Leopards in a twilight lit wrestling duel at Marlington High School Thursday.
Dakota Oliver (106) seized momentum for the Leopards in the opening match by pinning Marlington’s Brandon Haines 1:42 in. After back-to-back forfeits by both squads, Louisville held a 12-6 advantage.
In the next match, the Leopards Adam LePar (126) fell to the Dukes Dylan Byelene by a count of 2-1. The Leopards fans screamed twice for takedown points on LePar’s behalf, but twice the referee ruled the plays out of bounds.
Both teams exchanged falls in the next two matches. Louisville’s Logan O’brien (132) pinned Matt Piechvta in the second period. Marlington’s Justin Weisent (138) cradled off a Mark Robison take down and turned it into a pin less than a minute into the match cutting the Leopard lead to 18-15.
Next, Gavin Lovejoy (145) earned a 13-4 major decision over Marlington’s Tim Schafer. However, David Gonzales (152) would pull ahead in the final seconds against Leopards’ Ray Fitz to earn a 6-2 decision for the Dukes.
Lucas Poyser (160) then won by forfeit to give the Leopards a 10-point advantage, but the Dukes would score 27 unanswered points to close the match. Ryan St. John (170) earned a late pin and Tony Rupert (182) scored a 7-2 victory to get the Dukes within 28-27.
Then came the match of the night. The Leopards Tristan Roberts (195) set out to take on Dymonte Thomas. Roberts appeared to have had a pin on Thomas early on in the match, but once again the referee instead ruled the play out of bounds. In the second period, Roberts again received no favor from the referee that rewarded him an escape point on what appeared to be a straight take down. After a heated discussion with Leopard Head Coach Jeff Berkebile, the call was reversed giving Roberts a 2-0 advantage.
In the third stanza, Roberts again appeared to have a take down on Thomas, but the referee again blew the whistle sending the match to overtime tied at 3-3. In OT, Thomas quickly attacked low and Roberts never really recovered. Thomas earned the pin with 14.5 left on the clock giving Marlington a 33-28 lead and essentially the match.
A forfeit put the Dukes up 11 and Gaige Glass (285) pinned Nate Terry in the first round to give the heavyweight duel and the match to Marlington. The 45-28 loss leaves the Leopards 8-5 overall on the season and 2-3 in the NBC.
BOX SCORE
DUKES 45, LEOPARDS 28
106 — Oliver (L) pinned Haines (M), 1:42. LHS 6, MHS 0
113 — Raybuck (M) won by forfeit. LHS 6, MHS 6
120 — Romy (L) won by forfeit. LHS 12, MHS 6
126 — Byelene (M) defeated LePar (L), 2-1. LHS 12, MHS 9
132 — O’brien (L) pinned Piechvta (M), 3:10. LHS 18, MHS 9
138 — Weisent (M) pinned Robison (L), 1:03. LHS 18, MHS 15
145 — Lovejoy (L) defeated Schafer (M), 13-4. LHS 22, MHS 15
152 — Gonzales (M) defeated Fitz (L), 6-2. LHS 22, MHS 18
160 — Poyser (L) won by forfeit. LHS 28, MHS 18
170 — St. John (M) pinned Welsh (L), 4:29. LHS 28, MHS 24
182 — Rupert (M) defeated Changet (L), 7-2. LHS 28, MHS 27
195 — Thomas (M) pinned Roberts (L), 6:14. LHS 28, MHS 33
220 — Webb (M) won by forfeit. LHS 28, MHS 39
285 — Glass (M) pinned Terry (L), 1:17. LHS 28, MHS 45
NEXT UP: The Wrestling team will close the season with two home dual meets. The first comes on Thursday, February 2 when the Leopards host Salem. The final meet of the year will be against Alliance on Thursday, February 9. Middle School starts at 5:45 and Varsity follows at approximately 7:30 for each meet.
PICTURES
