With no more practices to be held and friendly sparring matches between teammates, the St. Clair Cyclones looked poised on the mat during their first quad of the season on December 3rd. The Cyclones faced off against formidable opponents from Mankato East, Cannon Falls, and New Ulm, and although the team performed well–including a 3-0 record by both Chase Bade and Blake Sheppard–the small roster of wrestlers resulted in an overall team loss during all three sets.
There was plenty of anticipation for the Cyclones, but rookie Coach Charlie Pickell looked poised as he led his team to the mat; the decorated wrestler admitted he was a bit nervous for his first meet as Coach, but he felt confident that his team was ready to give everything the had on the mat, “It’s been a great couple of weeks working with these kids. They put in a lot of hard work during practice, but now is the time to get out there and see what they can really do.”
St. Clair faced off against the Cannon Fall Bombers (awesome team name) and despite the Cyclones seizing three wins by decision, the Bombers would take the overall victory 46-25 due to open slots. Alex Isebrand kicked off the matchup between the two schools as he wrestled at 107; the youngster showed some resilience in his opening bout, but would eventually be pinned for the loss. Albino Almanza and Blake Sheppard would win by default. Ty Romnes squared off at 133, and the sophomore displayed some incredible strength and determination by escaping a hold that could have resulted in a pin. Romnes slingshotted his legs to get behind his opponent and take control of the match, but the slippery stubbornness of his foe made a decisive pin a struggle for the Cyclone. At one point during the bout, Romnes showed some frustration as he attempted to outmuscle his opponent, and that decision took much of his remaining strength in the match. Romnes would be able to escape a headlock just as the time ran out on the match, and he would be named the winner by major decision.
Riley Vaughan would take the mat at 139, but would be quickly overpowered on the mat for a loss by pin. Off the mat, Bade seems to be a laidback young man who likes to laugh and joke with his teammates; however, his entire demeanor changed once he stepped on the mat at 160. A look of pure determination took over as he started at his opponent and the two would exchange grapples to kick off their bout; Bade seized control early in the match with a takedown that transitioned into a Nelson Hold, but the Cannon Falls wrestler showed some elusivity by escaping the hold to reset position. Bade remained on the offensive throughout the match, but the strength from both men made this match closer than what it seemed. He couldn’t quite get the pin, but Bade would move on to take the match by major decision. Bade’s night wasn’t done as he would later win his next two matches to secure a 3-0 start to his season. Pickell was impressed by Bade’s performance and highlighted the young wrestler’s focus, “He wrestled extremely well tonight…you can definitely see the look in his eyes when he’s out there, and he wrestles hard.”
Cooper Garlow took the mat at 215, but he would be either on his back or stomach for the entirety of the match as he battled his way out of a series of holds. There was a brief glimpse where he would counter his opponent to take back control, although he would soon find himself in danger of being pinned. Garlow was able to roll out of the situation, but that effort took the last of his energy to perform and he would lose the match by decision. Will Spence would round out the matchup against Cannon Falls at 285 and the two behemoths crashed into each with fury to start their match; Spence would actually land a hard takedown against his opponent which received some praise from his sideline, but his opponent would recover and be able to turn the tables on Spence. It took a burst of strength from Spence to just barely escape a pinfall, and he would remain glued to the mat as his opponent tried to roll him back over; it was a bit of strategy by the savvy wrestler to essentially play dead on the mat, but it seemed to drain his foe’s energy. Once his opponent released his hold to recoup his strength, Spence attempted to get back in the match, but time ran out before as he took a loss by decision. Overall, the Cyclones scored three official wins with two major decisions by Bade and Romnes, but the team would take the loss by a score 46-25.
The Journal was unable to observe the remaining matchups against Mankato East and New Ulm, but the Cyclones showed promise on the individual level as Bade and Sheppard would win their next two matches with the latter scoring a technical pinfall. However, St. Clair would take team losses by both teams (13-56 to Mankato East; 17-54 to New Ulm). Coach Pickell expressed some pride after the team’s performance in their first meet of the season, and knows there is still a long season ahead for these wrestlers, “We may not have a full roster, but there is a lot of talent on this team…the season is just getting started and we’ve got a lot of room to grow.”
The wrestling season is just beginning, but it shows a lot of promise for a handful of skilled wrestlers like Sheppard and Bade; however, others proved their mettle on the mat and battled hard during their matches. The Cyclones competed at a meet in St. James on December 7 and will return to St. Clair for another meet on December 12. Go Cyclones!
