2 great rounds not enough for Tigers

Atikinson wins 100th

 

 

 

 

Atkinson wins 1ooth match

2 great rounds not enough for Tigers

 

By Jerry Wadian

Sports Editor

 

Valley’s history in wrestling ended Saturday in Starmont when two great rounds of wrestling went for naught as the Tigers were shut out in Sectional competition.

In round one, seven of the nine Valley wrestlers advanced to the next round with wins. 

Jared Kerr (120) and Mike Burgin (145) drew byes, while Derek Elsbernd (106), Spencer Atkinson (126), Nick Wander (138), Geordan Hanson (182), and Kenny Orr (220) all won their matches. Of the five wins, all but Elsbernd’s came by throw. For Spencer, round one was especially satisfying, since it was the 100th win of his Tiger career.

However, round two was a disaster for Valley as all seven grapplers suffered losses. Three of the matches could have gone either way.

Kerr was tied at 5-5 before getting reversed in the final minute; he was unable to break free and went down, 7-5. Burgin was up, 2-0, and in control in the second period when a sudden reversal resulted in him getting pinned. Orr twice hip-rolled his Postville opponent to the mat, but both times the two kept rolling and Orr wound up on the bottom for the loss of points.

Round three saw Valley roar back with five wins, all by throw. 

Unfortunately, none of the five (Kerr, Atkinson, Wander, Burgin, and Orr) could get a wrestleback and were forced to settle for third place. In all, there were only two wrestlebacks in the 14 weights. As a team, the Tigers were sixth with 106 points. Atkinson, Burgin, and Hanson are all seniors.

Next year, Valley and North Fayette will combine to be the North Fayette Valley TigerHawks. 

Thus, Kenny Orr becomes the last Valley Tiger to walk off a wrestling mat. The nice thing is that the sophomore won with a pin over Starmont’s Ethan Parker in 2:36. 

 

 

For team scores see the Feb. 6, 2013 issue at your nearest retailer.

 

 

 

 

 

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