Claiming four of the five contested matches, the Union wrestling Wildcats ended the regular season with a 54-4 win at St. Charles Monday night.
Union concluded the regular season with an 14-2 dual meet record.
“That was a record for wins for the wrestling team,” Union Head Coach Justin Cranmer said. “We also went 6-3 in duals at the Hillsboro tournament and 3-2 at the University City tournament. We took a mostly JV lineup to University City.”
None of the four Union wins lasted through the first period and two of the four were done within a minute.
“St. Charles only had six wrestlers so we only wrestled five varsity matches and one JV match,” Cranmer said. “Our focus is on this weekend and it was good to get through those matches without injury.”
Jake Siddens (170) had the fastest win of the night, a 42-second pin of St. Charles’ Tony Kiel.
Jimmy Lewis (195) had his match last a little longer, needing 54 seconds to pin Theo Elliott.
In the 138-pound weight class, Union won the fight of the Fosters as Shane pinned Caleb in 1:23.
Alex Gaebe (145) pinned St. Charles’ Mason Kestner in 1:26.
The lone St. Charles win in a contested bout came at 126 pounds, where Reid Hanmore won an 11-1 major decision over Dalton Fennessey.
The rest of the matches were either walkover wins for Union or where both teams were open.
Devon Fennessey (152), Cody Pace (160), Joe Lasky (285), Tyler Pace (120) and Jordan Nowak (132) each were unopposed for Union and picked up six team points apiece.
Both schools were open at 182, 220, 106 and 113.
The meet started with the 138-pound match.
Union goes to the Class 3 District 1 Tournament in Farmington Friday and Saturday. Cranmer feels Union has a shot to show improvement over last year.
“The district should be very competitive this year,” Cranmer said. “Everyone will be chasing Washington and Farmington for the team championship. I think that we could have a great district tournament and qualify up to eight kids for state this year. The heart of our lineup, 138-160, will have to get it done and win some tough matches to get the team points that will move us up in the team score. We have to get over that semifinal hump and get more kids in the finals to score more team points if we want to be competitive for the team race. Last year we finished seventh at districts and I think we can improve on that this year. I look for us to finish in the top five this year.”
