MAT DOMINANCE: Marauders top Cougars, Dragons, Tigers

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NEW PALESTINE — Mt. Vernon was able to come out and dominate on the mats all day Dec. 15, with most of its roster showcasing a noteworthy ability to control the pace of the match with powerful snap-downs and an overall sturdy takedown defense.

So long as the Marauders learn to shoot as well as they can sprawl, they will continue their winning streak, Mt. Vernon head coach Chad Masters said.

Mt. Vernon won the New Palestine Triple Dual tournament Dec. 15 against Triton Central and Hancock County rivals Greenfield-Central and New Palestine. The team showed a lot of skill with a solid defensive plan, but if they want to be state competitors, they’re going to need to learn how to buff up their offense, Masters said.

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The Marauders took the lead early in the morning in their initial faceoff with Shelby County’s Triton Central Tigers.

After beating the Tigers 57-15 with the majority of their wins by fall, they pushed on to face Greenfield-Central. While Mt. Vernon faced several tough matches in the lighter weight classes, including those against Cougar leaders Gavin Rose and Cooper Noehre, Greenfield-Central was defeated soundly by the end of Round 2 as Mt. Vernon pulled ahead to a 50-17 victory.

In the last round of the triple dual, Mt. Vernon had a strong handle on the New Palestine Dragons, but found several tough challenges throughout the final dual as many of them, such as 152-pounder Max Jones, refused to go down without a fight. The final scoreboard read 60-16 as Mt. Vernon secured its third and final victory of the day.

Greenfield-Central snagged a victory from the jaws of defeat after 120-pound Omar Ornelas pinned Triton-Central’s Landon Gaddy in the final match of the tournament. While the Cougars beat the Tigers 39-28, they had a rough day against their county opponents, losing 45-36 against New Palestine just before their loss to Mt. Vernon.

“We just need to do what we’re coached,” Cougars head coach Joshua Holden said. “We’re still getting some good experience, but right now, we’ve got to get our upperclassmen to start stepping up.”

New Palestine lost momentum after back-to-back victories against Greenfield-Central and Triton Central, whom they defeated 42-39. The team is young and hungry, and experience like this is important, head coach Alex Johns said.

“We’ve got a tough road ahead,” Johns said. “It all comes down to the preparation we’re doing at practice. We’ve got to get more physical and wrestle in that brawler style that’s always looking to score points. We’ve got to get down to it, and that’s not where we were today.”

The Marauders wrestled smart after a tough week of training and a weekday dual meet, Masters said. His team showed a lot of improvement even since its matchup against Shelbyville earlier in the week, he said.

Some of the day’s most impressive performances came from their 106-pound freshman, Kellen Kerr, Masters said. After a rough night against Shelbyville, it was good to see him come out and win against so many high level competitors, he said. Kerr, among others, improved upon his weaknesses, something his team should look to in their own deficiencies, particularly their takedown game, Masters said.

“We’ve got a couple kids that just will not shoot,” Masters said. “They’re defensive wrestlers, and we’re okay with that sometimes. But when you wrestle a really elite kid, you’re going to have to know some takedowns.”

The Mt. Vernon Marauders will go on to their North Mont duals December 28. Until then, Masters said his team will be fine-tuning the skills they’ll need to compete on the highest level, he said.

“My guys have showed a lot of improvement and they’ve worked really hard,” Masters said. “There’s still a lot of things that we did wrong today, but we’re going to keep pushing.”