AHS Wrestlers Finish 6-4 At Div. III Duals
by Scott Schultz Buckeye Sports Reporter

Tyler Short works to bring down his opponent at the Division III Duals last weekend.- photo by Scott Schultz

Archbold made the long trek to Sandusky, Friday and Saturday, Jan. 25-26 for the Division III Duals wrestling competition at Sandusky St. Mary Central Catholic High School.

The two-day event has grown in popularity in its 13-year existence. Last year's meet produced 42 state qualifiers, 28 state placers, and six state champions.

Seeding is based on a point system and whether teams have full lineups. Powerhouse Troy Christian received the overall number one seed; the Streaks were seeded 11th.

Troy Christian won at Sandusky last year and marched its way through last year's Div. III state tournament, winning sectional, district, and state team titles. The Eagles once again went 10-0 at this year's Div. III duals.

The Streaks got acquainted with the perennial power on day two at Sandusky.

"This tournament keeps getting tougher and tougher," said Brian Becher, AHS head coach. "If you look back on the previous four years we only lost five dual meets here. This weekend we lost four, so people may think we are not wrestling that well, but teams like Troy Christian used to not be here, along with West Jefferson.

"We are down a little bit, but the teams that are here are really tough. Obviously there will be a lot of state champs and state placers coming out of here. This is definitely the toughest D-III tournament we come to."

Archbold posted a 6-4 record over the two days.

Day One: 3-2

Opening against West Jefferson, Archbold was clipped 52-21. Archbold posted back-toback to-back wins by defeating Tinora 63-14, Hopewell Loudon 51-21, and Western Reserve 60- 17.

In Friday's final match AHS was handed a 44-28 loss by Northwestern.

Day Two: 3-2

AHS had a tough beginning on Day Two, first facing the Troy Christian and then the host St. Mary CC.

TC returned six state placers, including state champions Ben Sergent at 125 pounds and Zach Toal at 145 lbs. The Eagles had little trouble with Archbold, recording a 53-15 win.

Up next was St. Mary CC, and Archbold dropped its second straight, losing 48-27. The Panthers had one state placer, Troy Opfer, who placed second last year. Opfer recorded his 200th win at this year's dual meet.

Archbold got on the plus side in its next three meets, defeating Arcadia 60-16, Madison Plaines 59-20, and Paulding 63-18, to finish 6-4. The Streaks are 31-14 overall.

Top Performers; Rufenacht Picks Up 100th Win

Leading the way for AHS was Chad Rufenacht at 145 lbs. Rufenacht picked up his 100th win on Friday and posted an 8- 2 record. His only day one loss was to Hopewell Loudon's Lukas Schalk.

The Archbold junior came up with a big win against Arcadia's Lee Schumaker on day two. A senior, Schumaker placed third at last year's state meet. He entered this year's dual meet with a 28-1 record.

"Chad, obviously, did not wrestle very well on Friday. He had a couple of tough kids," said Becher. "If you would watch our practices and then watch out here, he is a totally different kid. I just wish he would take what he does in the practice room and bring it out here.

"When he is relaxed and wrestles he is as tough as nails. When he gets nervous and starts thinking about things and analyzing stuff, he doesn't stay with high percentage moves.

"Getting 100 wins is a nice accomplishment. It seems everyone else is getting it their senior year; getting it as a junior is a little more special. Hopefully he will get to 150 next year, and I would expect him to.

"Chad had a big match against (Schumaker). I think Chad kind of caught him there, but Chad will take that. He was a tough kid. That is a feather in (Chad's) cap and a little bit of a springboard, and gives him some confidence that he can wrestle with good kids. Regardless of whether he caught him or not, he still stuck the kid."

Tyler Short (152 lbs.) tore though the competition 5-0 on day one, but on day two faced tough competition. Short lost his first three matches before finishing the day 2-3 for an overall record of 7-3.

"Tyler had a rough day today (Saturday); he did not wrestle very well," said Becher. "He looked tough on Friday.

"Ten matches in two days- and he wrestled some tough kids- takes its toll. He seemed sluggish and tired.

"I am sure he was not pleased and he knows I wasn't pleased with his performance, but one thing about Tyler- he is not going to soften and will work hard next week to get better."

Top finisher for AHS was Mickey Britenriker, 9-1 at 189 lbs. His lone loss came on day one by Northwestern's Curtis Schaefer.

"Mickey had a good tournament; he wrestled well," said Becher. "The one match he got beat I am sure he wishes he could wrestle again. He got beat by a freshman, and that doesn't happen too often with him, obviously."

Britenriker was one of three Archbold wrestlers who came up with a win against Troy Christian.

Britenriker faced TC's Nathan Jones, a state qualifier. After the two rumbled for six minutes, the Archbold senior held a 5-4 lead for a win.

Bobby Rodriguez took a win for AHS as the Eagles forfeited at 125 lbs. Brandon Dennie also picked up a win against TC at 285 lbs., recording a pin over Josh Delver.

Dennie finished 4-0.

Trevor Meyer (135 lbs.) and Jordan Gracia (215 lbs.) posted 7-3 records.

The Rest Of The Streaks

103 lbs.: Matt Jacoby, 6-4; 112 lbs.: TJ Weirauch, 6-4; 119 lbs.: Mike Perez, 3-5; 125 lbs.: Rodriguez, 4-5; 130 lbs.: Ian Redd, 1-2 (left with an injury); 140 lbs.: Josh Cuellar, 3-7; 160 lbs.: Gabe Garcia, 5-2; Tyler Randall, 0-2; 171 lbs.: Shem Nuenschwander, 2-1; Jared Leininger, 3-3; 285 lbs.: Jacob Badenhop, 3-3.- All individual records are unofficial.