Delta Tops Streaks In NWOAL Action
Wrestling under the Thun- derdome spotlights, Delta picked up a 45-24 Northwest Ohio Athletic League victory, Tuesday, Jan. 29. With the loss the Streaks stand at 31-15 and 5-2 in league action.

Jared Leininger works to escape from an opponent's grip at an AHS wrestling match in January. Leininger won an 11-8 decision over Eric Puehler in Archbold's NWOAL match with Delta, Tuesday, Jan. 29.- photo by Scott Schultz

The Streaks conclude their regular-season dual meet and the dual portion of the NWOAL, Thursday, Feb. 7 when they host Liberty Center.

The NWOAL tournament is Saturday, Feb. 9 at Patrick Henry. Wrestling starts at 10 am.

"I was kind of surprised that Delta didn't move around in some of the weight classes," said Brian Becher, AHS head coach. "I was a little worried if Tyler (Short) didn't wrestle tonight they could have possibly shut us out if they moved their guys."

Under The Spotlights

Wrestling under the spotlights at Archbold has become a tradition for Blue Streak wrestlers and fans.

Trevor Meyer works to pin an opponent in January wrestling action. The Blue Streak lost a 5-3 decision to Delta's Reid Rayfield, Tuesday, Jan. 29.- photo by Scott Schultz

Wrestling started at 140 pounds, with Delta's Tyler Gombash facing Josh Cuellar. Gombash, a state qualifier last season, posted a pin at 1:04 for a 6-0 Delta lead.

Chad Rufenacht (145 lbs.) picked up six team points for AHS with a pin over Cody Keller at 3:24. Tyler Short disposed of Evan Colvin at 1:21 for a 12-6 AHS lead.

Many expected Delta to run away with the match, but the Panthers were down 15-6 following the 160-lb. match, where Archbold's Jared Leininger and Eric Puehler squared off in a rough and tumble match that had Leininger up 5-3 after the first period.

Puehler started down to start the second and quickly scored on a reversal, knotting the score at 5. Puehler added two back points before Leininger scored an escape to close out the period.

Trailing 7-6, Leininger was shown the optional start from Puehler and was awarded one point, knotting the score at 7. Leininger scored on a takedown for a 9-7 lead, but couldn't hold the Panther down, giving up an escape.

Leininger sealed a win with a takedown with 38 seconds left and held Puehler scoreless in the closing seconds for an 11-8 victory.

"Jared (Leininger) wrestled tough, and he had to battle through some stuff," said Becher. "He was a little sloppy at times, but he stayed in the match the whole time. He gives you 100 percent all the time he steps out there."

The Panthers got right back into the hunt when Derrick Yant, fourth at last year's state competition, made quick work of Shem Neuenschwander (171 lbs.), pinning the Blue Streak at 1:06.

Delta continued to roll as Adam Godsey (189 lbs.) and Mickey Britenriker went at it for 6 minutes. Godsey picked up a 5-1 win and three team points, knotting the score at 15.

Archbold's Jordan Gracia (215 lbs.) and Jake Wilson squared off next. Gracia went right after the Panther, scoring a takedown and picking up three back points. Gracia appeared to pin Wilson, but the buzzer sounded to end the first period.

The two started in the neutral position to start the second, and Wilson scored two quick points on a takedown. It didn't take Gracia long to introduce Wilson to the three spotlights hanging over the mat. Scoring on a reversal, Gracia put Wilson right to his back and recorded a fall at 3:33.

AHS held a 21-15 lead.

"I am starting to expect (Jordan Gracia) to wrestle. He took last year off, but he is a senior and has been in the program for a long time. It was nice for him to get a win here at home," said Becher.

Archbold's Jacob Badenhop faced Kent Carthell at 275 lbs. Carthell scored a takedown and then posted a fall in 23 seconds, tying the score at 21.

Delta picked up the next four weight classes for a 45-24 win. CJ Reyes (103 lbs.) pinned Matt Jacoby at 3:28; Jonny Tolson (112 lbs.) recorded an 8-2 decision over TJ Weirauch; Ryan Rayfield (119 lbs.) pinned Mike Perez at 3:47; and Sam Carrisalez (125 lbs.) pinned Bobby Rodriguez at 3:03.

Archbold finally stopped the Panthers at 130 lbs as Ian Redd and Jordan Smith faced each other. Redd led 5-0 after the first and rolled to a 9-2 win.

The Panthers bounced right back in the last match as Reid Rayfield scored a 5-3 decision over Trevor Meyer. Meyer controlled the first two minutes and held a 2-0 lead, with the two starting neutral to start the second period.

Rayfield quickly scored a takedown, and the period came to a close with the score knotted at 2.

Meyer started the third in the down position and scored on an escape, but Rayfield picked up a penalty point. After both had been warned for stalling earlier, Meyer was hit with his second stalling call, giving Rayfield one penalty point. Rayfield added a takedown for a 5-3 win.

"I was disappointed in little things," said Becher. "We were not explosive off the whistle, especially when we are on the bottom. And we have been giving up a lot of easy shots when we are in bad positions. This will give us some things to work on; we'll see how we do when we face Liberty Center."