EW's Lynch shows mixed emotions after wrestling tri-meet

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on January 22, 2016 1:48 PM

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First-year Eastern Wayne head wrestling coach Aaron Lynch experienced a variety of emotions Thursday evening.

It was senior night.

He gushed over his team's effort against North Johnston.

But, he showed some disappointment in the Warriors' nightcap against perennial 1-A powerhouse Rosewood, which is Lynch's alma mater.

"I feel like we came out to wrestle against North Johnston," said Lynch, whose team emerged victorious in five individual matches and collected five forfeits in a 57-21 romp.

"We set the tone early, we came out looking to pin and score bonus points, and we did exactly that. (We had) big wins from our freshmen wrestlers -- 220-pounder Jalyn Joyner, Ethaniel Johnson (132) and Equan Tune (126) that helped us win that match.

Joyner and Johnson pinned their respective opponents. Tune grinded out a 14-11 decision over NJ's Travis Riba. Riba closed to within 8-5 after two periods, but Tune posted a takedown and earned three nearfall points, which helped seal the outcome.

The Warriors also received individual victories from Ian Gutierrez, who pinned Justin Pilkington in 18 seconds; and an 80-second fall by senior 132-pounder Cainen Miller over Austin Lee at 132 pounds.

Rosewood was a different story.

Jordan Wooten (182 pounds) picked up the Warriors' lone victory -- an 11-4 decision over Cameron Helt in the third individual bout. The Eagles reeled off 39 consecutive points before Miller momentarily stopped the run with a first-period fall over Louis Tortual. A four-year starter, Miller improved to 27-6 this season and 85-47 for his career.

Fellow senior Ryshon Rodwell claimed a forfeit to account for the Warriors' final points of the night.

"We came out flat against Rosewood," Lynch said. "Inexperience was the real difference in the match. We have a young team. My guys are improving daily.

"Several of my guys got in bad position during their match and the Rosewood wrestlers capitalized off of it and got the fall."

The much-anticipated match occurred at 106 pounds between wiry Mario Harper and aggressive-minded Timothy Decatur-Luker. The two battled to a scoreless draw after the opening period, before Decatur-Luker opened the second period with an escape after taking the "down" position.

The grapplers traded reverses and entered the final two minutes deadlocked at 3-all. Luker collected three nearfall points in a move that put pressure on Harper's left shoulder, and caused a stoppage in the match when Harper screamed in pain.

Harper spent the rest of the night with an ice pack taped to his shoulder, but said that he was fine.

On the night, Rosewood (34-6 overall) dropped just five individual matches.

"Tonight, I felt like we were wrestling at our potential," RHS head coach Bill Edmundson said. "It wouldn't be fair to single out individuals at this point because everyone is contributing on some level. Whether it's when we expect them to earn a pin, or when they wrestle tough matches and don't give up a pin in a loss.

"The coaching staff could not be more pleased with the effort and teamwork this week."