Somebody forgot to tell the Lions Wrestling team they graduated 12 seniors last year and should be "rebuilding" this year. Most of the team is getting their first shot at the varsity lineup and have decided to make the most of their opportunity. They are going to "reload" the varsity lineup and ignore terms like "rebuild". They are looking to pave their own way to four straight league and sectional titles!!
The Lions started Saturday morning with a victory over Talawanda 45-28. The next round the Lions pounded sectional foe Wyoming 63-12 losing only two matches. The final preliminary round proved to be no match for the Lions, Lions 63 Oak Hills 18.
The medal round started in the afternoon. First up for the Lions was the Cooper Jaguars from Kentucky. You will need to travel a little farther than Ky. to find a team to match these Lions, Lions 39 Cooper 34. The gold medal match faced the Lions against the #2 ranked team in the city, Reading Blue Devils. The finals started a little slow for the Lions, dropping the first three matches, 18-0 Reading. Then AJ Rostetter and Tristan Williams stopped the losing streak, 18-10 Reading. The Blue Devils won the next two out of three matches, 27-16 Reading. The Lions won the next three matches, 34-27 Lions with two matches to go! Lance Houser won the final match of the day to seal the victory for the Lions, 37-30 Lions win Lions win!!
The Lions finished the day 5-0 and team champions. They were lead by seniors Kevin Reid and Lance Houser, both going 5-0. Seniors Nathan Dixon, Jake Preston, Autumn Clark and James White finished 4-1 on the day. Juniors AJ Rostetter and Tristan Williams contributed with three wins. Jared Bray finished the day with three wins also. Bobby Bingham and Shawn Elam got their first varsity wins this weekend. Freshman Josh Bauscher saw his first varsity action at a very tough weight class and finished the day 3-2, keep your eye on this up and coming freshman!
The Lions battle the #1 ranked Ross Rams Wednesday evening at Ross. The action starts at 6pm. Load up the car and come watch these Lions fight for another city title. The #4 ranked Blanchester Wildcats will be in action against the Lions Wednesaday evening also.