Having already competed in two dual meets on the young season, the Oakville wrestling team is 1-1 with a lot more action on the horizon.
On Wednesday — after the Call went to press — the Tigers were scheduled to take on Parkway North at Oakville, and this weekend the Tigers will be in Jefferson City competing in the Missouri Duals with Jefferson City Helias High School as host.
Through their first two dual meets, Oakville is 1-1 after losing to Eureka (37-31) and defeating Parkway South (38-21).
Tigers Coach Tim Vogel believes that his team, with several experienced wrestlers back, will be more competitive in tournaments than dual meets. “We have seven or eight experienced, quality guys back,” Vogel said. “The other half of our team is less experienced, so we’ll probably do a little bit better in tournaments than in duals.”
Included in the group of experienced returners are two state-qualifiers, Eric Schmidt (160 pounds, senior) and Ryan Sutton (189 pounds, junior). Vogel believes that those two and senior heavyweight Nick Wymore are just three of the Tigers that should have solid seasons.
“They are all very capable of doing well this season and getting to state,” Vogel said. “And they are capable of doing well once they get to state, too.”
Other key cogs in the Oakville lineup that are back include 103-pound sophomore Darren Green, 140-pound sophomore Kyle Foley, 145-pound junior Matt Mitchell and 152-pound senior Jesse Gunderson. This group, along with the rest of the Tigers 14-man lineup, should get a good idea of where they stand after the Missouri Duals, and Vogel is looking forward to it.
“They run that tournament very well, and it’s a great starting tournament to the season,” he said. “Blue Springs and RayPec are both there, and if we can finish first or second in our pool we might see them on Saturday. I am sure those teams will do well.”
Before the Tigers get a shot at either of those high-level teams, though, they must do well in their early duals. Oakville will start the weekend by taking on host Helias on Friday night.
