Douglas High senior captain Kolton Zinn drags his opponent back into the circle Wednesday during the Tigers’ home triangular dual.
Photo by Carter Eckl.
Douglas High School wrestling continues to see its turnout grow, and the Tigers are anxious to see how that growth develops.
The Tigers opened their league dual slate Wednesday, beating Reed (51-30) and Galena (45-34) despite being short-handed.
Tiger head coach Jake Fair says the early season has given the coaching staff a great chance to look at the entirety of the roster as injuries and illness have forced some movement.
LINEUP
There’s a lot of subject to change in Douglas’ lineup in December as competition in the practice room rages.
“We had a lot of injuries, sicknesses and things going around that created some holes (Wednesday),” said Fair. “We are stacked in some of those middle weights.”
Starting with those middle weights will be senior captain Kolton Zinn, who was 2-0 on Wednesday. Like last year, Zinn wrestled at 150 pounds Wednesday.
At 120 pounds, Cody Highfill will be a team captain. Highfill was a state qualifier last season after taking fourth at the regional tournament.
Gunnar Bleeker (132) and Kai Blumenthal (138) will be two more names that Tiger fans can expect to see on a consistent basis. They were state qualifiers last season at 113 and 126 pounds, respectively.
Maddex Kuckenmeister-Jones and Spencer Roussel are two other names to watch in the 138- and 144-pound weight classes. Roussel will join Zinn and Highfill as team captain.
“Maddex has put in a lot of time in the offseason and has had some pretty stellar matches recently,” said Fair.
Upperclassmen are competing for varsity spots in the higher weight classes as Fair said he has four members of the team vying at 190 pounds.
Dalton Nixon, Caden Martin and Emmanuel Bennett are all looking to solidify their spot on the varsity roster, but may get looks in another weight class if necessary.
At 215, Raiden Barnes wrestled the two dual matches Wednesday, going 1-1 with a pin.
“We seem to matriculate juniors and seniors who have never wrestled before. (Caden) Martin just started wrestling last year, was a state qualifier and is now trying to find his spot in the lineup as a senior,” said Fair.
Freshman River Klein was in the varsity lineup at 113 pounds Wednesday.
“She pounds out some wins. I like her in that situation. When we go to state, I’d rather her go the girls route, but given the opportunity to fill a hole in duals she’s going to do so,” said Fair.
There will be seven other Tiger girls wrestlers this season. However, half of the girls team was unable to go Wednesday because of injury or illness.
Ella Kavanagh – a second place finisher at the girls state tournament last season – didn’t wrestle Wednesday.
Jasmine Tamondong, with two years on varsity, is back for her junior season.
“Those girls have put in a lot of work in the offseason. When they are in the room, very dominating,” said Fair. “I do see Douglas dominating some of those weight classes.”
The Tigers have a freshmen class that has several wrestlers who have grown up in the sport.
“They’ve got some seasoning on them more than they used too. (We are) immersing them into the culture of Douglas High School wrestling,” said Fair.
LEAGUE EXPECTATIONS
The Class 5A North runs through Spanish Springs until someone can knock off the reigning regional champs.
McQueen is another program that always fields a tough lineup.
“It’s an uphill road with McQueen and Spanish Springs because we know what they bring to the table,” said Fair. “Our No. 1 goal, just like every year, is to beat Carson.”
Douglas will be on the road for essentially the next month with tournaments in Winnemucca, Reno and Idaho.
(Douglas High senior Raiden Barnes works his way toward a pin in his 215-pound match against Reed on Wednesday. Barnes, a senior, was 1-1 in his two league dual matches. / Carter Eckl)