Batavia makes statement
Tom Arlis had a simple message for the Batavia wrestling team as the squad prepared for its never-lacking-for-emotion rivalry dual meet against Geneva.
"We were trying to come in here and make a statement in the conference," said Arlis.
The Bulldogs seized control of the Western Sun Conference meet with an unanswered burst of 24 points early and never let off the gas pedal in downing the Vikings 45-19 Thursday night in Geneva.
Four of the last five matches ended prematurely, and the Bulldogs' dominance on the night was reflected in its 3-1 plurality in pins over the closing span.
Geneva (4-5, 1-1) had crept within respectability after Sean Canfield pulled out a 3-2 squeaker at 103 pounds, but Logan Arlis answered back swiftly for the Bulldogs.
Batavia (6-5, 2-0) seized the initiative for a match-clinching run as Arlis began the final assault with a second-period fall at 112 pounds.
On the other hand, Charlie Ryan must have had a hot date.
The Batavia junior caught his Geneva rival seconds into the match in a vulnerable spot and executed a 37-second fall with a Cisco maneuver.
"It's really a last-resort move," explained Ryan. "I keep it in my back pocket. It's one of the first moves I ever learned."
The Ryan move trebled the Bulldogs' lead to 39-13 with only two matches remaining; however, freshman Nick Bradberry gave the Vikings a small measure of solace when he promptly ended his free-for-all match with Ryan Colby five seconds before the second-period horn.
Bradberry counteracted a Colby reversal with one of his own to set up the clinching fall.
"I just didn't give up," said Bradberry. "I kept telling myself that I wasn't going to lose."
With the final score the only remaining element of suspense, Batavia three-year starter Rocco Wade delivered the final blow for the Bulldogs: a fall at 135 pounds 12 seconds into the second period.
"I already knew I could beat him," said Wade. "I (thought I) had him pinned in the first period; I guess the ref didn't think so."
The flurry of truncated matches to close out the festivities was a far cry from how the meet began.
The Vikings' Mike Semmens and Tom Sandman secured tactical victories at 140 and 145 pounds, respectively, to jump-start the Geneva prospects.
But the Vikings' two-match lead was nullified in the next encounter when Batavia first-year-varsity sensation Andrew Rudd had his ninth pin of the year at 152 pounds to even the team score at 6-6.
Danny Watson, Louis Compos, Matt McCarter and Ethan Huggins extended the run to 24 straight with wins between 160 and 215 pounds for Batavia.
The Vikings' heavyweight, sophomore man-child Frank Boenzi, ended the Geneva drought, only to see Batavia resume its inexorable push in the lower weights.
"Batavia, I feel, is a top-caliber team," said Geneva coach Tom Chernich. "I felt pretty good about the way we battled."