All Good Things Must End: Triad Wrestling Conference Title Streak Ends At 14
By Anthony Jones
sports.times.tribune@gmail.com
Death, taxes, and Triad wrestling winning the Mississippi Valley Conference meet have been three certainties in life for the better half of the twenty first century. Unfortunately the best of those three guarantees was crossed off the list last Saturday.
The wrestling Knights entered the meet having won 14 consecutive conference titles. February 27,2007 was the last time Triad had not won the meet, which was prior to many high school freshmen being born. Their amazing streak also stretched across four different U.S. Presidents.
Civic Memorial, who was ranked thirteenth in Class 2A, played spoiler to Triad. Ben Baumgartner, Chase Hall, Aidan Postma, and Jordan Clines all brought home wins against the Eagles, but it wasn’t enough as the team lost 51-18.
After losing their first bout of the day, Triad righted the ship and did not find themselves anywhere near losing to take home second place. Their closest call for the grapplers the rest of the way was a 54-21 victory over Waterloo.
Going up against the MVC’s other Bulldogs, Highland, Triad marched to a 63-18 win. The Knights also won 70-12 over Jersey and 63-17 over Mascoutah.
Four different Knights wrestled their way to first team conference placements. This list included Ben Baumgartner(126), Chase Hall(138), Aidan Postma(145), and Jordan Clines(195).
A trio of grapplers also finished with second team bids. Alex Milam and Braden Carlson both brought home bids in the 106 and 160 pound divisions, respectively. In the 285 division, Matthew Hobbs also finished with second team honors.
The honors didn’t stop there for Triad, as three more wrestlers finished with honorable mentions. Dylan McCain(113) and Jackson Hampton(152) led that charge on the lower end of the weight classes, while Nate Engler earned his spot at 220 pounds.
