Their junior varsity and younger wrestlers stayed local to compete for the Northern Kentucky Athletic Conference title Dec. 18 at Conner.
Ryle finished second in that meet to qualify for the Kentucky state duals competition in January, which is a key measuring stick for the overall state meet in February.
"Everybody contributed. Everybody got matches and we substituted a lot," said assistant coach Rick Barker, who led the Raiders in the meet. "We had to dig a little deeper this year. We brought seven junior high wrestlers. That really helps when you have two teams who can compete."
Ryle finished second to Campbell County in the team standings. Campbell, which had its full varsity lineup competing, won 63-18 in a head-to-head matchup. The tourney format started with 11 teams split into three pools facing each other.
A pair of 103-pounders led the way for Ryle. Jacob Erdman and Cody Haynes were undefeated, with all the wins by pin or forfeit. Jon Belk lost once at 119 and Lee Craven was 2-0 at 119.
Haynes, Belk and Craven were all conference champs at the NKAC JV meet a week earlier. Ryle won the team championship there.
In the varsity meet, Ryle edged Cooper 42-39 in pool play, and routed Dixie Heights and Cooper.
At the Southwest Ohio meet, T.J. Ruschell was second place at 119, losing to a Moeller wrestler in the championship match, 9-1. He had three pins and a technical fall in the tournament.
Connor Coyle was third at 160, and Court Mace fifth at 171. Cory Buckler was eighth at 215.
Ryle will test itself in another major Ohio meet Dec. 28-29 in Vandalia, a suburb of Dayton.
To read the entire article: Ryle fares well in split-squad action
Posts
