CMB grapplers split double dual in home opener

MAXWELL — Collins-Maxwell/Baxter wrestling coach Mike Leslie saw some good things from his Raider squad Thursday night.

But there are still plenty of things to clean up.

The Raiders began the double dual by doubling up on a Greene County squad with only five wrestlers in its lineup, and then won just three matches against a talented Gilbert squad.

Freshman Caleb Fullerton and senior Charles Robertson went 2-0 on the night as CMB defeated the Rams 42-21 and lost 63-16 to Gilbert.

Gilbert went 2-0, defeating the Rams 63-15.

When the night ended, Leslie wasn’t too concerned about wins and losses. He cared more about what needs to be fixed.

“I learned that there are still some bad habits that we need to fix,” Leslie said. “The rest of it is simple things. The little things will make a big difference.”

Fullerton didn’t have much trouble in his two matches. The freshman is 4-1 on the year after winning both of his bouts with a first-period pin.

“I think last weekend helped. He got his feet wet at the varsity level. He knew what to expect tonight,” Leslie said. “I expected some good things out of him but didn’t want to get my hopes up yet. He has been to AAU state and been in some big matches. I am happy with what I am seeing, but we weren’t quite sure what we would get this early. It’s definitely something we can build off of.”

In the first dual of the night, Greene County gave up five forfeits. There were three double forfeits. CMB gave up a six-point forfeit at 170.

The Raiders went 2-3 in contested matches. Besides Fullerton’s pin at 132, Lane Howes won his match by fall at 138. Forfeit wins were collected by Robertson (220), Archer McFadden (285), Frank Sposeto (126), Noah Rhoades (145) and Ethan Cozad (152).

Greene County won two of its three contested matches by falls. The other one was a 3-0 win for Isaiah Yoder over Evan Bianchi.

In the final dual of the night, Gilbert jumped out to an early lead with forfeit wins in the opening three matches.

The Raiders’ only win in the first eight matches was Fullerton’s first-period pin of Garrison Holck.

Evan Bianchi got another pin at 160. That victory over Russell Jennett lasted only 48 seconds.

Leslie said he was impressed with Cozad despite his loss at 152.

“He was the only guy who got a takedown he initiated in that final dual. It’s good to see him being aggressive,” Leslie said. “There are still things to clean up, but it was a good match for him.”

Robertson’s win at 220 was an 11-3 major decision over Christian Harder.

Robertson is 4-0 on the year, but he needs to be put himself in better position, according to Leslie.

“He got tired again. We will continue to work on that,” Leslie said. “He has good hips and is strong though. He is fun to watch, but it’s stressful. He pulls out a lot of wins that he was in bad position on. The credit goes to him for pulling them out, but he gets my blood pressure going.”

CMB returns to the mats Saturday when it heads to the West Central Valley tourney.