The Fruitport wrestling team is expecting to have another successful season, but the Trojans opened up on Wednesday against two very good opposing teams at Zeeland East and came up short.
Fruitport fell to state-ranked Three Rivers 57-17, then lost a tight match to a very good Reeths-Puffer squad 41-36.
While losses are definitely not what the Trojans have in mind, head coach Chad Johnson was happy with the evening.
“It was a great opening night for us, and exactly the kind of challenge we were looking for,” he said. “We want tough competition this season because it pushes us, sharpens us, and prepares us for the postseason. Tonight was a true test, a chance to measure where we are and where we want to go.
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“I’m proud of our guys for stepping on the mat and battling. We saw strengths, we saw areas to improve, and that’s all part of the journey. We’ll take what we learned, iron out the details, and keep moving forward.”
The Trojans had three wrestlers win matches against Three Rivers – Alex Aardema, who won by technical fall at 157 pounds; Adam Marionen, who won by pin at 285 pounds; and Rylan Thorsen, who won by pin at 113 pounds.
Four Trojans posted victories against Reeths-Puffer, all by pin – Colton Smith at 190 pounds, Luke Westerlund at 285, Jeremiah Tyler-Stone at 106 and Zach Aardema at 138.
Fruitport also sent out a B team to compete in a pair of varsity matches at Hudsonville Unity Christian. The second Trojan squad beat Wyoming 48-33, and also beat Unity Christian, even though the final score was 42-42. The tie-breaker favored Fruitport because it had fewer forfeits.
Winners for Fruitport were Ignacio Gonzales (126 pounds), Gideon Marksbury (165), James Wemple (215), Jayden Perry (285) and Bailey Garner (106).
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