Patriot girls dominate season opener with pair of victories

DENVER — The Patriots saw two opponents on Thursday.

Through the two duels, only 13 matches were wrestled, none of which went the full three periods. The Patriots only dropped two of those matches, resulting in a pair of opening-day clobberings.

Jay County High School girls wrestling team won 11-of-13 matches to take down the host North Miami Warriors 65-12 and Peru Tigers 66-12 on the first day of the season Thursday.

The only match to not end in a pin was the 100-pound contest between Katie Rowles and North Miami’s Addy Thomas. Still, Rowles dominated Thomas for a 17-2 technical fall in 1 minute, 23 seconds.

Jay County (2-0) picked up four more wins against the Warriors while only dropping the 125 weight class as Lindsay Pugh pinned Allison Tipton in 46 seconds. Tatianna Willis (110) took down Ella Myers 12 seconds into the second period to triumph in her only match of the day.

Brenna Ruble (115) and Madison Gage (155) both notched their first wins of the day. Ruble got the pin on Lilly Quinn with five seconds remaining in the first period, while Gage put Aricyn Hunt’s back on the mat in 1:49.

(All other points came from forfeits as the Patriots claimed points in the 120, 135, 140, 145, 170, 190 and 235 weight classes, while NMHS got the 105.)

Ruble and Gage also picked up wins in the duel against Peru. The former beat Chloe Swihart by pin in 1:49, while the latter needed 3:45 to put Olivia Brown on her back.

Tipton got a shot at redemption following the early loss and took advantage. She pinned Marisa Roush at the 45-second mark of the first period.

Maleah Parsons (145), Mallory Winner (170), Amara Crawford (190) and Rayan Murphy (235) all picked up wins via pin as well. Crawford, a freshman, picked up her first win in only 17 seconds against Victoria Atkinson. Winner also beat Atkinson, taking her down in 54 seconds.

Murphy also picked up her first varsity win, pinning Alyvia Guyer in just 16 seconds. Parsons beat Viola Putnam by fall as well.

Jay County’s only loss against the Tigers came in the 120-pound weight class as Ariana Moore pinned Sophie Thomas in 2:33. PHS also got points from a forfeit at 130.

The rest of the JCHS points came from forfeits in the 100, 110, 135 and 140 weight classes.