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Competition update
FRESHMAN PRIORY TOURNAMENT - Jan. 30
David Craft 1st, Patrick McVey 1st, Nick Mataya 2nd, Adam Dore 2nd, Chris Cosmos 3rd, Patrick McDonald 3rd.
MCC TOURNAMENT - Jan 28
JV placed 3rd and freshmen 2nd. The following freshmen placed in the tournament: David Craft 1st, Danny Plogger 1st, Adam Dore 1st, Patrick McVey 2nd, Jeff Owens 2nd, Liam Studdard 2nd, Cody Sturgill 2nd, Clayton Roth 3rd, Chris Cosmos 3rd, Mason McGavok 3rd .
Following JV players: Connor Borisenko 1st, Mason Brobeck 1st, Michael Mataya 1st, Matt Mueller 1st, Ryan Rasnic 2nd, Zach Medcalf 2nd, Kyle Bennett 3rd, John McCartney 3rd.
JV QUAD - Jan. 26
The following JV players placed: Nick Mataya 1st, Jeff Owens 1st, Andrew Hoffman 1st, Michael Mataya 1st, Matt Mueller 1st, Connor Borisenko 1st, Mason McGavock 2nd and John McCartney 3rd.
Fine performances at Francis Howell Tourney
The Griffins turned in some outstanding wrestling performances at the Francis Howell tournament Jan. 21. The Griffins wrestled tough enough to go 3-0, winning their pool as a team, with victories over Pattonville, Rolla and Fort Zumwalt East. With the team title in hand and confidence high Andy Dytuco, Mark Smith and Ben Dudley won their individual championships. Andrew Hoffmann, Tom Drazen and Jacob Kurt placed 2nd; Rob Bieg and Greg Eilerman placed 3rd; Zach Medcalf 5th and Tim Harvatin 6th.
Grapplers go pink for "Take Down for Cancer"
On Jan. 18, the Griffins will host their first "Take Down for Cancer" match and fundraiser as they take on the Christian Brothers College High School Cadets. The match begins at 6 p.m. Proceeds from concessions and t-shirt sales benefit Hope Lodge, a facility that provides housing for out-of-town cancer patients receiving care at St. Louis hospitals.
Griffins roll over De Smet
The Griffins earned resounding victories over MCC rival De Smet Jan. 11. The night started off with the freshmen crushing the freshmen squad 48-6. The JV Spartans tried to keep it close, but the JV Griffins pulled ahead and gained a 24-19 victory. The varsity Griffins then finished the night with a 63-17 win, completing the sweep. Next up: varsity competes Jan. 13 and 14 in the St. Charles West Tournament.
Seniors shine as Griffins grab 2nd place at tourney
Seniors Ben Dudley, Greg Eilerman and Mark Smith were first-place finishers at the Vianney Wrestling Tournament Jan. 6-7. Fellow seniors Rob Bieg, Tom Drazen, Andy Dytuco and Alex Reinbold grabbed second place finishes.Two sophomores, Kyle Benette and Andrew Hoffmann, took fourth and second respectively to help propel the varsity squad to the runner-up title.
On the JV side, Mike Mataya placed second and Clay Burner finished fourth.
Freshmen, JV grapplers tie up with Jr. Bills
Both the freshmen and JV wrestling squads tied the St. Louis University High Jr. Bills 36-36 on Dec. 13 at SLUH. Freshmen Dan Plogger, David Craft, Chris Cosmas, Liam Studdard, Clayton Roth, and Adam Dore all had wins. JV winners included Mason Brobeck, John McCartney, Zach Medcalf, Alex Reyes, Matt Muller, Mike Mataya and Ryan Rasnic.
Parkway South Invitational
Against tough competition from top area schools, the Griffins went 2-3 and finished sixth as a team.
Eight varsity grapplers were able to place: Greg Eilerman – 2nd, Tom Drazen – 3rd, Ben Dudley – 4th, Mark Smith – 5th, Alex Reinbold – 5th, Pete Spradlin – 5th, Andy Dytuco – 6th and Andrew Hoffmann – 6th.
The JV team performed well, with three Griffins placing: Casey Rapp took and Jacob Kurt each had 2nd and Mason Brobeck took 6th.
Season Preview
The 2011-12 wrestling season looks very promising as the team returns eight seniors, two state qualifiers and five starters from last year’s MCC championship team.
The team is led by senior state qualifiers Mark Smith (138 lbs) and Andy Dytuco (120 lbs). Mark has been wrestling at the varsity level for three years, with last year being his break out year. He had an impressive 31-12 record with a second-place finish at district. Andy has been on varsity for three years; last year he earned a third-place finish at district.
Other key competitors in this year’s lineup include senior Greg Eilermann (220 lbs) who missed his entire sophomore season because of injuries. Greg came back his junior year and was one match away from going to state. Three-time letterman Ben Dudley (285 lbs) and Robert Bieg (152 lbs) both had strong junior seasons; Alex Reinbold (170 lbs) and Tom Drazen (182 lbs) are new in the varsity lineup. Both had outstanding seasons last year.
The Griffins can also expect strong results from Pete Spradlin (195 lbs), Casey Rapp (132 lbs), Joe Somogye (160 lbs), Michael Valenti (126 lbs), Tim Harvatin (145 lbs) and Andrew Hoffmann (113 lbs).
The team looks forward to the guidance of two new coaches, Andy Bader and Drew Opfer.
