The Rainier High School wrestling team’s seniors took their home mat for the final time on Thursday, Jan. 18 and prevailed over Rochester, 42-30.
It was an emotional night for Rainier’s seniors, including the four boys who wrestled. But the night was particularly special for Ryder Cruse, who had endured an injury that kept him from wrestling at the Mat Classic last year.
“I was a little emotional with this being my last time wrestling in front of Rainier, but we have a good community, and I know a lot of people are going to come to our further tournaments,” said Cruse, who defeated Rochester’s Justin Nichols, 9-3, in his final home outing.
Head coach Chris Holterman credited Cruse for his “smart wrestling” against Nichols, a frequent opponent for the senior.
“That’s the third time they’ve wrestled, and they had split the previous two,” Holterman said. “He didn’t get out of position, so it was a good, solid match for him.”
Seniors Matthew Kenney, Rudy Garcia and Damion Green also wrestled for the final time at home. Garcia defeated Logan Brady, 14-7, while Kenney was pinned by Jack Dane. Green wrestled in an exhibition match.
Holterman was proud of the turnout at the Mountaineers’ last home wrestling meet of the season.
“It was cool to see all the fans. We don’t get too many home matches, so that was a really good-sized crowd, and they were into it,” he said.
Sophomore Dorien Cano, who pinned Rochester’s Tyler Monk in 39 seconds, said he will miss wrestling with the seniors. He thanked Cruse for taking him under his wing and for being a role model for him.
“At the same time, I’m happy and I’m sad. I’m happy because they’re moving onto bigger and better things, but I’m sad because I’ll miss wrestling with them,” Cano said. “It was really nice to see Ryder back on the mat, considering that he had his state chances ruined last year because of injuries. It was a heartwarming thing to see.”
Kenney, who has wrestled for most of his life, said he was sad to wrestle on his home mat for the last time, but the Mountaineers have more to accomplish.
“Everyone needs to go hard in practice and not give up,” he said. “If we lose, we have to keep going and not let it discourage us.”
The boys followed the emotional home win with a fifth-place finish at the Jaguar Invitational on Saturday, Jan. 20 while the girls finished fifth at the Lady Viking Invitational on Saturday. Both teams visited Onalaska on Wednesday, Jan. 24, but results were not available before press time. The Mountaineers will close out the regular season at Chief Sealth International High School in Seattle on Friday, Jan. 26 for Relentless VIII.
