“We’ve got a lot of work to do.”
Those were the sentiments of Malcolm wrestling coach Matt Coufal following a Dec. 29 triangular in which the Clippers won just four of 15 matches against Johnson County Central and Lincoln Christian.
In the opener against Johnson County Central, the Thunderbirds gained the early edge when Joel Chavez needed just 31 seconds to pin Malcolm’s Tylor Shriner in the 170-pound match.
The Clippers’ only two wins of the dual came when Josh Stewart pinned Cameron Lowther midway through the first period of the 182-pound match. Cody Barton earned a 10-0 major decision over Logan Topp at 120 pounds.
The most exciting match of the morning was at 132 pounds as Malcolm’s Zane Zoucha and JCC’s Levi Boardman traded the lead three times before Boardman got the Malcolm senior on his back for the pin with eight seconds remaining in the match.
“Zane quit moving and got out of position,” Coufal said. “When someone gets caught like that, it’s usually because they quit moving and their opponent kept wrestling. That’s what got him beat. You have to keep moving and improving.”
The Thunderbirds out dueled the Clippers, 54-16.
Barton opened the dual against Lincoln Christian with a second period pin of Karter Gabriel. The freshman was Malcolm’s only double-winner of the day.
“Cody does some good things on the mat,” Coufal said. “We just need to get him used to high school wrestling. It’s a lot different than junior high. He wants to be good. He asks a lot of questions and works to get better.”
Zoucha came back in the second dual to get a pin over Christian’s Dominick Roth.
The dual finished with five consecutive Lincoln Christian pins as the Cruaders won 42-18.
The Clippers return to the mat Friday, Jan. 6, for a home dual with Class C powerhouse, Broken Bow. The Indians are 2-0 this season in duals and have won all four tournaments in which they’ve competed.
Malcolm will host an 18-team tournament on Saturday, Jan. 7.
“Overall, we have a pretty inexperienced team this year,” Coufal said. “You get better by showing up everyday to work hard, learning from what went wrong the last time and taking a step to change it the next time. That’s what we hope to see in the coming weeks.”
