The Sharks dominated at their first conference dual against Michigan Lutheran Seminary and Standish Sterling Central Wednesday, January 5.

The dual got off to a slow start.  In addition, to the slow ride to MLS through blizzard conditions, the referee was delayed in the extreme weather causing the meet to start an additional two hours later. However, this did make an opportunity for several of the junior varsity team members to get some exhibition matches in before the official meet started. Exhibition winners on the night were: Aaron Bowerman, Justin Rodriguez, Cody Ireland, Udter Tweh, and Dylan Downs.

Once the referee finally arrived, the Sharks began another long bout of waiting. Due to the fact that MLS and SSC were scheduled to wrestle each other first, the Sharks would have to wait until those teams went through their entire line-up before beginning to wrestle their own varsity matches. Once the Sharks made it to the mat, they were unstoppable. In the words of Junior Dylan Marr, “Once the team started to get some action on the mat, we got going, the momentum built, and we wrestled well.” 

This being said, winning this dual meet was not an easy task nor one of little importance. In order for the Sharks to win their conference, they must go undefeated in their dual meets throughout the year. As team captain, Braden Ball stated, “Standish is one of the strongest teams in our conference, and we could not make mistakes on the mat, or we’d be paying for them in losses.” The final scores for the night were 69-12 and 48-21 both in St. Louis’s favor. Two-match-winners for the night were Colin Kuhn, Nato Soto, Nate March, Martine Wiggins, Conner Daniels, Justice Onstott, and Braden Ball. The Sharks wrestle again Saturday, Jan. 8, in the 50th annual Bob Threloff Memorial Tournament.