By Brady Extin | Daily Reporter
PENDLETON — Just 10 days out from the Hoosier Heritage Conference meet, Mt. Vernon got one final look at a Hoosier Heritage Conference opponent.
The Marauders defeated Pendleton Heights 60-15 Wednesday night at Pendleton Heights High School.
“Pendleton had some of their big guns out of the lineup. I thought we wrestled OK. Our guys knew some of their big guys were out, so it kind of deflated them a bit because they wanted to wrestle those guys,” Mt. Vernon head coach Randal Hayes said. “Overall, they wrestled pretty hard, though. We were coming off of a tough week at the Al Smith invite, so they were still kind of recovering from that a bit. Overall, I was happy with their performance.”
Pendleton Heights was without three of its top wrestlers due to injuries sustained at the North Montgomery Tournament the past weekend — Jack Todd at 145 pounds, Jaylen Covington at 152 pounds, and Jameson Walford at 170 pounds.
“Those are some of our best kids. We had four guys out, and three of them are all older, more experienced guys,” Pendleton Heights head coach Dave Cloud said. “Mt. Vernon has an excellent team though, so I don’t think it would have changed the match, but it would have been a lot closer.”
The Marauders took home the win, but Hayes and the team would’ve liked to have had one more look at some of the top guys they may run into next weekend.
“Absolutely, win or lose, we would love to get a look at those guys, so we know what we’re dealing with before the conference, so it definitely has an effect,” Hayes said.
Seven Mt. Vernon wins by fall fueled the way to the 45-point win, beginning with Aiden Kiner at 145 pounds.
Shawn Taylor (160), Jake Mellentine (220), Ty Barnhart (106), Conner Bayliss (113), Eli Broady (120), and Tristan Trevino (138) all followed Kiner with pins of their own.
The Marauders also got wins from Elijah Kiner (152) by major decision, Russell Weaver (195) by technical fall, Devin Kendrex (285) by decision, and Vanden Vail (170) by forfeit.
“You get better by wrestling good people,” Cloud said. “Randal runs an outstanding program down there, he’s a great coach, and he’s got good assistants and kids. They’ve got a lot of seniors, and they’re just a good team, and should be one of the top teams at conference.”
In a 54-6 match, the Arabians took two of the final three contests.
Max Bowers defeated Carson Hill (126) by fall, and Alex Heineman defeated Caelan Alford (132) by decision.
“Some of our younger guys filled in and learned what aggressive means,” Cloud said. “You think you’re being aggressive, but then you get someone that’s totally moving you around like they do. That’s college-style wrestling, and Mt. Vernon just really impressed me.”
The Marauders will compete in the Jennings County Super Six on Saturday, and then face North Central on Wednesday, Jan. 11 in their final two competitions before the HHC meet on Saturday, Jan. 14.
“The conference this year is probably the best it’s been in a decade,” Hayes said. “This is a loaded, loaded conference, but I think we’re ready. We’ve wrestled an extremely difficult schedule to get ready. We’re looking forward to the challenge for sure.”
