The Reeths-Puffer wrestling team displayed a lot of determination on Saturday at the Hartland Team Duals tournament at Hartland High School.
The Rockets posted a 4-1 record against five good teams, and came from behind to capture three of their victories.
R-P downed Plainwell 38-37 in the most exciting match. The Rockets trailed 31-23 at one point, got a pin from Andrew Corradin to narrow the score to 31-29, then lost a match to make it 37-29.
Devin Welch got a victory by decision to pull the Rockets within five points, 37-32, then Troy Swingley got a pin in the final bout to nail down the one-point victory.
Landon Learn: 5-0, 4 pins in the tournament.
The Rockets downed Troy Athens 46-33 in a match that was very close until the final three bouts. R-P trailed 33-28 before Swingley, Braxton VanHohenstein and Landon Learn pinned their opponents to earn 18 points and steal the victory for the Rockets.
R-P defeated Flushing 39-34, despite trailing 25-0 after the first five bouts. The Rockets rallied by winning seven of the last nine bouts, including five by pin.
The Rockets also defeated the Hartland B team 44-30, before falling to the state-ranked Hartland A squad 66-11.
Learn had the best day for R-P, posting a 5-0 record with four pins. Travis Henderson was 4-1 with one pin, while Swingley, Corradin and Hunter Eek all went 3-2 with three pins.
Travis Henderson: 4-1 record on the day.
"Landon wrestled really well," said R-P head coach Brad Cowles. "He showed a lot of technique and grit. Troy showed up and started looking like a whole new wrestler. He showed a lot of fight. Travis wrestled with a lot of speed and athleticism. His only loss came to Plainwell and the No. 1 kid in the state."
The tournament was a nice bounce-back for the Rockets after a disappointing loss to Greenville earlier in the week.
“The boys wrestled hard all day, winning several close matches and competing with toughness from start to finish,” Cowles said. “They showed grit, resilience, and growth throughout the tournament.”