Published: December 07, 2005 12:07 am         

Freshman gets pin in home debut

By Bruce Campbell

Staff Writer



Brayden Daniels' mohawk hair might symbolize his warrior mentality.

The Enid freshman 140-pounder showed that mentality in being one of the few bright spots in a 47-18 loss to Blackwell in a wrestling dual at Emerson Junior High School Tuesday.

Daniels pinned Paul Vance in 58 seconds in his home varsity debut.

Senior 152-pounder Trey Wheeler had Enid's other fall, flattening Ian Kope in 5:45. Enid's two other wins came at 215, where Shane Perosi outlasted Bryce Brown, 5-2, and at heavyweight, where Justin Glenn beat Skyler Brown, 10-8.

Daniels hit a fireman's carry perfectly to put Vance on his back for the fall and Enid's first win of the night.

"The pressure was pretty good,'' Daniels said. "Nobody had won yet so I wanted to put some points on the board. I go for the pin when I have a chance."'

"Brayden Daniels definitely had a good match,'' said Enid coach Shane Kerr. "Getting a fall in the first period is real nice. He wrestled real hard and real aggressive. He has a lot of confidence in himself."'

Wheeler built a 17-3 lead before pinning Kope on the strength of four takedowns and three 3-point near falls.

"This is the year I've been waiting for,'' he said. "I'm shooting to go to the state tournament for sure.

"I'm having more fun. I'm getting out there and doing my moves."'

Perosi rallied from an early 2-0 deficit to win on the strength of a takedown, two escapes and a penalty point.

Glenn, who was third at 215 last season, had four takedowns and a reversal against Brown. Most of Brown's points came on escapes after Glenn let him up. He made the match close on a takedown with 19 seconds left.

Blackwell had three falls -- Joe Ewes at 119, Andrew Ward at 145 and Jacob Syler at 171. Trenton Bleh had a technical fall at 189.

The closest match of the evening was Cody Sadowske's 11-10 win over T.L. Layne at 125. Sadowske sealed the match with a takedown with 22 seconds left.

Kerr said it was a learning experience for his team.

"We have a lot of things to work on,'' he said.

"They were real physical and most of our kids didn't know what to do with it. They were getting in our face, swinging hard elbows. That's why the score was 47-18."'

The Plainsmen will be going to the Union Tournament Dec. 9-10.

Blackwell won the junior high match 49-21. Enid got falls from Hayden Houska at 78, Tyler Barnes at 112 and Brice Benge at 118.