Washington opens season with two wins

CEDAR RAPIDS - Every fire starts with a spark, and Cedar Rapids Washington wrestling coach Matt Hatcher could use last night's performance to ignite some excitement into his program,The Warriors started 2-0 for the first time in Hatcher's nine seasons as their head coach, beating Maquoketa and Marion in a triangular that kicked off the season for Metro teams Thursday night at Washington High School.Washington topped Maquoketa, 39-36, to open the evening and capped it with a 39-37 win over the Indians, who lost to Maquoketa, 44-30. It's a tiny feat that serves a bigger purpose.“It builds excitement in our program,” Hatcher said. “I think it builds excitement within the kids and shows that the work they're starting to put in paid off, so they get a little bit of reward for that.”It's been a long time coming for the Warriors, who had more participation in offseason training than previous years. The early wins show how far Washington has come and could be incentive to keep working and continue the momentum.“We've been working since April 1 to get to this point,” Washington 112-pounder Troy Neagle said. “Now that we're there we need to keep on trying as hard as we can.”The Warriors won four of nine contested matches against Maquoketa, and benefited from three forfeits, which was only one more than they gave to the Cardinals. J.P. Mercado (130), Dixon Griffith (189) and Neagle all had pins and heavyweight Tyler Burrell added an overtime victory.Griffith finished the night with two wins, moving up to 215 against Marion (0-2) and holding on for a key 11-9 decision over Kyle Grandon. Kaiser Herz added a pin at 140 for the Warriors, who received five forfeits.“It's exciting knowing that we have new guys that can help us out in the lineup,” Neagle said. “Half of our guys hadn't had varsity experience before now, and they were the ones that pulled us along and won those two dual meets.”Hatcher was impressed with the Warriors' effort. Even in matches that they lost they prevented additional bonus points to keep Marion from tying and forcing a decision by tiebreak criteria.“You know in wrestling if you're going to fight for six minutes good things are going to happen,” Hatcher said. “Stay in good position, fight as hard as you can and there's going to be an opportunity somewhere along the lines throughout that match. Just fight and take advantage of that when you can.” A little taste of victory can make an athlete hungry for more success. Hatcher will see if that's the case in practice.“We go back to practice tomorrow they'll be a little more heads-up,” Hatcher said. “They're going to be a little more excited, a little more willing to get in practice and pay attention more.”The double-dual featured 20 forfeits in the 42 total matches, leading to six contested matches between Washington and Marion and seven between Marion and Maquoketa. The Warriors and Cardinals wrestled nine of the 14 weights. The situation can be frustrating for coaches and even fans.“Maybe it is for other teams,” said Hatcher, who has dealt with participation levels in the past. “I'm not necessarily worried about that. I'm worried about our guys. I'm worried about the 30 to 35 kids we have out and trying to keep them out and develop those kids.”Levi Lochner was the only Marion wrestler to win two contested matches, scoring two falls. Kaleb Tuetken had a pin and a forfeit and Alex Hunter scored a major decision and forfeit for the Indians.