Rangers fall to Wildcats

Pinned — Mario Lupercio holds Custer wrestler Cody Schlehter for a pin in the 195 pound match. Lupercio won the match 2-0. [PN Photo/CARRIE MOORE]

By Carrie Moore

In a great night of wrestling, the Custer Wildcats edged out the Hill City Rangers with a score of 47-33.
“I thought our guys wrestled very well,” coach Chad Ronish said. “As a team, it may be the best we have wrestled all year, which is to be expected with the Hill City-Custer rivalry.”
Corbin Goodsell (106 pounds) won his match against Micah Grace with a 6-2 score, Dominick Schooler (113) won in a 10-2 match against Miles Kirk, Marshall Swanson (120) won 4-0 against Chasen Cole, Gage Houdek (152) won 12-8 against Casey Seidler, Mario Lupercio (195) won 2-0 against Cody Schlehter and Daniel Flores won 2-0 in a heavyweight match against Tabin Elmore.
Had Custer not have received three bys due to an open weight category, the Rangers could have easily taken home the win.
“Our strength is in our lower weights, but by the time we get to mid-pack, Custer's strength and experience really shows,” Ronish said. “There were some good close matches which is always fun in a dual.”
Ronish said the team still has a lot to work on, but getting the kids on the mat in competition is the number one goal to gain valuable experience before the district tournament next month.