In order for the Battle Ground Tigers to win the rivalry dual meet 44-33 versus the Prairie Falcons on Wednesday, Dec. 11, 285-pound Tiger wrestler Matthew Witthauer defeated Prairie’s Nicholas Merritt by technical fall in the second round.
The Tigers started the meet with a quick first-round pin by 113-pound Clyde Cass over Prairie’s Gavin Cort, but then the Falcons secured four wins in a row.
Tigers head coach Jake Motzkus said the string of losses hurt his mindset in the meet.
“My mind wasn’t in a great place,” he said. “I was starting to doubt a little bit because I thought we’d get a win in there somewhere or keep the team score lower.”
After three pins and a technical fall going against Battle Ground, the Tigers faced a steep deficit but followed up with three wins in a row through the 144-, 150- and 157-pound weight classes. Motzkus’ son, Zackery, wrestling at 144 pounds, secured a second-round pin after a 10-1 first-round score.
For Jake Motzkus, watching his son wrestle while coaching him hasn’t been too much of a challenge.
“I have to separate myself from his results. Ultimately, his wrestling is his wrestling,” Jake Motzkus said. “I help him as much as I can, and we have a great relationship, you know.
We’re able to separate father and coach roles. Usually it doesn’t bleed over, but if I know it’s going to be close or a tough match, I’m more anxious.”
Kane Hayslip, previously 165-pound wrestler for the Tigers, surprised Jake Motzkus with his dominating performance at 175 pounds. Hayslip secured a second-round pin over Prairie’s Christian Dealy after an 11-2 first round.
“There were some surprises, and one of those surprises was Kane Hayslip,” Motzkus said. “We had to bump him up a weight class to 175. For some reason we have a gap at 175. So he weighed in as a [1]65-pounder and then got the pin. The kid was tough. He beat one of our kids last year that is also tough. I had no idea that was going to happen.”
Down to the last two matches, the Tigers’ 215-pound wrestler, Emet Ordway, surprised his coach with his wrestling style. Ordway won 13-1 over Prairie’s Will Holt.
“I didn’t know how the Ordway match was going to go, and it was kind of neat to see him riding legs,” Motzkus said. “He doesn’t have the typical body to be a leg rider, but he’s committed to it, and he’s finding success with it. So, I’m going to embrace it and help him get better there.”
Then it came down to the 285-pound matchup between Witthauer and Merritt. Witthauer, a little under the weather, thrilled Motzkus with his performance, securing a 19-4 tech fall to secure the Tigers’ team win, 38-33. The dual finished with a forfeit win for Jack Bowdish at 106 pounds to extend the meet victory to 44-38.
“I could tell he wasn’t 100 percent, but he got the win, a big win,” Motzkus said of Witthauer.
Prairie head coach Rob Smith is pleased with the team he has this year.
“We wrestled good. We didn’t wrestle great,” he said. “We have some work to do, and they know it. I know it. They’re a great group of kids. They work their butts off, and they’ll accept the challenge, and they’ll come back and fight another day.”
The Falcons next travel to Mountain View High School for a dual meet starting at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 18. The Tigers’ next dual meet won’t be until the new year. Both the Tigers and Falcons will compete in the Pac Coast Tournament, beginning at 9 a.m. Friday, Dec. 27, and 9 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 28, at the Clark County Event Center, 7200 NE Delfel Road, Ridgefield.
