By Robert Whitmire

The SPASH wrestling team improved its Wisconsin Valley Conference record to 2-2 with a 55-23 win over the Merrill Blue Jays Thursday night at the school’s field house.

Merrill drops to 2-3 in the conference.

“Our numbers are the lowest I can ever remember,” said Panther Coach Rob King. “Obviously, I’d like to see those numbers higher, but everyone in our room is busting it every day with no complaining about hard work and sacrifice.”

The Panthers recorded six wins by pin, led by seniors Brady Koontz and Dylan Koontz. Brady Koontz, wrestling at 113 pounds pinned his opponent at the 1:37 mark. Dylan Koontz followed at 120 pounds, winning at the 1:56 mark.

Other Panthers winning by pin were junior Garrett Kvatek (1:52) at 152 pounds; freshman Sam Molski (3:21) at 160 pounds; senior Logan Reed (1:28) at 170 pounds; and senior David Lummis (3:39) at 195 pounds.

Chance Bailey notched an 11-3 win at 132 pounds and Nick Wachowiak pulled out a 4-3 decision at 182 pounds.

Looking at the season to date, King noted the good mix of class-men on the team.

“We do have a good mix of seniors to freshmen on the team,” he said. “Our freshmen and sophomores are going to make a lot of noise before their high school careers are over and the juniors and seniors are doing everything we’re asking of them.”

Individually, King added, the team had “some extremely talented guys that have the potential to win a state championship.”

“Guys are exceeding expectations, but at the same time they need to realize every drill of every practice is going to make them better,” he said. “Our goal is to peak at the end of the season, not early January, and I think we’re on the road to doing that.”

SPASH returns to the mat Saturday, Jan. 14 when it hosts the SPASH Duals at the field house. Wrestling starts at 9 AM.

The Panthers will travel to D.C. Everest Thursday, Jan. 19 to face the Evergreens in a Wisconsin Valley Conference dual at 7:00 PM.