By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
It had been three seasons since Hayden's wrestling team had been able to perform in front of its home fans, and the Wildcats took full advantage of that opportunity Wednesday night, sweeping a dual with city rival Topeka West at the Bueltel Activity Center.
Hayden's student section cheers on Wildcat junior 285-pounder Hunter Diederich in Wednesday's home dual against Topeka West. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
"It was huge,'' Hayden coach Jacob Torrez said of the home competition. "Since they saw it on the schedule they've been looking forward to it.
"They were excited, they were pumped and they've put in a ton of work.''
Wednesday's dual drew a big crowd, especially from Hayden students, and Torrez said his Wildcats had been working hard in the days leading into the meet to make sure that happened.
"The kids have been hyping it up,'' Torrez said. "They've been talking to everybody they could, and we've made some announcements here and there, but they've been trying to get as many people as they could to come out and support us.
"They really wanted to show off what they've been working on these last few years in the time they haven't been able to have something here.''
Hayden senior Elaina Wolff (right) battles Topeka West senior Nephtali Lenth in an exhibition match during Wednesday's Hayden-West wrestling dual at Hayden. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Both Hayden and West were extremely short-handed for the girls dual, with the Wildcats taking a 30-6 victory, while the Hayden boys rolled to a 60-0 win over the Chargers.
Wildcat junior 126-pounder Matt Samich opened a string of eight wins by fall for the home team, with freshman Caleb Menke (144), sophomore Jacob Waldy (150), junior Tyler Hopper (157), sophomore Jude Krentz (165), senior Drew Crady (190), junior Broderick Desch (215) and junior Hunter Diederich (285) also pinning their opponents.
"We have a good base for the boys program and we're trying to grow the girls program,'' Torrez said. "We want to generate interest at Hayden, but also for the sport itself.''
