Mustangs take to the mat

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Sports

January 16, 2016 - 12:00 AM

The Iola High wrestling team held its first and only home match of the year when it hosted Labette County and Erie on Thursday night.
Although the Mustangs lost 47-24 to the Grizzlies and 30-18 to the Erie Red Devils — mostly due to the fact that Iola has just five active wrestlers — coach Jason Bates said he was well pleased with the individual performances.
In the eight individual matches Iola competed in Thursday, the Mustangs earned five victories.
“We wrestled well,” Bates said. “They all wrestled hard so I’m proud of them.”
With the season just about at the halfway mark, Bates added that he has seen tremendous progress from where the Mustangs were at the start of the year. And Thursday night’s match only helped give the team more experience and some much needed practice as well.
“Most of us are in great condition,” he said. “The four returners know what it takes and they’ve done a great job. They’re really conditioned and can take those guys in the third period and just outwork them.”
As for the freshmen, Bates said that they’re still in the learning process because they’re getting to know the sport for the first time. But he added that “they’re starting to come around.”
Iola will once again take to the mats Tuesday when it travels to Columbus as part of a three-team match that includes Columbus and Fort Scott.

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