Style points aside, Harrell, Jackson ease past Sikeston

JACKSON, Mo. -- With the SEMO Conference meet on Saturday, Jackson wrestling coach Steve Wachter wanted an aggressive approach in his team's dual meet with Sikeston on Thursday.

His inside linebacker -- a.k.a. 215-pounder -- was more than happy to deliver with a WWF performance.

In the roughhouse match of the evening, senior Seth Harrell rebounded from his first loss of the season, part of a 55-14 victory posted by the Indians.

"Seth is very aggressive," Wachter said, chuckling. "You don't become an all-state inside linebacker and not be very aggressive. Seth hates to lose and he wrestles hard to get his wins, and he wrestled hard tonight."

Harrell improved to 19-1, picking up a technical foul along the way for unnecessary roughness when he slammed his opponent, Stuart Carroway, to the mat out of bounds. Earlier in the match, Carroway picked up a technical when he slapped Harrell in the face.

While he didn't pick up style points, Harrell was more than happy to wash away the taste of defeat suffered Saturday in the St. Charles West Tournament. He saw his unbeatable aura vanish in the 215-pound championship match and was eager to restore some confidence.

"No one likes to lose in any situation," Harrell said. "You got a lot of things going for you -- you're unbeaten and it's your senior year -- and you lose. It kind of brings you down a little bit."

The rest of the Indians did a good job building steam for Saturday's difficult meet, which will include powerhouses Ste. Genevieve and Farmington. Against Sikeston (4-3), Jackson won 11 of the 14 matches, including three pins and a forfeit in improving to 6-1 in duals.

Jackson sophomore Brock Howard pinned Cody Ryan in the 112-pound match to improve to 26-1. Freshman Cody Rouse improved to 22-6 with a pin in 130, and Austin Buck, trailing 0-8 at one point, pinned Cody Weeks late in the second period of their 135 match.

Senior James Love was impressive in a technical fall over Tony Reynolds. Adhering to his coach's request for aggressive wrestling, Love, who improved to 13-2, repeatedly took down Reynolds with leg shoots, releasing him each time.

"I wanted to pin him," said Love. "Coach didn't want me to. He wants me to work more on my feet and be ready for state. He wanted us to come out and wrestle good tonight and get ready for conference."

jbreer@semissourian.com

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