Tanner Kyllo and Ben Flesner won a pair of matches Thursday at Fort Calhoun High School, but the Arlington boys wrestling team went 0-2 in duals against Ralston and the host Pioneers.
Flesner's first pin of the night tied the first matchup at 29-all, but the Rams won four-straight contested matches to eventually win, 56-23.
Then, against FCHS, coach Doug Hart's Eagles pulled within 27-19 when Stokely Lewis pinned Beau Ruma at 175 pounds, but eight points was as close as the road team would get. It lost, 48-25.
Kyllo, though, stood out with his two wins at 150 pounds, securing a first-period pin in the opener against a Ralston wrestler before claiming a tight, 9-8 decision victory against Calhoun's Fred Altstadt. The AHS student-athlete said he took a new approach Thursday after starting matches a little too fast and furious during the first tournament of the season the week before.
“I came out and rushed myself and, today, I was like, 'I'm not going to get too fired up. I'm going to stay calm and do what I know I can do,'” Kyllo said.
The approach served him well, but that's not to say he didn't enjoy watching Flesner's second-period pin of the Pioneers' TJ DeMilt. Both 165-pound wrestlers approached the match aggressively, shooting for takedowns and working for fast reversals, ending up in the laps of FCHS wrestlers on the bench multiple times.
Flesner actually trailed the bout 10-3 when he scored an out-of-nowhere reversal and pinned the Calhoun wrestler in short order.
“It was a roller-coaster,” Kyllo said.
The pin got one of the night's largest reactions from the AHS grapplers watching matside.
“My voice is almost kind of gone,” Kyllo explained, cracking a smile. “It's exhilarating. It's so fun to watch.”
Flesner also pinned Ralston's Owen Monroe on Thursday. Rams dropped contested matches to Jake Flesner and Brayden Nath, who earned his teammates' admiration for a third-period pin, too.
Against Fort Calhoun, Eagles Cameron Hancock and Zane Gerrish secured falls as well.
The duals ultimately ended Arlington's competition week once Saturday's tournament at North Bend Central was called off due to icy road conditions. The Eagles next wrestle 7:15 p.m. today at Elkhorn High School.
