Kaleb Ream has chosen his direction. Just ask his semifinal opponent at the Eaton Invitational on Saturday. Ream, wrestling at 113 pounds, took three smacks to his face as his opponent tried to make contact to his head. A frustrated Ream kept his composure and eventually won 11-4 to reach the final.
»RELATED: Monday’s high school roundup
»RELATED: Monday’s high school scoreboard
“One more time I felt like I was going to lose it,” Ream said. “I was keeping it together. I was hoping the refs were going to help me out with interference if it kept happening. But it was a good match.
“It’s tough, especially if you’re from a physical background like me. If someone hits me I get mad. It took mind over matter for me to keep control.”
Ream’s toughness and tenacity is a good example for the Braves’ wrestling room, especially this season. The Braves have 13 on the roster but of them eight are either first-year wrestlers or freshmen.
Help is on the way. The middle school roster has 14 and the kids club program has about 30 kids participating. And to help the middle school wrestlers get acclimated to the high school level faster, Miller has them practicing in the same room at the same time with the high schoolers.
Having a roster full of first timers has its challenges. But Miller likes what he sees from his up-and-comers, especially under the guidance of his assistant coaches. Jake Mershon works on their tenacity, drive and never giving up. Evan Storts works beyond the basics and helps them master advanced moves to fit their wrestling style.
“With the assistant coaches that I have this young team is going to be molded,” Miller said. “(And the numbers are) looking positive for us. That’s going to help build the high school team as the years go on. The future looks good.”
As does Ream’s. The 2018 state qualifier improved to 17-6 overall despite his loss in the championship match at Eaton. He plans to wrestle at 106 for the postseason and is about four pounds over. The Braves are taking additional time to get Ream down to 106 so he can also keep his strength up.
“In that semifinal match he showed us he’s back. Ream is back,” Miller said. “We’ve been waiting for it all year. I see him getting back to state for sure. It’s not going to be easy but it never is.
“There’s been a lot of pressure on him because he qualified for state last year. He won a match there so just about anybody who does that has extra pressure on them the following season.”
Ream is joined by senior 152-pounder Nick Humphreys as a potential state qualifier. Humphreys is 25-5 overall. Also for Shawnee, junior Josh Lange is 12-9 at 285, sophomore Jack Cain is 19-8 at 138 and sophomore Adam Meyers is 20-12 at 160. Sophomore Arthur Beckel (126) and freshmen Jordyn Dillavou (12), Dillan Wones (132) and Clay Boeke (220) also competed at Eaton.
Arrows finish second: Tecumseh had eight wrestlers place at the Benjamin Logan Raider Invitational on Saturday, helping the Arrows finish second overall to winner Hilliard Darby. Cyle Wells (138) and Tommy Rowe (182) won titles for Tecumseh. Brian Stone (120) and Alec Hall (160) finished second.
Greenon’s Chase Trainer (132) and Levi Morrison (195) also won championships as did Urbana’s Trevor Stewart (170). Northwestern’s Nathan Dewey (152) and Nathan Snyder (195) and Greenon’s Joshua Johnson (182) and Tyler Jenkins (285) reached the finals.
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