Broughton wrestling spoils Enloe senior night
The Broughton wrestling team traveled to Enloe Thursday night and spoiled Senior Night, clinching the 40-33 win on the final bout.
It was a streaky night for each squad as they jockeyed back and forth for the lead. Broughton just edged the Eagles by winning seven bouts.
“With a young team like this, it feels good to win, period,” said Broughton coach Stan Chambers. “We’ve got a long ways to go but we’re off to a good start.”
Enloe got off to the better start early in the night, scoring 12 points with two pins from 113-pound Kirk Broadbelt and 120-pound Eric Jones, who was competing in his first match of the year. Broughton came back with 22 unanswered points, but then Enloe roared to life with 21. However, the Caps took the next 12 to take the lead 34-33.
The last match was Broughton’s Jasper Lassiter against Enloe’s Rykeem McMillian, and Lassiter pinned McMillian for the dramatic team win.
“Jasper didn’t know it came down to him; I didn’t tell him,” Chambers said. “We’ve talked about this situation all year. He didn’t let the team down. I’m proud of him.”
They said it
“Wrestling’s a lot like fishing,” said Enloe coach Matt Busch. “You pull the fish up to the hook. You pull it up to the side of the boat and then it breaks the line.”
Best match
Enloe’s Rayshawn McMillian faced Broughton’s Patrick Maxwell in the 152-pound class, and it was a hard-fought battle on both sides. Headed to the second period, it was tied 2-2 and Maxwell looked to have the edge. McMillian would escape, but Maxwell would take him back down and they continued into the third period with Maxwell up 6-5.
That’s when McMillian started to control the match more. Despite Maxwell’s attempts to escape, McMillian would refuse, using the leg whip twice to maintain control.
“It’s a move that I developed and I got better at,” McMillian said. “I just kept on going for it.”
They headed to overtime tied 7-7, and McMillian won quickly with a takedown in 13 seconds.
“Rayshawn had a strong match,” Busch said. “It came down to the end, overtime, and it’s just effort. That’s what we demand of our program. At the end it doesn’t take skill, it takes effort.”
Fastest pins
Enloe’s Kirk Broadbelt pinned his 113-pound opponent in 56 seconds, and Broughton’s Jack Elliott pinned his 132-pound opponent in 1:07.
The match-winner
Broughton held a 34-33 advantage heading into the final bout. Enloe trotted out 276.6-pound Rykeem McMillian for the 285-pound heavyweight class. On the other side was Broughton’s Jasper Lassiter weighing in at 219.4 pounds. McMillian took a 5-0 lead quick in the match, but Lassiter wouldn’t quit. He got the reversal and pinned McMillian to seal the match for Broughton.
“What’s 65 pounds?” Chambers said. “You just got to wrestle. My thing is both kids are over 200 pounds. What’s 65? It’s no big deal. Sixty-five pounds is nothing. You got to have heart and you got to want to win.”
Broughton’s winners
126-pounder Nic Valdespino (18-4), 132-pounder Jack Elliott (pin 1:07), 145-pounder Nash Philbeck (fall 3:02), 285-pounder Jasper Lassiter (pin 1:30) and forfeits at 138, 195 and 220.
Enloe’s winners
113-pounder Kirk Broadbelt (pin 0:56), 120-pounder Eric Jones (pin 1:38), 152-pounder Rayshawn McMillian (9-7), 160-pounder Ethan Hoffman (pin 2:45) and forfeits at 170 and 182.
This story was originally published January 21, 2016 at 11:09 PM with the headline "Broughton wrestling spoils Enloe senior night."