Raiders start January strong
by Coach Michael Arvidson
After a slow start to the season, it was time to turn the calendar to 2025 and never look back.
The Raiders did just that in the first week back as a highly anticipated Section 6A triangular with a couple other top teams in the Section went in their favor.
The first dual was against West Central Area/Ashby/Brandon-Evansville with both teams listed as Lean & Mean in Class A, and one of the two representing Section 6A in the state tournament for the past six years.
Adam Grabow picked up a hard-fought decision against his ranked opponent and Mason Hoffman followed suit with a tech fall against his ranked foe.
Merrick Hoffman doubled down with another technical fall and Wyatt Jares kept the home crowd quiet with a pin making it 19-0.
Hudson Truax added to the board with a major decision while Justin Olson recorded the fall for the 29-0 lead.
The middle bour of the dual would be pivotal and after fighting off his back early, Orran Hart turned the tide and delivered a pin over his #2 ranked opponent.
Evan Jares sealed the deal with a pin at 152 and the Raiders were up 41-0 before the strength of the Knights could ever get going. The Knights would find a way to win the final five matches and make the final score 41-30.
The second round was very similar against the Border West Buccaneers.
Grabow earned the tech fall and the Hoffman cousins both secured falls.
A Wyatt Jares come from behind fall was actually worth seven as his opponent lost a team point in disgust making the score 23 to -1.
Truax used his technique to get the tech fall and Olson added a pin for the 34 to -1 lead.
A back-and-forth match for Hart ended the opposite as the first dual as the Bucs got back to the plus side of the scoreboard. It would be the first of a five-match win streak that saw Border West narrow the gap to 34-27.
This time Braden Shamp stood in the way to close the door with a pin as the Raiders win 40-33 taking both important duals on the evening....
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