Wrestling: VanLandingham ignites Page against Overton; Summit, Brentwood earn wins

Max VanLandingham almost didn’t come out for wrestling this season. He was happy he did Tuesday. 

The senior had one of the biggest moments of the night when he ignited his teammates and the home crowd on senior night with a crucial pin. 

Trailing 7-2 in the second period, VanLandingham scored a quick reverse and flipped Overton’s Amir Saleib to his back to score the second-round fall in the 220-pound division. The win gave the Patriots the lead for good against the Bobcats, 21-17, and Page went on to take the next five matches and win the dual.

“He’s obviously a good wrestler,” VanLandingham said of Saleib. “I think he was trying to out-strength me a little bit, but you know, it’s senior night and I wasn’t going to lose this match whether it was by points or by pin, so I just fought.”

When VanLandingham, who improved to 16-3, flipped the tables against Saleib with his team trailing 17-15 through seven matches, the Patriot bench exploded in excitement.

“That was pretty insane,” VanLandingham said of his pin at the 3:31 mark of the second. “I'm more of a football guy, but you know, coming in here in my second year, I feel like I’m wrestling better than I did last year and having a big impact like that for a close match, that was pretty unbelievable.”

Page closed with a 44-17 win against Overton. They swept a short-handed Columbia Central team prior.

Prior to VanLandingham’s match, senior Ezra Chrisman and junior Mitchell Lambert both gave the Patriots some energy and helped set the tone for the home team flurry. Chrisman scored a 13-6 decision at 170, while Lambert secured an immediate take down and a 46-second pin at 182.

Both teams forfeited at 195 before VanLandingham’s big fall.

Senior heavyweight Sean Holder followed with a 2-1 decision against Osvaldo Navarro behind two second-round escapes. Holder stayed balanced and in control in the third.

O’Neal Sebastian (106) tacked on a major decision despite a scoreless first round, Thomas Brown (113) won by forfeit and Mason Hitt (120) also scored a first-round pin for Page.

Jacob Gifford caps the night for the Page wrestling team with a major decision win at 126 against Overton. The Patriots win 47-16. pic.twitter.com/hrTBOtyX81

— Charles Pulliam (@cspulliam) January 15, 2020

Senior Jacob Gifford closed the dual by recording an 18-6 major decision against Jesus Lopez at 126.

“They’re a tough team, so this means a lot for us,” Gifford said of Tuesday’s win. “We just continue to push each other so hard in practice to get better.”

Fresh off tournament wins at Stewarts Creek and the revived Franklin Rebel Invitational Saturday, Page heads into a crucial district match at Summit Thursday.

Gifford said the Patriots will have to wrestle to their strengths to get past the Spartans.

“They’re tough opponents,” he said. “We’re going to have to go try our hardest and take everything seriously and wrestle slow with good foundations.”

In other district wrestling Tuesday, Summit defeated Spring Hill and Brentwood topped Franklin 50-25.

Page def. Overton, 44-17

132 – Jacob Douthit, PHS, pinned Gabe Miroquesada, 4:57; 138 – Alton Cates, OHS, dec. Will Parcel, 7-2; 145 – Dylan Miller, PHS, pinned Andrew Allen, 1:32; 152 – Amange Abdurrahman, OHS, maj. dec. Collins Fiscus, 11-2; 160 – Evian Green, OHS, maj. dec. Seth Wright, 18-4; 170 – Ezra Chrisman, PHS, dec. Marquill Green, 13-6; 182 – Mitchell Lambert, PHS, pinned Simon Palmer, 0:46; 195 – double forfeit; 220 – Max VanLandingham, PHS, pinned Amir Saleib, 3:31; 285 – Sean Holder, PHS, dec. Osvaldo Navarro, 2-1; 106 – O’Neal Sebastian, PHS, maj. dec. Oswaldo Corado, 11-3; 113 – Thomas Brown, PHS, won by forfeit; 120 – Mason Hitt, PHS, pinned Jacob Eleazer, 1:01; 126 – Jacob Gifford, PHS, maj. dec. Jesus Lopez, 18-6.

Summit Wrestling Dual Recap:Summit 61 Spring Hill 15@wcsSHS @SummitSpartans1 @SummitSquad @wcsCOAthletics @cspulliam @mopatton_sports @615Wrestling pic.twitter.com/oskkh44ewg

— Pete Miller (@wcsSSTMSpm) January 15, 2020

Summit def. Spring Hill, 61-15

106 – Cody Agnell, SHS, won by forfeit; 113 – Jackson Masters, SHS, won by forfeit; 120 – Isaiah Brooks, SHHS, decl Austin Grooters, 8-7; 126 – Tristan Winters, SHS, pinned Josh Duncan, 1:22; 132 – Miguel Lopez, SHS, maj. dec. Kevin Crabtree, 10-1; 138 – Jeremy Nyguen, SHHS, pinned Justin Arrieta, 2:24; 145 – Jack Hill, SHS, pinned Michael Carter, 3:30; 152 – Taylor Love, SHHS, pinned Noah Felts, 3:49; 160 – Luke Justice, SHS, pinned Ethan Glass, 5:07; 170 – Landon McVay, SHS, dec. Cayden Buchanan, 10-3; 182 – Jospeh Lukens, SHS, pinned Brennan Lara, 0:25; 195 – Tyler Garber, SHS, pinned Kamden Wright, 0:59; 220 – John Sloan, SHS, won by forfeit; 285 – Ryan Smith, SHS, pinned Marricio Juarez, 0:38.

Celebrated our great Senior class with a 50 - 25 win over Franklin High. King, Hensley, Finch, Jones, Feldhacker, and Coffey. #BruinPride #Family pic.twitter.com/gS2kbr8CeE

— Brentwood Wrestling (@wcsBHSds) January 15, 2020

Brentwood def. Franklin, 50-25

106 – Owen Gobel, FHS, maj. dec. Zach Ordonez, 13-5; 113 – Patton Bailey, BHS, pinned Stephen Peck, 0:32; 120 – Jack McDaniel, BHS, pinned Rocco Panaia, 2:25; 126 – Justin King, BHS, pinned Malcolm Bell, 0:29; 132 – Brock Wittman, FHS, dec. Kizer Hensley, 10-5; 138 – Samuel Sullivan, BHS, pinned Gabriel Green, 2:33; 145 – Foster Ehrie, FHS, pinned Wyatt Gibbs, 2:45; 152 – Cooper Finch, BHS, pinned Josh Samford, 2:00; 160 – Sawyer Robinson, FHS, pinned Hunter Meade, 1:30; 170 – Garner Jones, BHS, injury time over Cooper Grills; 182 – Daniel Helton, FHS, pinned Alikhan Makhamadaliev, 3:33; 195 – Johnny Mac Feldhacker, BHS, won by forfeit; 220 – Noah Dixon, BHS, dec. Chase Reimer, 7-2; 285 – Skylar Coffey, BHS, pinned Jastin Jackson, 0:21.