Evanston’s 215-pound wrestler Carlos Saabedra pins Jorge Allatorre of Green River in the first period of their match Wednesday. Saabedra used a half-nelson to flip Allatorre over for the pin. HERALD PHOTO/Kurt Ritzman

The Evanston wrestling team lost a home dual to Green River 49-22 on Wednesday.

“We knew coming in that Green River would be really tough. They’re ranked up there high in the state. They’ve got some good kids, especially from the bottom into the middle. That’s where we’re kind of young,” coach Larry Wagstaff said. “I thought our kids wrestled pretty hard. They scrambled.”

Green River won 10 matches, but were only able to win four by pinfall. Green River scored nearfall points in five of the six other matches, but the Red Devils fought out of the pinning predicaments.

“We’ve talked a lot about getting off your back and making the match longer. The longer you make the match, the better your chance,” Wagstaff said. “It makes you happy to see your kids fight out rather than stay on their backs.”



Evanston winners

Ty Lester started the match off with a major decision victory over Green River’s Stevie Jones during their match at 152 pounds.

“Ty had a good match. He came right out and got some good shots going. He pretty much dominated that kid,” Wagstaff said.

Lester got a takedown and earned three nearfall points in the first and third periods for a 10-0 win.

The next Red Devil victory came courtesy of Christian Epshteyn at 171 pounds.

“Christian is an explosive kid who just needs to believe a little more in himself and what he’s capable of doing,” Wagstaff said. “When he wrestles, he wrestles pretty well.”

Epshteyn trailed Clay Allen 4-0 early. Allen was able to get a quick takedown and two nearfall points.

“He headlocked me when I tried to take a shot. Then I just tried to keep from getting pinned as best I could. When we wrestled before, he beat me so it was some payback,” Epshteyn said. “Once I got out, I knew I wasn’t going to stop. I don’t really shoot that much, I’m more of a thrower. The one time I took a shot wasn’t very good for me. I need to practice my shots more.”

Epshteyn started the second period in bottom position trailing 4-2. He reversed Allen to even the match and then scored three nearfall points.

“I’ve been working on my switches a lot. Last time he beat me, it was because I did a messed up switch. So, I’ve been working a lot on switches,” Epshteyn said. “I threw in a tight half, as tight as I could. I heard the time running down, so I just squeezed as tight as I could and lifted the head.”

Epshteyn recorded a pin in 3:59 to give the Red Devils a 10-3 lead after three matches.

Carlos Saabedra continued his stellar season for the Red Devils by pinning Jorge Allatorre at 215 pounds.

“I just work hard. I get in the wrestling room and practice hard,” Saabedra said. “And I’ve been listening to coach.”

“He did well. He beat that kid before,” Wagstaff said. “Not against this kid, but Carlos needs to be more physical. He only weighs about 190 pounds, so he’s giving up some weight. He does a good job for us.”

Saabedra scored a first period takedown and flipped his opponent for a pin in the first frame. He said his first attempt to flip his opponent didn’t work, so he went with a half-nelson for the pin.

“I wrestled to the best of my ability. I tried to throw him and just do what I do,” Saabedra said. “I got two double overhooks and I just tipped him over and he fell.”

His victory gave the Red Devils a 16-8 advantage after five bouts.

Evanston’s final victory came in the quickest match of the night – 44 seconds. Cory Barker took down Green River’s Senter Timmons and earned the quick fall to give the Red Devils their final six team points.

“Cory’s got a lot of tools. Every match he’s wrestled this year, he’s been in,” Wagstaff said.



Results

Varsity — Green River 49,

Evanston 22

103: Justin Verner (GR) t. fall Collin Small, 18-3

112: Mario Luna (GR) pin Mikey Chitto, 1:04

119: Luis Flores (GR) m. dec. Brayton Sanders, 10-0

125: Cory Barker (E) pin Senter Timmons, 0:44

130: Mark Harris (GR) t. fall Wes Cowan, 20-5

135: Jacob Flores (GR) pin Brandon Short, 2:21

140: Brady Turnbull (GR) pin Tyler Lester, 2:45

145: Kolby Kester (GR) pin Coert Linford, 2:35

152: Ty Lester (E) m. dec. Stevie Jones, 10-0

160: Scott Verner (GR) dec. Shawn Seppala, 6-2

171: Christian Epshteyn (E) pin Clay Allen, 3:59

189: Tommy Thoman (GR) t. fall Reece Bown, 18-1

215: Carlos Saabedra (E) pin Jorge Allatorre

285: Cody Phillips (GR) dec. Ty Calladitto, 6-0



JV — Green River 37, Evanston 13

119: Connor Bailey (E) m. dec. Riley Henderson, 13-0

125: Jaime Flores (GR) dec. Austin Kennedy, 14-7

140: Cameron Ross (GR) t. fall Kayden Martin, 17-2

140: Jaime Flores (GR) t. fall Francisco Saabedra, 19-2

145: Daniel Probst (GR) pin Richard Sellers, 1:27

152: Christian McClure (GR) pin Tate Barker, 1:51

171: Nevin Ottley (E) pin Zane Bodin, 1:39

171: Chris Crisler (GR) pin Nevin Ottley, 3:05

189: Dayson Lindsay (E) dec. Justin Bayles, 5-2

189: Justin Bayles (GR) pin Sergio Mendoza, 1:56