WARDSVILLE, Mo. - The Blair Oaks Falcons weren’t sure the numbers were going to go their way.
Blair Oaks hosted a wrestling quad Tuesday night against Fatima, Palmyra and Knob Noster with a lineup far from normal. But the Falcons were able to pick up three victories at Blair Oaks Middle School.
“I didn’t expect it,” Blair Oaks coach Mike DeMilia said. “I thought we’d win one or two, but I didn’t think there was any way we’d win all three.
“But we’ll take it.”
There were a variety of reasons the Falcons had some unfamiliar names in the lineup Tuesday night.
“We’ve wrestled a lot, we’ve had multiple two-day tournaments and we’ve got kids with 13-15 matches,” DeMilia said. “We also have some guys who are a little dinged-up or a little sick.
“So we’re trying to watch match limits and also giving some guys some opportunities, too. Tonight was a perfect opportunity to get some guys in the lineup who aren’t normally in the lineup.”
Blair Oaks opened with a 54-9 victory against Fatima. The Falcons then topped Palmyra 51-30 before closing with a 38-34 victory against Palmyra.
“We’re not the best program yet, but we have depth and we can throw some backups in there and still be competitive,” DeMilia said.
Aidan Bolinger was 3-0 at 126 pounds for the Falcons. He won by forfeit against Fatima, won by fall in :38 against Palmyra and won by technical fall in the third period against Knob Noster.
Bolinger was coming off a learning experience in last weekend’s Missouri Duals.
“He had two tough days against a bunch of state placers, but it made him better,” DeMilia said. “That kid from Knob was really tough and he took it to him after getting in a couple of difficult spots early.”
Carter Kempker had a good night for the Falcons at 106, finishing 2-1.
He won by fall against Fatima and Palmyra before losing 12-6 to Levi Wilhelm of Knob Noster, who finished sixth last year at 106 in the Class 1 state tournament and is one of the favorites to win the state title this season.
“Carter wrestled him tough,” DeMilia said. “He was in there grinding.”
Jackson Finke was 3-0 at 132 for Blair Oaks, with a win by fall and two by forfeit. Dylan Peate was 3-0 at 170 with two wins by fall and one by forfeit. Cole Peters was 3-0 at 182 with a win by fall and two by forfeit,
Also going 2-1 for the Falcons were Braydn Huhn at 113, Brooks Nichols at 120, Austin Baumhoer at 152/160, Dex Crane at 195 and Austin Stanley at 285. Carson Rustemeyer was 1-2 at 220.
Blair Oaks was open at 138 and 145.
Blair Oaks is back in action Friday and Saturday at the Moberly Duals.
In the girls quad, Blair Oaks posted 42-6 victories against Fatima and Palmyra while falling 54-12 to Knob Noster.
Tonight, Blair Oaks will host a JV boys and girls tournament at the middle school.
More than 10 teams will be in the event, mostly from the area.
“There will be a lot of good wrestling,” DeMilia said.
Action will begin at 4:30 p.m.