Alexander named outstanding wrestler in Wall

Billy Drown

Published: Wednesday, December 17th, 2008

Custer High School wrestler Billy Alexander was named the oustanding wrestler at athe Wall Invitational last weekend. Alexander posted a perfect 4-0 record on his way to winning hte 130 pound weight class.

        Going into Belle Fourche on Thursday, Dec. 11, Wildcat wrestling coach Eric Pingrey knew the match was going to be tough. All he was hoping for was a strong showing from the Custer team.  “Score wise we ended up losing 52-18,” Pingrey said. “We knew that it was going to rough, especially since we didn’t take the whole entire team.” By not taking the whole entire team, the Wildcats gave Belle seven opens. Each open spot scored Belle six points. “Despite the loss, I was pleased with how our kids didn’t lay down for them. We gave them a fight,” Pingrey said. The three wins in the duel came from Billy Alexander at 130, Tanner Eisland at 160 and Mark Shorb and 125. “Our kids competed well,” said Pingrey. “Zach (Wager), 145, lost a tough one and Soren (Wahlstrom) was sick, so we didn’t have him. If Soren would of wrestled, we would have had another six points.” Two Wildcats, Wager and Tanner Eisland, wrestled in the Rapid City Invitational Tournament this past weekend, where they both finished 0-2. Pingrey, who called the tournament “a very brutal tournament,” said Wager and Eisland fought hard, but inexperience reared its ugly head. “Tanner was leading both of his matches at one point. In the first match he made a mistake in the third period and was pinned. I think he was up 9-4 at one point in that match,” said Pingrey. Wager, he said, just had a tough draw. “Zach wrestled great, but he ran into a buzz saw. The kid Zach wrestled was very tough.” While Wager and Eiesland fought in Rapid City, the others headed to Wall. “The tournament in Wall was great,” said Pingrey. “It gave the wrestlers a chance to see all the other ‘B’ schools.” In Wall, Pingrey said the kids competed really well. Especially Billy Alexander, who went 4-0 and won outstanding wrestler of the tournament. Pingrey also mentioned he was happy with how Ty Cooper wrestled as well. “Ty had a tough weight class and he wrestled great in it,” he said. “Ty is progressing nicely. Now that he has seen the competition I think he has a better understanding of where he needs to be and how he needs to get there.” It is safe to assume that Pingrey feels that way about all the wrestlers. When asked what the Wildcats need to work on, Pingrey said he hated to be redundant, but the more matches this young team sees, the more they will progress. “We are young. I hate to be redundant, but it’s the truth. I think we are competing good for where we are. We have many first and second year wrestlers that aren’t at some of these schools level yet. We need to continue to progress and work on the little things,” he said. Wall Invitational Josh Behlings 119, 1-2; Billy Alexander 130, 4-0; Mark Shorb 125, 2-2; Tony Crackel 152, 2-2; Kyle Harkin 145, 1-1; Ty Cooper 171, 1-3. Belle Fourche Dual Kyle Harkin, Mark Shorb, Billy Alexander, and Tanner Eisland won. Josh Behlings, Ty Cooper, Tyler Eisland lost.