DARLINGTON – The Darlington High School wrestling program is celebrating its 50th season of competition this season, and the Darlington/Black Hawk WarBirds jumped the festivities with one of the biggest victories in their history.
The WarBirds won six of the 10 contested matches, including four by pinfalls, to take down the Mineral Point Pointers, 42-30, in a season opening SWAL dual meet held at MPHS on Friday, Dec. 1.
The victory was the first over the Pointers since 1990, snapping a 27-year drought on the mats for the ‘Birds.
“They showed up to wrestle on Friday night. They did a great job and held their composure throughout the match, which is great for a team with such a wide variety of ages,” said Darlington/Black Hawk head coach Cole Wunnicke.
The score was knotted at 30-30 with two matches remaining but, with a forfeit waiting for them in the final class of the night at 106-pounds, the WarBirds knew anything less than a Pointer pin would mean a victory for their team.
Junior Brody Milz erased any hopes of a Pointer comeback by locking down a pin in 3:06 of the 285-pound match to secure the victory for the WarBirds (1-0 overall, 1-0 SWAL).
The Pointers (1-1, 0-1) won the first four matches to open up an early 21-0 lead, but the WarBirds came storming back with wins in six of the next eight matches to even the score at 30 all.
Junior Kolbe Ubersox registered a pin in 3:39 at 138 to kick off the rally, and then senior Grady Rielly followed with a 7-2 decision at 145 and sophomore Cayden Milz posted a key 5-3 win at 152 to cut the deficit to 21-12.
Pins by seniors Tyler Mosley (in 5:15 at 170) and Lance Ubersox (in 1:43 at 182) brought the WarBirds closer, and a forfeit win by senior Connor McGowan tied the score at 30-30 leading to B. Milz’s dramatic finish
“I’m looking forward to the rest of the year. The leadership in our upperclassmen is showing, and the guys are doing everything we ask of them. I can’t ask for anything more,” Wunnicke remarked.
Darlington/Black Hawk has another tough SWAL dual meet in store for them when they host Fennimore at Darlington High School on Thursday, Dec. 7, beginning at 7 p.m.
WarBirds pin down Pointers for first time in 27 years