The Kimball wrestlers traveled up to Royalton on Saturday to wrestle in the Royalton Invitational. Only five Cubs represented the wrestling team, however, that didn’t stop them from putting out their best effort of the season. Of the five wrestlers four made it to the finals, and three of them took first place. At 130 pounds, Derek Orbeck wrestled the best he has all season pinning his first two opponents. Derek’s only loss came in the finals to an experienced wrestler giving him second place. Senior David Dahnke wrestled well, pinning his first two opponents. In the finals Dave put together a dominating performance winning the final match and giving him his first ever championship. Dan Barthel kept things rolling as he won 4-3 in the last 30 seconds to advance to the finals. The finals proved to be a good match for Dan as he racked up enough points to take home his second championship of the year and improve his record to 9-2. Junior John Hanley improved his record to 11-1, as he also won the tournament at 160 pounds. John pinned his first two opponents in a combined time of two minutes. In the finals John rode off the energy and momentum of his teammates as he became the third Cub to take home the gold, winning 6-4. The impressive effort by the Cubs gave them enough team points to come in eighth place out of 10. The wrestlers, coaches, and cheerleaders would like to give a special thanks to Aqua Lanes and the Kimball Wrestling Boosters Club for sponsoring their Christmas party. Kimball will host the Kimball Duals on Saturday, Jan. 14 in the gym. J.V. wrestling will start about 9 a.m. with varsity wrestling at approximately 10 a.m.
