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ALTON - As the Alton wrestling team did the night before against Belleville East, the Redbirds won 10 of the 14 bouts, including the final six consecutive, as Alton went on to a 60-18 win over Roxana in a dual meet Thursday evening at the Redbirds Nest.
Alton's win came mainly by fall, as the teams split the first four matches before the Redbirds took control and went on to the win.
The meet's first bout was in the 220-pound class, where Chase Allen got things started right for the Shells win a win by fall over Joab Tobin to put Roxana up 6-0. Kyle Hughes, wrestling at 285 pounds, got the pin right back for Alton when he won by fall over Logan Cooper at 3:47 to tie the team score at 6-6. The Shells' J.D. Coleman put Roxana back on top 12-6 with a pin of Caleb Christner in the 106-pound bout, and at 113 pounds, Javion Freeman again returned the favor with a pin of Andrew Raymer at 1:43 to tie the meet again at 12-12.
Alton took the lead in the team score for good at 120 pounds, when Bryant Minton pinned Justin Theis at 3:29 to give the Redbirds a 18-12 lead. The Shells cut the advantage to 18-15 at 126 pounds with a Matt Olbert 6-5 win over Deontae Forest, but Alton extended the lead to 24-15 in the 132-pound bout when Antonia Phillips won by fall over Paxton Osmoe at 3:21.
Roxana won the 138-pound match with a Cody Cherry 4-0 win over Maurice Lee, but from there on, it was all Redbirds, starting with the 145-pound bout, when Jordan Icke pinned Josiah Oliver at 5:36, and at 152 pounds, Aaron Spengler did the same to Corbin White, scoring the pin at 5:01 to give Alton a 36-18 lead.
In the 160 pound match, Lawson Bruce got the quickest pin of the meet, taking 44 seconds to pin Myles Bridges, then Shane Scott at 170 pounds and Troy Wohlert at 182 pounds were both awarded forfeits. The final bout of the meet saw Michael Bridgeman pin Tayson Gager at 1:26 of the 190-pound bout to make the final score 60-18 for the Redbirds.
The Redbirds will wrestle this weekend in the Kyle Thrasher Memorial Tournament at Francis Howell High School in Weldon Spring, Mo, in St. Charles County, this weekend.
Colin Feeney also contributed to this story.
