On the second day of the Defense Soap Super Duals in Vermilion on Dec. 17, Midview continued its unbeaten dual run to take home the top hardware with an 8-0 dual record, led by Middleweights MVP Hunter Anderson (150) who went undefeated over the two days. Vermilion finished third and Clearview and Lorain finished in the last two spots.
With junior Austin Dye getting the day off for rest, Anderson took center stage for the Middies and showed what he could be.
“He didn’t get anything less than a tech fall,” Midview head coach Paul Steele said. “Hunter stayed within himself and kept wrestling through every position. He hit the stuff that he knew and just kept working. I don’t know if there’s anybody here that has more experience than Hunter, and with him and his brother working all the time, he’s really rounding out to be a good wrestler.”
That proved true in Round 7 vs. Vermilion, when he nearly pinned Owen Kyser in the first period but wound up settling for a 6-2 decision.
Round 7: Vermilion vs Midview 150
Midview's Hunter Anderson mere moments away from a first period pinfall, but Owen Kyser is able to stave him off and force all three periods.
Unfortunately for Kyser, he still fell to Anderson 6-2. This video is from that first period pic.twitter.com/QZAozacQdX
— Sean Fitzgerald (@fitzonsportsbsr) December 17, 2022
Anderson spread the credit around in a whole team effort for the Super Dual Title.
Video of @HsMidview Hunter Anderson. @MiddieUpdates pic.twitter.com/LdVvSxo84y
— Sean Fitzgerald (@fitzonsportsbsr) December 17, 2022
“I’m proud of everyone,” Anderson said. “I was happy I was able to go out there and dominate the entire time, glad I came out on top. Everyone was cheering on the entire time on the sidelines… the seats, it really helps a lot.”
With Vermilion seniors Owen Kyser and Malachi Howell both going down by decision and pin fall, respectively, it was Lewis Strama that got a chance to shine, ending his two days with a perfect 8-0 record and winding up as the lower weights MVP.
Story coming shortly, but I have clips of Hunter Anderson (Midview) and a longer one with Lewis Strama (Vermilion) coming right up!
Strama first, followed by Anderson pic.twitter.com/6QyHNb9QZe
— Sean Fitzgerald (@fitzonsportsbsr) December 17, 2022
“It was a tough weekend,” the senior Strama said. “There were really good teams here, (with) large amounts of numbers in each weight class. It was a good tournament overall, but I feel that our team did very, very well.”
With the dual already decided and as the second to last match at 132 pounds against the Middies before entering the final two rounds, Strama continued a dominating weekend with yet another pin fall, as he helped spark a late run by the Sailors to narrow the gap on the Round 7 score.
132: Vermilion's Lewis Strama with his fifth win (and fifth pinfall) of tourney in 31 seconds. A little late run here by Vermilion, but Midview already has the dual locked unless I counted wrong (which I doubt). @TheSailorNation @HsMidview @MJournalSports pic.twitter.com/Gc9hptkbWS
— Sean Fitzgerald (@fitzonsportsbsr) December 17, 2022
“As some of the seniors on the team, I feel it’s our responsibility to go out there and perform to the best of our ability,” he said. “That’s what me and (Aiden) Miller did. We went out there and performed and did what we had to do and got our pins.”
“(Lewis) has come a long way,” Vermilion head coach Brandon Gilbert said. “He was a guy his freshman year that went out for basketball. When he came back to wrestling his sophomore year, he knew he had a gap to close. So he’s been kind of slowly but surely closing that gap and now starting to close that gap a bit.
Clearview’s Camron Carreras came away with the upper weight M.V.P. for the tournament with a 7-1 finish. It was a remarkable finish for a guy who hadn’t made weight in two years and pulled an upset on the state ranked Dye the night before.
“I didn’t think I was going to come out here at all and just do what I did,” Carreras expressed his surprise, absorbing everything he’d recently went through. “Coming off, like, a two year break, I didn’t think I was going to do anything like this. I thought I was going to lose most of them in all honesty. But coming out here and doing that, I’m proud of myself, finally being back from the break.”
