The Mid-Prairie Golden Hawk wrestling team was at home for the first time in the new season Thursday when they hosted West Branch, New London and Tipton in a quad meet. The Golden Hawks opened the night with a decisive victory over West Branch 54-24. In the win against the Bears, the Hawks got wins in contested matches from Mose Yoder at 113 by fall, Vinnie Bowlin at 160 by fall, Jardin Mufaume at 170 by fall, Ben Meader at 182 by fall, Josh Wallington at 220 by fall and Brodey Neal at 285 by fall.

In their second dual of the night No. 5 in class 1A New London got by Mid-Prairie 47-36. The Golden Hawks got wins in contested matches from Ben Meader at 182 by fall and Brodey Neal at 285 by fall.

In the nightcap, the Golden Hawks got back on the winning track by taking down Tipton 43-42 on criteria. The dual was decided on tiebreaking criteria E, most wins by forfeit with the Hawks taking five bouts in that fashion and Tipton just three. The Hawks had wins in contested matches from Owen Trimpe at 152 and Josh Wallington at 220. After the meet, Mid-Prairie senior Ben Meader, who went 2-0 on the night in contested matches, talked about his preparation, matches and the team on the season. “Before, I’m just going through the match. Put my headphones in, get in the zone. Taking my shots in my head, being aggressive, doing the right things so when I get on the mat I do them there too. In the first match, I got in a bad position, he got a headlock on me, but I kept my composure and still wrestled my match. I worked out of it and got the win from there. In the second match I got him in the cradle. I have longer arms, so that’s a move that works well for me. We have a couple of young guys on the team this year that show great potential. We also have a great team bond this year, win or lose when someone comes off the mat, everyone stands up and the team says good job. That’s going to be big this year.”

After Thursday, the Mid-Prairie wrestling team now has a 3-3 dual record.