On Saturday, Feb. 1st Clinton Wrestling competed in day two of the LCAA Dual Tournament.  After going 2-0 on Friday night Clinton went 3-2 on Saturday as a team.  Clinton started off the morning against Onsted and came away with a dominant 74-6 win.  Picking up wins during the dual were Hamza Rafferty, Hudson Miller, Wyatt Cooley, Zach Taylor, Brock Worden, Braylon Long, Braxton Randolph, Isaac Keibler, Tanner Bolton, Cliff Jones, John Keibler, Bryce Randolph, and Landon Lakatos.  In round two of the day Clinton defeated Hillsdale 65-13.  The match started at 106 pounds and Hudson Miller led the charge picking up a pin.  Winners during dual were Zach Taylor, Wyatt Cooley, Brock Worden, Braylon Long, Braxton Randolph, Tanner Bolton, Cliff Jones, John Keibler, Bryce Randolph, and Gradyn Whelan.  A highly anticipated match between Adrian Madison and Clinton took place in round three as the host squad was primed and trying to knock off the Redwolves.  The top 10 ranked Madison Trojans started the dual out with an upset win at 113 pounds as Zach Taylor lost 20-21 in a shoot out.  Madison followed that up with a pin at 120 pounds over Clinton's Wyatt Cooley.  Brock Worden stepped up at 126 pounds and won a key match 9-6 for the Redwolves to get them on the score board.  After three matches the score was Clinton 3 Madison 9.  In step senior Braylon Long after having his appendix removed he is back on the mat for the Redwolves and earned a hard fought victory at 132 pounds with a 14-5 major decision.  He toughness and senior leadership have been instrumental throughout this season and it was on display Saturday as the senior showed some real guts that his teammates feed off of.  Clinton 7 Madison 9.  Jaxon Phillip stepped in several times during the weekend and battled for his team at 138 pounds and continues to show signs becoming a great wrestler, even in a loss.  Isaac Keibler had a huge team win at 144 pounds as he earned a 13-5 major decision to help the team in a big way.  Tanner Bolton dropped his match at 150 pounds, but Cliff Jones stepped up with a pin at 157 pounds.  Austin Putnam continued to step in when needed and battled for his team at 165 pounds, but dropped his match to his state ranked opponent.  Clinton 17 Madison 27.  But it was all Clinton after that as the Redwolves won the next five matches in a row to pull away.  Junior Captain Bryce Randolph started the streak with a pin at 175 pounds.  Then junior Landon Lakatos battled back from a 0-7 deficit to earn a pin at 190 pounds and a whole lot of emotion after the win.  He fights hard for the team and came through in a time of need.  Freshman Gradyn Whelan bumped up to 215 pounds and took out the county champ at 215 pounds with a pin.  And he too showed some great emotion in the win.  The team was rocking and the gym was loud. It was great to see and hear.  Senior Captain Hamza Rafferty stepped in against another state ranked opponent that he had just lost to in the county championships.  But it was Rafferty's time as he controlled the match from start to finish.  After a scoreless first period his opponent chose down and earned an escape to lead 1-0 going into the third period.  Hamza chose to go bottom to start the third period after not having success against his opponent in the that position the first time.  But working on details and improving his confidence paid off as he escaped right away and tied the score at 1-1.  Then Hamza took advantage on their feet to create a scoring opportunity, he secured the takedown, then the turn, and ended the match with a huge pin.  Hamza was excited and it showed.  The team was off their feet as the gym erupted in cheers.  What a finish it was for him.  Sophomore Hudson Miller finished the dual off at 106 with a pin in the first period and make the final score Clinton 47 Madison 27.  This was a great team victory and had nothing but a championship atmosphere.  I was extremely proud of how our team responded when they were pushed.  Some real growth has taken place with this group.  In the final two matches Clinton lost to Dundee and to Hudson and finished third in the conference.  This may be the toughest wrestling conference in the state as Dundee is ranked number one in division 3 and number one is all divisions, Hudson is ranked 1st in division four, Clinton is ranked 6th in division 4, and Madison is a top ten ranked team in division 3.  There were some great battles in each dual that will help our team entering the post season.  Picking up wins against Hudson were Zach Taylor, Gradyn Whelan, Bryce Randolph, John Keibler, and Cliff Jones.   Next up will be Team Districts at Riverview Gabriel Richard on Wednesday, Feb. 5th starting at 6pm.  Clinton will have the host team first as Gabriel Richard is ranked 8th in the state and the Redwolves will need to be ready to go.  On Saturday, Feb. 8th Clinton will travel to Manchester for individual districts that start at at 9:30am.  The girls will have their first ever district tournament on Sunday, Feb. 9th at Dundee that start at 10:30am.  We look forward to this post season push.