(Oakland) The Riverside wrestlers will compete at home on Saturday in the District Wrestling Tournament.
Bulldog coach Casey Conover believes if all goes well his team could be sending over half their lineup to Des Moines for the State Tourney next week. “They are ready to go. The kids are excited being at home and being in front of the crowd. It’ll be a rocking day.”
Two state qualifiers are returning from last year with DJ Bramman and Taven Moore. Those two and several others will have a good chance to make it this year. Bramman will look to get them off to a good start at 106. “If we stay focused good things are going to happen with him. They key is it’s going to be a long day with a lot of sitting. He has to stay mentally locked in.”
Moore is back in the lineup after an injury and looking to make up for lost time. “It took him a while to get going. He’s finally beginning to look like the Taven Moore that I know he can be which is basically a state place winner. The big thing is he just has to keep believing in himself.”
Coach Conover also has high expectations for Jett Rose. “His weight class is going to be tough. If he keeps the physicality and uses hand defense to his advantage, great things are going to happen with Jett.
Conover adds AC Roller is looking better and better each week. He says Caden Forristall has grown a lot the last 3-4 weeks and could be in for a big day if he can stick to the game plan.
Wrestling starts at 10:00 a.m. in Oakland on Saturday. Other teams at the site include CAM, Griswold, East Mills, Bedford, St. Albert, SW Valley, Treynor, Tri-Center, and Underwood. The top two wrestlers in each class qualify for state.
Riverside coach Casey Conover:
