Mount Vernon junior Will Goodlove is moving into powerhouse status.
Goodlove had one of 10 Mustangs wins during a dual against Clear Creek Amana on Thursday, Dec. 12, in Mount Vernon. The Mustangs won, 49-24.
Goodlove held on to beat Trace Robertson by decision, 15-11, at 157 pounds. That win comes five days after earning a gold medal at the Newton Invitational.
“He’s gotten a lot better,” Mount Vernon Coach Vance Light said. “It helps when you’ve got good workout partners in the room. That’s part of just making him better. He’s got to go hard, just to survive.”
Every day Goodlove has to tangle with top-ranked Jase Jaspers (144) and third-ranked Mikey Ryan (150).
“Will has gotten tremendously better,” Ryan said. “Wrestling him in the room, you can tell he’s gotten better. He’s strong and fast. Me, Jase and him, we go at it.”
Those daily collisions have lifted Goodlove up a notch. He was a varsity wrestler a year ago, then got sidelined by a shoulder injury.
Now, he may join the ranks of ranked Mustang wrestlers.
“That’s the goal,” Goodlove said. “I want to be up there. I wrestle with Jase and Mikey, and those guys are up there. I want to be right next to them. That’s the goal this year.”
Against CCA, Goodlove led Robertson 7-6 after one period and 12-7 after two.
“It was about body position, and knowing the match,” Goodlove said. “Being smart in certain positions and don’t do anything dumb.”
The night featured only one ranked vs. ranked match, and Ryan took down Nolan Howell, who is ranked No. 4 at 144 pounds, but wrestled up a weight.
“I didn’t know what to expect,” Ryan said. “I don’t try to look at opponents, I score my points and get to my attacks. Good things happen when I do that.”
Ryan led 6-1 after one period, 10-2 after two, and closed it as a major decision, 13-4.
Jaspers, Jaxon Anderson (175), Caysen Curran (215), Ethan Wood (285), and Jake Haugse (120) recorded pins. Cooper Hird (165) won by technical fall.
The Mustangs altered the bottom of their lineup a little bit with senior Kael Riniker out. Curran moved up a weight, as did Watson Krob, recently back from injury. Anderson stepped in at 175.
“Kael is out until after Christmas,” Light said. “But Watson is back and that helps out a lot.”
Mount Vernon was set to host its annual Invitational on Saturday, Dec. 14, but it was canceled due to icy weather, and will not be made up.
The Mustangs have a double dual at West Delaware on Thursday, Dec. 19, and compete in the Dike-New Hartford Duals on Saturday, Dec. 21.
“We’re kind of young, still,” Ryan said. “But we’re learning. We’ll make a run here and keep getting better.”