Tigers struggle at Neosho

NEOSHO, Mo. -- The Nevada Tigers wrestling team has struggled all season long in dual competition and went into action Thursday night with a tough test ahead of them.

The Tigers were originally scheduled to host a triangular against Butler and McDonald County High Schools earlier in the week, but the Mustangs of McDonald County elected to move the triangular to Thursday night as they and the Tigers headed to Neosho to take on the Wildcats. The Wildcats have become known as a perennial wrestling powerhouse and this year is no exception as they have dominated their competition throughout the season.

The Tigers proved to be no match for the Wildcats as they lost all five matches that were wrestled, giving Neosho an 80-0 victory.

"It was an eye opener for some and a great learning experience," Tigers head coach Devin White said. "We are not where we want to be right now, but there is still plenty of time to get there before districts."

McDonald County didn't present nearly as stiff a challenge for the Tigers as Tanner Charles, Dominic Habjan, Stephen Parker, Todd Brier and Slade Stiles were each able to pick up victories. The 18 points that McDonald County got from open weight classes were too much for the Tigers to overcome, however, leading to a 28-27 victory for the Mustangs.

"The boys wrestled extremely well," White said. We just needed one more thing to go our way."

The Tigers are now set to get back into their element as they were scheduled to head to the Platte County tournament Friday night. That tournament is scheduled to conclude today.