A pair of Eastern Indiana Athletic Conference wrestling rivals squared off in the circle last Wednesday as the Franklin County Wildcats hosted Greensburg's Pirates. Essentially, the dual was over before it began due to the Bucs giving up eight forfeits and thus 48 points off the bat; the visitors fared well in the six contested matches, eventually falling 54-27.

A forfeit fittingly opened the night with FC's Phoenix Simons seeing his hand raised at 170 pounds. Likewise, teammate Lane Westerman earned a walkover at 182.

The hosts' Nathen Noble and Will Cunningham were the first to do battle at 195. Noble held a slight 2-1 advantage as the second period unfolded and it remained tight throughout as Cunningham gained a 5-4 lead in the third frame and ran out the clock. Greensburg was on the board at 12-3.

Lendon Sizemore was lined up at his former 220 position, but the Pirates had no match and FC went up by 15.

Heavies Robert Eisert of GCHS and Clayton “Mongo” Bolser grappled next and took a scoreless bout into the second stanza. Eisert then recorded a near-fall for two points; Bolser came up lame on the sequence and took an injury default. Score moved to 18-9.

With the lineup turning over to lightweights, the Pirates' Tristan Smith was too much for Bryce Bruns to handle at 106. Smith quickly built an 8-0 lead and eventually pinned his Wildcat foe with 17.7 seconds left in the first. Greensburg was briefly within three.

That changed when Cole Freese, Colin Troyer and Ty Bruns received forfeits at 113, 120 and 126, respectively. The Cats led by 21 at 36-15.

In the 132-lb. match, FC's Roger Zurborg contended with Landen Shepherd. The latter pointed often and stacked up a 12-4 score going into the final period, when he earned a pin at 1:26. Greensburg trailed by 15.

Both teams had combatants at 138 and 145. At the former, it was the Pirates' Preston Merritt locking horns with Trevor Bruns. Merritt needed just over a minute of action to get Bruns on his back, securing the fall at 52.2 seconds. The scoreboard now read 36-27.

The 145 winner was Dakota Schwab of the home team as his pin came with 56.6 seconds on the first-period clock. Two more forfeits later – Keegan Clark at 152 and Hayden Newell at 160 – and it was time to roll up the mats.

FC (13-2) travels to the Wayne County Classic over the weekend. Next up is EIAC colleague Rushville coming to the FC gym on Tuesday. Greensburg competes at the Zaxby's Pioneer Invitational at Providence Saturday and visits rival Batesville Tuesday. The conference meet is Jan. 14.