Sometimes you win the battle but end up losing the war. Such was the case last Tuesday night in the Red Devil gym where the visiting Dons won seven matches compared to only five for the Devils, yet the Dons ended up losing the duel 37 to 32.

The difference on the night, two unfortunate forfeits by the Red and Gray. Unable to field wrestlers at both 112 and 119 pounds, Spanish Fork handed Springville twelve unearned points, a margin that the Dons could never overcome and which, in the end, ended up costing them the match.

The culprit for the untimely forfeits? The newly instituted "hydration test" requirement all wrestlers must pass before they are allowed to compete in any sanctioned match. The unwilling victims for the Dons-- valuable veterans Travin Gardner, Kaleb Ashworth and Jace Kelly. Both Ashworth and Kelly are at or near the top of every state ranking for their weight and would have been heavy favorites against Springville, as would have been Gardner. Their absence on the mat, while costly on the night, should be straightened out this week and put both grapplers back into action by the time Delta comes to town on the Nov. 29.

The action started with undersized freshmen Zack Darling stepping in for Gardner at 103 pounds. Seeing varsity action for the first time in his career, the game Darling gamely lasted until the second round before suffering a pin at the hands of Garritt Bradley from Springville.

Sophomore Ryan Pehrson picked up a victory at 112 pounds as he outwrestled the Devil's Steven Brown by the score of 7 to 2.

Don stalwart Nolan Haycock wrestled a terrific match at 130 pounds for the Dons picking up a three round decision narrowing the score to 18 to 6 for Springville.

Next onto the mat for the Forkers was two time state placer, senior Rodney Cox. Cox started out on fire and jumped out to an early 6-2 lead after one period. In total control, it appeared as though Cox would end the match early, but the Devil's Austin Frazier cowboyed up and kept Cox at bay the rest of the way, before giving way to the more talented Cox 8 to 2.

Junior Tom Clark wrestled one of the better matches of the night for the Dons at 140 pounds as he squared off with last year's state champion Hayden Peterson from Springville. The match was close all the way to half way through the third and final period before Clark, trailing by two slim points, gambled on a shot, came up short and gave up a takedown just ahead of the final bell, losing 8 to 4.

The Dons hit a stroke of good luck at 145 pounds as a very talented Jordan Edwards returned to the mat for the Dons after a two year hiatus. As a freshmen, Edwards showed great promise but choose not to wrestle until this, his senior year. Still showing signs of impressive skills, Edwards gave a solid performance against one of the more powerful Red Devils, Caleb Christian, but in the end he simply ran out of both gas and time as he dropped a major decision 14 to 4.

Senior Dave, the energizer bunny, Sorensen picked up where he left off last year as he dominated his opponent at 160 breezing to a 16-0 technical fall victory.

Fellow team captain, Kyle Weight also looked in mid-season form as he breezed to a relatively easy third round pin at 171.

Wrestling at a tough weight for a sophomore, the Dons Mike Aimes could never find a grove at 189 pounds and got pinned in the third round by the Devils Sebastian Lucio.

Talented Eric Kitchen looked much stronger this year and had no trouble picking up a pin in the head turning time of 29 seconds into the first round. If you looked down to pick the gum off the bottom of your shoe, you would have missed this one. Add to this the fact that the junior strongman was wrestling at 215 pounds, well over his 185 pound true weight and his performance was even more impressive.

Finishing up the night's action for the Dons was senior Brock Wilson who made a game effort to out do Kitchen as he put the hurt on Springville's Austin Hunt with a pin only one minute and forty seconds into the first round.

Despite losing to a neighboring rival, coach Dave Clark's charges can put a bit of positive spin on this effort, knowing that once at full strength, they will be much better as a team and very tough to beat on most nights.

Looking back on the night's effort, coach Clark mused "It's early and we're still not in top wrestling shape yet, but these kids are working hard and it won't be long before we get to where we need to be. Add to that the addition of some of the kids who could not get on the mat tonight and I'm cautiously optimistic about the direction we're headed".

The Dons entertain the Delta Rabbits Thursday the Nov. 29. Come out and enjoy a great night away from doing dishes and mending socks.