Competing with heavy hearts, Baylor’s wrestlers put forth a performance the late Jim Morgan would have smiled about.
For four-time state finalist Mason Reiniche, who ranks seventh in the nation at 170 pounds, the 45-26 home victory over archrival McCallie provided overwhelming emotions Friday night.
As Division II’s heavy favorites to land a sweep of the duals and traditional state tournaments, the state’s top-ranked squad looks to sweep the team awards in honor of Coach Morgan starting next weekend in Franklin.
“We had Jim’s chair close to our bench sitting next to Coach Schaack (Van Deusen) with his jacket on it,” said Reiniche, who landed the quickest pin of the dual meet in 35 seconds. “Jim’s grandson, Steven Morgan, came back that was on our team last year, too. (Coach Morgan’s) birthday and funeral are coming up, and all we are here to do is work together to get better for him.”
Morgan won 15 state championships in 25 seasons at Baylor, where he guided teams to a 539-84-1 dual-meet record and coached 59 individual champions.