Beating archrival Lexington was “sweeter” than usual for River Bluff wrestling on Jan. 11.

A year ago, the Gators dropped the final match to the Wildcats to lose out on the Region 4-5A title.

Back at the scene of last year’s defeat, River Bluff stormed back from an early deficit for a 49-19 victory.

“Some are older guys, the once we expected to go out there and do well for us, they had faltered,” River Bluff head coach Zachri “Storm” Nelson said. “But it's a team sport. At the end of the day, they got the job done.”

After Aiden Connor earned a points victory in his opening match at 120 pounds for River Bluff, Lexington won the next four matches to take a 16-3 lead. A pinfall win at 152 pounds by Anderson Beeler was followed by the two teams splitting decision wins to make it 19-13.

The Gators dominated the rest of the way. They won the final six matches, five in pinfall courtesy of Reese Lawerence (182 lbs.), Elijah McDougall (195 lbs) Joshua Neblo (220 lbs.), Braylen Anderson (106 lbs.) and Ryan Felkel (113 lbs.).

“They stepped up big for us,” said Nelson about his larger weight classes. “It’s been a trend throughout the year. Our bigger guys have sort of put it together throughout the season. They look so phenomenal. They come in morning workouts and get their stuff done. They’re hungry to improve and you can see it on the map.”

River Bluff improved to 2-0 in the region, moving ahead of Chapin in the win column. The two teams close out the regular season against each other Jan. 27 in The Swamp.