Photograph courtesy of Natalie Fitch, Watauga Yearbook: Jake Steadman against an Ashe Wrestler
On Saturday, January 21st, the WHS wrestling team traveled to Hibriten High School to compete in the annual 4A Northwestern Conference Championship. The teams who participated in the tournament were Ashe, Watauga, Hibriten, Freedom, Alexander Central, and South Caldwell.
Wrestling at 120 pounds for Watauga was Creed Casner. Casner faced off against Ashe, Freedom, and Alexander Central.
“The competition was tough only because of two wrestlers being from Ashe and Hibriten, said Casner. "They stood in my way while both of them took 2nd and 1st place."
Casner placed third in the 120-pound portion of the tournament and represented Watauga in the 4A state playoffs alongside his teammates that found out who made regionals in the coming weeks.
“Getting to place top three in conference showed the hard work I have put forth from pre-season and throughout the season, but we aren't done yet,” said Casner.
Wrestling at 126 pounds was Ryder Sullivan. Sullivan received a bye (skipping a match due to the wrestler's conference record) because of his record and would wrestle only two schools: Ashe and Hibriten. Sullivan would place first in the conference for the 126-pound weight class, sweeping both schools during the tournament.
“It felt really good to win conference because I’ve put a lot of time and dedication into this sport and I’m glad it paid off,” said Sullivan.
Photograph courtesy of Natalie Fitch, Watauga Yearbook: Ryder Sullivan against an Ashe Wrestler
For the 152-pound weight class, Palmer Smith of Watauga would also receive a bye from the first round. Smith played against the Ashe and Alexander Central wrestlers.
“The 152 bracket was definitely one of the tougher weights to wrestle in our conference with 4 regional qualifiers including myself,” said Smith. “I had a bye in my first round due to being the second seed, I have respect for both of the kids I wrestled and I knew they would be tough to beat.”
Smith had a difficult time getting past Ashe this year, as the conference record between the two wrestlers was evenly matched at 1-1. This rivalry was eventually met with a Smith victory and would prove a testament to Smith’s ability to finish out as he placed first for his weight class.
“That was one thing I emphasized to our guys the week before, I told them to come out of this tournament with no regrets because the worst feeling as a wrestler is looking back and wishing you had done more,” said Smith.
In the 182-pound bracket, John L’Antigua did not have an easy task ahead of him as he faced off against 4 of the other high schools.
“I respect all my opponents, however, the only one who was difficult to wrestle was the one who beat me from Alexander Central,” said L'Antigua. “ I had a solid first period against him, but the second period I started on bottom and he was pretty strong. He eventually sunk in a bar and pinned me.”
L’Antigua would finish the tournament in the 3rd place spot but proved himself as one of the top wrestlers in the conference for his weight class.
“My goal was to win gold so I was disappointed, however It was a good feeling to walk away on a win and still get a medal,” said L’Antigua
Wrestling at 285 pounds for Watauga, Eli Greene would receive a bye round for his rank in the conference and would only wrestle Hibriten and South Caldwell.
“The Hibriten wrestler was pretty good, but I got a takedown pretty fast in the first period and ended it there with a half,” said Greene
Greene faced off in the first-place match but fell short to the wrestler from South Caldwell. Green would walk away with the second-place trophy.
“It felt good to be able to place in my first year. It's been hard to learn moves and get good technique but it's all paid off and I'm happy about that,” said Greene.
תגובות