On Dec. 9, 2023, the wrestling team went to the “Hampton Dawg Duals.” The team left Friday at 6 p.m. and arrived at the hotel in Pittsburgh at 8:30 p.m. The team went 2-3 and two of the team’s wrestlers went 5-0. Junior Imeen Whitacher and Sophomore Braiden Weaver went 5-0 at the duals.
Wrestling coach Joel Gilbert was happy with the results of the team as a whole.
“We wrestled very tough for four matches, but we didn’t wrestle very well in our last. Ideally, what we need to do is continue to build upon the first four matches and forget about the last. Those Pittsburgh teams are very good and tough. Overall, it was good to see our guys get out there and scrap. All I ask is for our team to wrestle their hardest,” Gilbert said.
Whitacher, wrestling 139 lbs, achieved pins and then won by injury and off of points. He ended with 27 points out of 30.
“Me personally, I have stuff to still work on to get better. The team did pretty well going 2-3. Knowing I went 5-0 makes me happy,” Whitacher said.
Weaver, wrestling 114 and 121 lbs, achieved pins in five matches to finish off with 30 points for his team.
“It felt pretty good pinning everyone. The people I wrestled weren’t that good, except the 20th in the state. I feel like we could improve by not getting pinned and not giving up easy losses. We could have beat a few of those teams, but we lost them because people kept getting pinned,” Weaver said.
The team’s next home match is on Dec. 21, 2023, in the high school gymnasium. The match starts at 1 p.m. and will be held during the school day. A part of the school will be called down to watch the matches. Coaches will be dismissed at 10:30 a.m., while athletes will be dismissed at 10:45a.m.. The classes that are going will be called down and ready to watch by 1 p.m with the wrestlers friends and family.
