Graham News Article
Graham grapplers prepare for season
By TOM BONE
Bluefield Daily Telegraph
BLUEFIELD, Va. - The workouts are long. The drills on the wrestling mats are repetitive. The weight-lifting goes on literally for months. The goal?
Endurance.
That's the watchword for the Graham High School wrestling team with the start of the season one week away.
Tim Woodward, with 18 years of experience, is busy turning his boys' potential into refined skill and tenacity to meet a toughened 2004-05 schedule.
"For the past six years, we have improved with each season," Woodward said Friday. "We've had winning seasons. We've increased the number of wins. We've increased the number of kids we've had placed in the regionals and going to the state tournament.
This season the situation is different, with eight of last year's seniors gone, many of them three-year starters, from a team which went 28-10. Woodward calls it a "classic rebuilding" scenario.
"I've got 10 returning lettermen, six returning starters. I've got a good nucleus of experience to build on for this season. But my schedule's tougher this year than it's ever been."
That decision, Woodward said, was "a desire on my part to increase the level of competition, and to get us a look at teams we'd be seeing in the region and at the state."
The G-Men will start out in the Carroll County Christmas Tournament on Dec. 18, and will compete this winter in tourneys in Blacksburg, Lebanon and Abingdon.
In addition, the Graham Invitational, on Jan. 22, has increased to eight schools.
Three of Graham's seniors - Andy Henderson, Travis Walk and Jesse Peery - are within striking distance of 100 wrestling wins. Henderson is a two-time state qualifier, and last year placed first in his weight class in the Southwest District.
Walk and Reggie Brown took second in the SWD, and Peery was third. Justin Dove completes the senior contingent.
"This group of seniors that I've got are all good wrestlers," Woodward said. "These kids have been working really hard.
"I've got some good young talent; it's just a matter of giving them some match experience, and (them) learning what they need to do to be competitive wrestlers."
Dove said, "We still have a great senior squad. We're going to be really good this year."
G-Men junior wrestlers are Roy Garland, Elisha Martin, Rick Barreras and Jason Young. Sophomores are Antonio Kelsor (third in the SWD), Jamey Ball and Jim Ed Williams.
A large freshman class includes Ben Gross, Ryan Shrader, Tyler Barreras, Joe Rasi, Andrew Epperson, Charlie Holbrook, David Trigg and Shaun Sluss. Eighth graders showing promise on the JV side include Mike Garland, Chris Sesco and Chad Stasheen.
Peery said, "Coach Woodward makes it a really good atmosphere to practice in."
Dove said he has been working on his technique, while Henderson said he has focused on his speed and getting his "shots," or initial moves into an opponent, down.
Walk said endurance was his key "so I can last all three rounds."
Henderson, Walk and Peery have wrestled together since third grade. Peery said, "That just makes us more of a team."
Kelsor said that it wasn't hard to get motivated to wrestle. "You get the adrenaline flowing, all the excitement," he said.
Martin wrestled varsity occasionally last year for his brother Benoni Martin when the injury bug hit. The younger Martin said that this year "I have to push myself harder to make the team better - (and) so I can make myself better, too."
Holbrook said wrestling is "a great sport." Going into his first varsity season, he said, "It's going to be pretty tough competition."
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