tbgfan 856 Report Share Posted December 11, 2008 Mat memories Princeton hosts first home match By JED LOCKETT Bluefield Daily Telegraph PRINCETON — Going into the third period of his wrestling match against Aaron Blankenship of Fayetteville, 189-pound Josh Gross of Graham trailed 7-0. He needed a miracle. Fortunately for him, wrestling is a sport where miracles are routine. Gross somehow got Blankenship in an awkward position, then used it to get a pinfall and a victory out of nowhere. For Graham, this action is common. What made it uncommon is the fact that it took place in the gymnasium at Princeton High School. Wednesday night, Princeton hosted its first match since wrestling became a varsity sport at the high school in 2008. The tri-match between Princeton, Graham and Fayetteville was historic. “It was a shock to the system, really,†said Princeton head coach Brett Bowyer. “This is the first time for Princeton hosting a match and I really didn’t know what to expect.†But it did not go without hiccups. “We didn’t have the score clocks going,†Bowyer said, referring to the large scoreboards on each side of the high school gym. “We had to use the old-school flip-score system and we had a manual clock. “But I think for the most part we didn’t have too many mistakes as far as hosting it.†Nonetheless, grapplers from all three schools were eager to get on the mat and show their stuff. Graham’s passion showed. Their wrestlers wore it on their faces with a tidal wave of emotion. “It’s just always been that way in wrestling,†said Graham head coach Tim Woodward. “Your teammates are cheering you on, telling you what to do. They’re next in line. They’re getting pumped up, ready to wrestle or if they’ve already wrestled they’re over there keeping in with what’s going on on the mat.†Their experience showed as well. After dispensing with Fayetteville 54-24, they watched Fayetteville edge the Tigers 42-30. Then the G-Men dominated against the newcomers, winning nine of 10 matches over the Tigers by pinfall. But Woodward was impressed with the Tigers. “Princeton was very competitive for as short a time as they’ve been practicing,†Woodward said. “The kids are scrappy. They’re fighters. They had basic fundamentals down pretty well and they’ll get better as the season goes on.†Actually, there were 10 pinfalls in the battle between the Tigers and the G-Men. One belonged to Princeton’s Lamar Brooks. The 152-pounder beat Graham’s T.J. Evans to send a rush through his team and give them hope for the future. “I thought he had me at first ’cause I missed a leg carry,†Brooks said. “As soon as I got my ground back, I had him at the second point. I kind-of grabbed his head and kept on driving and I just never stopped.†“Lamar’s a great athlete. He really is. And I’m lucky to have him on the team,†Bowyer said. “I expect him to maybe be one to be competitive in regions later. I think he’s going to get better and better because he soaks up everything you tell him like a sponge.†While Brooks was soaking up the moment, Gross was still recovering from having to pull a rabbit out of his hat. “I think we’ve conditioned a little bit better than they have so far this year,†Gross said. “We’ve only had three weeks of practice. So we’re all still a little out of shape.†But Brooks found a way to win. “Coach told me to go on the bottom because that’s where you score all your points,†Gross said. “He was trying to use his legs. They drill us pretty hard on our leg defense. Luckily I ended up getting him with a half(-nelson).†“The thing about wrestling is you can be down and it seems like you have no hope,†Woodward said, “and just with a good move or a little bit of luck you can get the other guy over on your back and turn what looks like sure defeat into a victory.†That hope is fueling the Princeton Tigers. Bowyer did not see many wins. But he saw the foundation for a potentially successful program. “We’re learning and I saw improvement even though a lot of my guys lost the matches,†Bowyer said. “I saw a lot of good things that I liked and I try to keep a positive attitude. “I hope we can go into next week’s competition with Bluefield and PikeView with a positive attitude, learn from our mistakes and getting better and better and better.†— Contact Jed Lockett at jlockett@bdtonline.com Life has many choices---eternity has two Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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