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Pam Pack pins Eagles
By BRIAN HAINES, Sports Writer
Pam Pack wrestling coach Rick Garrett instructed his team to stay aggressive before its match with the West Craven Eagles, and the strategy paid off for Washington. The Pack won its match 48-29 on Wednesday night.
After winning its first two matches, the Pack never looked back and finished with nine wins out of 14 matches for the night.
“I try and get them to be aggressive,” Garrett said. “I don’t want them backing up; I want them going straight forward and attacking all the time.”
Gabriel Gardner set the tone early for Washington as he pinned West Craven’s Keenan Johnson in the first match, giving the Pack an early 6-0 lead. Fermin Martinez followed up on Gardner’s efforts as he pulled away with a 14-13 decision in the closest match of the night.
The Pack suffered its first loss of the night in the third match, as Jacob Corey got pinned by Dan Reich in the 119-pound class. The Eagle pin moved it within three points of the Pack, as they trailed 9-6 going into match number four.
Washington refused to let West Craven get any closer and put together a four-match winning streak, which gave them a massive 31-6 advantage.
While the Washington wrestlers did a good job on the mats, they also benefited from West Craven’s lack of depth on its roster. During its four-match win streak, two of Washington’s victories came as a result of West Craven forfeits. The Eagles finished with a total of four forfeits on the day, giving 24 free points to the Pam Pack.
“We gave them 24 points right off the bat,” said Eagle coach Mike Matlock. “We don’t have a tradition of wrestling at West Craven so it’s hard to get people to come out for the team. When we matched up head-to-head, we were 5-5. We just can’t get any bodies on this team.”
Despite having to give away four matches, Matlock felt his team turned in a good performance.
“We did a good job,” Matlock said. “They came out with plenty of fight. We killed ourselves with technical mistakes, but we have a young team, and that’s what happens with a young team.”
While Garrett would have preferred to have those four matches settled on the floor, he said it’s always nice to receive a couple of points.
“(Getting) 24 points right off the top is always good to get,” Garrett said. “If we had to wrestle in those four spots, I’m pretty confident we would’ve beat them. The forfeits came against four of my better kids.”
Garrett said he was surprised with the performance of the team’s newest edition, Cam Trip, who pinned his opponent in the 160-pound class.
“Cam Trip has been wrestling with us for two weeks and he pinned his kid in about 40 seconds tonight,” Garrett said. “He has done a really good job in practice. You can just throw stuff at him and it sticks.”
Garrett also said he was pleased with the efforts of Gabriel and Bryant Gardner, as well as Shawn Ward, who all won their matches.
Garrett believed a key to the Pam Pack’s success on Wednesday was its defense against the Eagles’ stand-up style of wrestling.
“Our kids were taking them down every time they chose to stand up,” Garrett said. “It’s fine with me if they (West Craven) wants to keep standing up. My guys love taking them down. His (Matlock’s) strategy of standing up and taking us down never worked. We took them down more than they took us down.”
The win gives Washington a 4-4 record on the season. The Pack will look to earn a winning record on Jan. 4th as it hits the road against J.H. Rose.
Washington 48, West Craven 29
103) Gabriel Gardner (W) by pin over Kenan Johnson; 112) Fermin Martinez (W) 14-13 dec. over Jeremy Bryce; 119) Dan Riech (WC) by pin over Jacob Corey; 125) Bryan Gardner (W) tech fall over Mike Saul; 130) Wells Jarvis (W) by forfeit; 135) Shawn Ward (W) tech fall over Drew Stevens; 140) Melvin Spruill (W) by forfeit; 145) Willis McCall (WC) by pin over Brandon Rouse; 152) Rodney Putney (W) by forfeit; 160) Cam Trip (W) by pin over Jeff Key; 171) Gabe Brown (WC) by pin over John Carroll; 189) Jeremy Brown (WC) tech fall over John Smallwood; 215) Gerald Lawrence (W) by forfeit; 275) Jeremiah Moore (WC) by pin over Patrick Jones.
After winning its first two matches, the Pack never looked back and finished with nine wins out of 14 matches for the night.
“I try and get them to be aggressive,” Garrett said. “I don’t want them backing up; I want them going straight forward and attacking all the time.”
Gabriel Gardner set the tone early for Washington as he pinned West Craven’s Keenan Johnson in the first match, giving the Pack an early 6-0 lead. Fermin Martinez followed up on Gardner’s efforts as he pulled away with a 14-13 decision in the closest match of the night.
The Pack suffered its first loss of the night in the third match, as Jacob Corey got pinned by Dan Reich in the 119-pound class. The Eagle pin moved it within three points of the Pack, as they trailed 9-6 going into match number four.
Washington refused to let West Craven get any closer and put together a four-match winning streak, which gave them a massive 31-6 advantage.
While the Washington wrestlers did a good job on the mats, they also benefited from West Craven’s lack of depth on its roster. During its four-match win streak, two of Washington’s victories came as a result of West Craven forfeits. The Eagles finished with a total of four forfeits on the day, giving 24 free points to the Pam Pack.
“We gave them 24 points right off the bat,” said Eagle coach Mike Matlock. “We don’t have a tradition of wrestling at West Craven so it’s hard to get people to come out for the team. When we matched up head-to-head, we were 5-5. We just can’t get any bodies on this team.”
Despite having to give away four matches, Matlock felt his team turned in a good performance.
“We did a good job,” Matlock said. “They came out with plenty of fight. We killed ourselves with technical mistakes, but we have a young team, and that’s what happens with a young team.”
While Garrett would have preferred to have those four matches settled on the floor, he said it’s always nice to receive a couple of points.
“(Getting) 24 points right off the top is always good to get,” Garrett said. “If we had to wrestle in those four spots, I’m pretty confident we would’ve beat them. The forfeits came against four of my better kids.”
Garrett said he was surprised with the performance of the team’s newest edition, Cam Trip, who pinned his opponent in the 160-pound class.
“Cam Trip has been wrestling with us for two weeks and he pinned his kid in about 40 seconds tonight,” Garrett said. “He has done a really good job in practice. You can just throw stuff at him and it sticks.”
Garrett also said he was pleased with the efforts of Gabriel and Bryant Gardner, as well as Shawn Ward, who all won their matches.
Garrett believed a key to the Pam Pack’s success on Wednesday was its defense against the Eagles’ stand-up style of wrestling.
“Our kids were taking them down every time they chose to stand up,” Garrett said. “It’s fine with me if they (West Craven) wants to keep standing up. My guys love taking them down. His (Matlock’s) strategy of standing up and taking us down never worked. We took them down more than they took us down.”
The win gives Washington a 4-4 record on the season. The Pack will look to earn a winning record on Jan. 4th as it hits the road against J.H. Rose.
Washington 48, West Craven 29
103) Gabriel Gardner (W) by pin over Kenan Johnson; 112) Fermin Martinez (W) 14-13 dec. over Jeremy Bryce; 119) Dan Riech (WC) by pin over Jacob Corey; 125) Bryan Gardner (W) tech fall over Mike Saul; 130) Wells Jarvis (W) by forfeit; 135) Shawn Ward (W) tech fall over Drew Stevens; 140) Melvin Spruill (W) by forfeit; 145) Willis McCall (WC) by pin over Brandon Rouse; 152) Rodney Putney (W) by forfeit; 160) Cam Trip (W) by pin over Jeff Key; 171) Gabe Brown (WC) by pin over John Carroll; 189) Jeremy Brown (WC) tech fall over John Smallwood; 215) Gerald Lawrence (W) by forfeit; 275) Jeremiah Moore (WC) by pin over Patrick Jones.
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