Carson Nine and the Warriors hope to secure a ‘W’ Thursday night at Goshen.
Being part of the Wawasee wrestling program affixes a target on the collective backs. The team is going to get everyone’s best, which is a good thing. That happened last week as both East Noble and Elkhart, a loss to the Lions as part of a 4-1 day at the Warsaw Super Duals and a narrow win over the Knights, really put the screws to the program. And while Wawasee split the two matches on the scoreboard, it sent a message that work is needed in short order as the calendar gets no easier with a matchup against Goshen looming Thursday evening.
OUR LAST STAND
Most 2-A teams would be happy with a 4-1 team result at a big-school super dual. Not really for Wawasee, which looked good on the scoreboard in lopsided wins against overmatched Fort Wayne Northrop, Fort Wayne Concordia and Purdue Polytechnic, but some mixed bags against a largely comprised Penn JV and the loss to Elkhart left the team a little hungrier than planned.
And considering Wawasee needed a mega rally to overcome East Noble at home two days prior, coach Frank Bumgardner was hoping to see his kids respond after the weekend.
“This week the focus has been on detail and accountability,” Bumgardner said. “Being accountable to ourselves, our teammates and our community. I say that not in the sense of negativity, but trust in the process and continuing to put forth the effort it takes to improve. Everything from taking care of our bodies physically and mentally, to managing our weights, to “maintaining our house”. This is a great group of athletes and coaches, the focus has been good so far this week.”
WHAT’S TO COME
Up next for the Warriors is a visit to the Hawk’s Nest at Goshen this Thursday. More conference posturing is on the line after Wawasee secured positive results against Warsaw in its first Northern Lakes Conference competition at the November Duals. Always grindy and always physical, Goshen mirrors that of its longtime head coach, Jim Pickard, and won’t be an easy pushover.
Look for some interesting matchups at either 170 or 182 with Laish Detwiler and also with Jonathan Flores in the other of 170 or 182, Flores having a positive match under his belt against state-ranked Duke Myers of Bellmont. Both Detwiler and Flores had semi-state wins a season ago and should provide plenty of competition for Gavin Malone at 170 and Cam Zimmerman at 182.
“With all the illnesses going around right now both teams sound to be dealing with it, so we’re not 100 percent sure on exactly what matchups may look like,” offered Bumgardner. “With that said, Goshen has had some good results so far this year. Goshen has some very solid guys through the middle of their lineup that will create some interesting matchups Thursday evening.”
Looking to the weekend, the JV Warriors will come back to Goshen to compete in the Goshen JV Invite.
“Invite tournaments are obviously a fantastic opportunity for our kids to compete, but it’s also a place where some of the largest growth is seen. We are very curious to see the development in our JV and girls with the technical adjustments we have been making this week. As always, we look for our kids to wrestle hard, and look to score points and have fun!”