|
Congratulations to the Garrett Railroader wrestling team on last Saturday’s ACAC championship. In a complete team effort, the G-Men repeated as conference champs in the friendly confines of the Bateman Gym.
With back-to-back championships in hand, the Railroader now look ahead to this Saturday’s Carroll Sectional, where the Railroaders look to be in the thick of things as they try to claim the school’s first sectional title ever. But it won’t be easy.
Based on seeding from Monday night’s meeting, only 11 points separate defending champion Whitko, Carroll, Bishop Dwenger and Garrett.
“I’m happy for the most part with the seeding,” Railroader coach Luke Fielden said. “It’s going to be a tight battle, and it’s really anybody’s tournament.” The top team and top four individuals advance to next weekend’s regional.
Head-to-head, the Railroaders (23-5) went 7-1 in dual-meet competition against the sectional foes. Their lone loss was to Whitko, and the G-Men did not wrestle against Concordia or North Side.
Each of the top seeded teams will bring the potential to win the sectional at Carroll. Whitko with 120 seed points, could possibly bring eight wrestlers to the finals with their four #1 seeds and four #2 seeds. Carroll, at 114, will have three #1 seeds and two #2 seeds. The host Chargers have additional strength in the number of three and four seeds that will compete.
As for Bishop Dwenger, depth is the strength of the Saints. They were seeded in to top six in 13 of the 14 weight classes. They also received two #1 and two #2 seeds for the sectional.
The Railroaders also have depth with 11 of the 14 weight classes filled with 1-6 seeds. Zac McCray (160) and Logan Lee (125) are #1 seeds. And Austin McCray (119) and Brayden Moreau (130) are #2 seeds.
Garrett also has four #3 seeds in Bryce Schendel (145) Shea Novy (140), August Novy (103) and Geoff Getts (285). Shea Novy and Getts suffered injuries in Saturday’s conference meet. Their status for Saturday is unknown.
Fielden is optimistic about his Railroaders grapplers.
“We wrestled well at conference Saturday and I feel we are peaking at the right time, which is good,” he said.
“We’re going to need the same kind of effort we had at conference.”
At the ACAC meet, Fielden was happy to see a number of his wrestlers step up in the face of adversity.
“Last year when we won it, I really didn’t think we wrestled that well,” he said. “It was satisfying this year, because even with injuries, other kids stepped up.”
Eight Railroaders made it to the finals, something previous teams have never come close to doing, according to Fielden. And a number of young Railroader wrestlers avenged earlier losses in the season to help secure the championship.
In a sectional meet this competitive, there is no secret ingredient for success. The possibilities are endless.
Some of the Railroader wrestlers will need to wrestle above their seeds. But Fielden believes his team must match Whitko’s eight seeded wrestlers in the finals.
“Hopefully we’ll have more than one champion (ACAC meet)”, he said.
And it would also be nice to bring home the school’s first sectional title ever. Wrestling starts at 8a.m. at Carroll.
Good Luck Railroaders!
|
