sports@southwesttimes.com
DUBLIN – For the first time in five years, the Pulaski County High School wrestling team hosted a home match. Their opponents, Salem High School, weren’t gracious visitors though, handing the Cougars a tough 52-9 loss.
The match was the second of the week, as the Cougars traveled to take on both Fort Chiswell and George Wythe on Tuesday. The team was victorious against both of those schools. The long week has left some of the wrestlers exhausted.
“It is been pretty hard, especially people that go out on Sunday after the meet and eat a lot,” said junior Tommy Wojcik. “They come back in the room Monday and practice to lose all the weight. Then they have come in Tuesday and make weight. It’s hard on them. You can’t eat a lot. It is a hard transition, but if you put your heart and mind to it, you can do it.”
“It is definitely tough on the guys,” said senior Matt Bowman. “We had a practice on Monday, a match Tuesday, practice on Wednesday, a match Thursday, and then we’ll have a practice on Friday and tournament Saturday. It will be tough because we’ve got five matches in one day. We don’t really get to train that hard because we have to stay loose for each match. After tonight, we definitely have to step it up. Tomorrow will be a harder practice. We’ve got to go out there with more intensity on Saturday.”
Impressive in victory on Thursday were two Pulaski grapplers – Tommy Wojcik and Matt Bowman. Both had to fend off tough competition for last second victories. Wojcik, who was competing at 189 pounds, had to hold off Salem’s Devin Smith in the final minute to seal a tough 5-3 win on points. The victory gave Pulaski three team points.
Bowman also had to fend off a Salem grappler, Forest Short, in the 171 pound weight limit. Bowman’s margin was much tighter though, as he held a 6-5 lead in the final seconds against Short. He would play defense on the mat and watch the time tick away, as he picked up the win and Pulaski picked up another three team points.
“It was tough,” Bowman said. “You have to give your all for six minutes. That last minutes I was out of it and drained. You just have to keep your head and keep your composure.”
Unfortunately for the Cougars, they were outmatched by an extremely athletic group of Spartans. Salem would get three pinfall victories – Travis Swain at 160 pounds, Jake Simmons at 215 pounds, and David Woods at 285 pounds. Those performances helped them to pick up the 52-9 victory in the match
Next up for the Cougars is the Johnny Price Memorial Tournament at Franklin County High School on Saturday. Wojcik reflected on his team’s week and looked towards the meet at Franklin County.
“This week was a good week,” Wojcik said. “We’ve practiced really hard and came prepared. Tuesday, we had a match against Fort Chiswell and George Wythe. It was a good match. We won both of them. Tonight, I thought we came prepared. Some of us did. They just have some good wrestlers. We are just going to have to practice more. This weekend, we are going to Franklin County. It is going to be a tough tournament, but you can do anything if you practice hard and put your heart in to it.”
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