A long layoff may have allowed the Washington wrestling team to get some rest but it also allowed the team to to pick up some rust. That appeared to be the case on Tuesday as the Pam Pack, wrestling for the first time since Dec. 17, fell 43-24 to Coastal Conference foe Havelock on its Senior Night Tuesday.
Washington got off to a slow start as it dropped its first three matches of the meet when Jordan Grazier (132 pounds) and Chris Bohn (138) both got pinned and Thomas Remick (145) lost by points to lead to a 16-0 deficit.
Devon Van Cura (152) stopped the bleeding in the next match as he held on to top John Elks via points to cut the Rams’ lead to 16-3.
Overall, Washington would win six out of the 16 bouts but failed to record any pins for the first time this season which cost them points.
“We gave up too many bonus points and the ones that I thought we’d win we didn’t get any bonus points,” Washington coach Daniel Riggs said. “I feel like our guys weren’t mentally ready for tonight’s match.”
Washington’s last meet was over two weeks ago and Riggs felt like his team may have lost some focus during the holiday break.
“I expected my guys over the break to do some running and training and conditioning on their own and the way they looked coming back from break it would appear that none of them did it,” Riggs said.
After Van Cura held on to top Elks it looked like Washington would go on a roll as Ned Batts (160) and Jay Campbell (170) were each able to win their matches before Havelock forfeited to give the Pam Pack a four-match win streak. However, each victory came via points not pins and Washington still trailed 16-15. That would be as close as it would get as the Rams won five of the final seven matches.
The Pack’s Adam McLawhorn was pinned before Ian Stroud won his contest via forfeit leaving WHS down by one point again with the score 22-21. After that, senior Geovanne Romero (HWT) and Cameron Davenport (106) were both pinned leaving Washington trailing 34-21.The loss was extra painful for Davenport, as he hurt his shoulder and was taken to the hospital.
“Cameron was brought down on his shoulder and we’re not sure if he broke his collarbone or not so he was taken to the hospital … We’d rather be safe than sorry.” Riggs said.
The Pack fell behind 37-21 after Jason Gardner (113) lost a close match by points.
Despite not picking up the win, Riggs said he was pleased with the effort put forth by Gardner along with Remick.
“It sounds surprising but two guys who lost, Jason Gardner and Thomas Remick, had two of our best matches,” Riggs said. “Jason wrestled a kid who was the state champion last year and only fell 2-0. He went out there and gave it his best. Remick had to fight off his back and worked hard for us out there.”
After the Gardner loss, Washington would manage to end the meet on a high note as David Giordano (126) was able to pull out a scrappy victory.