NEWTON RE-CAP

I have a lot of thoughts about Newton.

Things I know:  We did not have Daniel Deshazer, Domonique Henderson and Hunter Jameson.  Therefore there is about 35-40 points missing from the team score for us.  We had some horrible draws in the tournament from our unseeded wrestlers grabbing the #1 or #2 seed in every match from a non-seeded wrestler.  There were a lot of factors that inhibited us from breaking the top 10 in this tournament.  However.......

It's now time for wrestlers who have been in the program to start picking it up......
Conner Neal is a large 103 pound wrestler who started out strong with big wins in Valley Center and a 3rd place finish at Bishop Carroll who has underachieved for two weeks in a row.  It is now time for a gut check and start using that talent to compete with upper level kids and start winning some of those matches.

Barry Newton is a tough kid who tries hard but becomes very sloppy at times.  When he learns to hold position and not try to flip flop with kids he will begin placing in these tournaments.  He needs to get out of his comfort zone and try new things in practice to become better.  Back to the basics is going to be huge for him.

Mike Ashpole is another tough kid who is on the verge of breaking out.  He needs a confidence boost on his wrestling but if will stick to leg attacks and being tough on top can do some damage.  He has 1 month left in his wrestling career and needs every second and some to get better.  It's possible good things will happen from this kid but he has to get it done.

Uylesses Deshazer showed up to compete this week-end.  He finally made the transition from a 112 pounder to a 135 pounder realizing he is not going to land his head lock or snake on these big kids but if he wrestles them he is good enough to beat them.  Closing the gap from 9-1 to 6-4 on Kash Biddle from Ark City was very nice.  I am looking for great things to come out of Uylesses in the last month.

Trey needs to become more consistent for sure.  He is so hot and cold it is unbelievable.  When he is hot he is amazing and unbeatable.  However, when he is cold he is bad.  Trey needs to clean up his technique and be ready and in enough shape to compete for 6 minutes and not just 2-3 minutes.  He fixes those problems he will be good to go and make a run at a high state medal if not a championship.

Dalton Maier had a year off of his career and you can tell he is not comfortable with the grind of a tournament.  He needs to seek out better competition in the practice room and spend a lot of individual time with coaches.  He is capable of placing and doing great things but a rise in fire in his intensity is much needed out of Dalton.  Attitude takes you a long way in this sport.

Matt Reed has been a beast.  I was happy to see him technically take apart his opponent in the finals.  That was a high quality wrestler and that was a nice win.  I see him getting better in every single match he competes in.  February will be a great month for Matt Reed if he continues to get better.

Christian is doing enough to get by and on the brink of stepping it up a level.  He has placed in the top 6 of the two toughest tournaments we attend.  If he can get himself into better shape and put together 3 periods of wrestling he has a shot at getting a high medal in the state tournament.

Jeremy Schrimscher wrestled very tough this week-end for just being thrown into the fire.  I am real excited about Jeremy in the room and he is going to push for a varsity spot on the team.  If he can put together some offense he will be pretty good.

Sammi Balbuena had a bad break with the injury during warm-ups.  Sammi is competing with high level kids and in there with most of them.  Sammi needs to keep training and working hard and he will be ok.

Overall I believe we underachieved and those guys that are not seeded in tournaments need to pick it up now and start competing in the back door of tournaments.  You guys are going to be the ones that make or break us.  Get better mentally and physically and you will have success.

Practice Tuesday January 19th at 3:25 p.m.  Be ready to work hard!!