Great afternoon Robinson wrestling fans,
Before I get into the weekend, I want to thank you for all of the support you have given us over this season and in the past. We hope to keep you involved in the future, and we also hope to continue the great wrestling traditions of the past and build new traditions and pride for the future. It was so wonderful to see so many of you this past weekend. Thanks for the cheers and inspiration, it was truly a team effort!
We are still walking in the clouds. After 26 years, we have brought the state team championship back home! The weekend had many highs and very few lows. We marched into our home gym and competed with the best teams in the state, and we came out victorious. In day #1 we went 17-3 and held a 20 + point lead over Cox High School, and at the end of the night Saturday, we were 30-13 for the weekend, and the team scores were as follows:
1 | Robinson | 155.5 |
2 | Cox | 125.0 |
3 | Colonial Forge | 98.5 |
4 | Forest Park | 76.0 |
5 | Westfield | 69.0 |
6 | Kempsville | 61.5 |
7 | Franklin County | 60.0 |
8 | Hanover | 57.5 |
9 | Great Bridge | 44.0 |
10 | Kellam | 44.0 |
11 | Annandale | 43.0 |
We had 2 State Champions, 3 state runner-ups, 2 third placers and 2 eighth placers. Every one of our athletes contributed to the team score, and 9 of our 10 wrestlers placed. It was really incredible.
At 103, Lucas Sodergren had a tough draw. After convincingly winning in the first round, he had to wrestle the runner-up and he lost a close 3-2 decision. In the first consolation round, he won a 7-2 decision, but and the next morning, he had to wrestle the young man who finished 3rd in a narrow 7-4 decision loss. Lucas is a tough FRESHMAN, and we are looking for BIG things next year!
At 112, Dallas Smith surged to the finals with 3 falls, but he was defeated 9-7 in a finals war. A few positions went the way of his Cox opponent in the finals. Dallas is a sophomore who has already accomplished more in his young career than most wrestlers will or have ever achieved with his two state runner-up finishes and 2 regional titles… he will go back to the drawing board and map out next year’s success.
At 119, Jake Smith was 2nd in the state as a freshman and 3rd in the State as a Sophomore. This year, he improved on both of these finishes and became the STATE CHAMPION! In an action filled, give you ulcers, finals match he came out with a 6-5 double overtime decision that had the fans on their feet! We are so proud of Jake for his composure and class as he stood atop the podium! He’ll be back next season as well! Do you see a common thread?
At 125, Jack Bass (a FRESHMAN… J) wrestled himself to the state finals with an exciting 2-1 Triple overtime win in the semifinals…this was after he had won 6-4 in round one and 21-5 in round two. In the final, unfortunately, he was defeated in a 4-1 war against Dane Harlow from Annandale. Jack, who loves to train, is going to use this defeat as fodder for his fire. I feel sorry for his opponents in the future…this kid is a STUD!
At 130, Santiago Valdez continued to awe the wrestling world with his competitive spirit! He wrestled his way to the semi-finals where he faced one of the top ranked kids in the country and the eventual state champion from Cox. He didn’t come out ahead, but coming back through the consolations, he won a 3-1 and a 3-2 match to finish 3rd. Considering that Santiago had a record of 7-8 last year and finished this season with a record of 42 -9, I would have to say that if he continues to improve at that rate again this “off-season”, he may never lose again! Oh yea, did I mention that he’s back next year!
At 135, Brooks Martino capped off an amazing year with a STATE TITLE!!!! Brooks won his final 34 matches of the year having his last loss in the semi-finals of the Manheim tournament on 12/29/10. He had what came out close the perfect tournament. He pinned his first 2 opponents, and in the semi-final, he beat the returning state champion 7-1 to get to the finals. In the finals, he scrambled at a blistering pace to win 8-4 in workman like fashion! By the way, Brooks is a junior, and he’s back!
At 145, Zak DePasquale (Depo) finished his season off on the podium… Zak had an incredible FRESHMAN season (yes, he’s back too) finishing 35-13. He had to eat at least 4 pounds of food before each match just to be eligible to compete at the weight (he went up 4 weight classes to earn the spot). He wrestles with the heart of a lion! He finished 8th in the event, but on the way, he opened the eyes of the entire wrestling world with some amazing victories! We are so proud of Zak, and the respect that he earned on the way with pay serious dividends in the future!
At 160, Wes Jones finished his Senior campaign with a season record of 48-7 and a career record of 155-48. He didn’t have the easiest draw, and after losing a heartbreaking 5-3 loss in the semi-finals, he had to wrestle USA wrestling’s Junior Pan-American representative in the consolation semi-finals. Most kids would have packed it in after a crushing semi’s loss, but not Wes. He won in the Consolation Semis 5-0 and beat the Central Regional champion 10-0 to get third. If you have ever lost a close match in the semi-finals, you understand the gravity of this feat! I was so impressed with his perseverance when things got TOUGH!
At 171, we were afforded a bonus! Unfortunately, the Regional runner-up from Lake Braddock was injured, so Tim Fitzpatrick, who finished 5th in the region and was the alternate, was able to get in. In the first round, Tim had to wrestle the eventual State Champion. From there, he had to battle back. He won his first round consolation 3-0 and on Saturday morning, he had to wrestle the Eastern Region Champion form Cox. It was a back and forth battle, but in typical Fitzpatrick flair, he caught his opponent on his back and stuck him in the closing seconds of the second period! This set the chain of events in motion for our team, and put us on a path to the championship! For a kid who decided not to wrestle his first 2 years in high school, he finished it off BIG for our team with big team points and even bigger momentum!
Finally at Heavyweight, Jake Pinkston had an amazing tournament. I have had several emails from people telling me that Jake was their outstanding wrestler of the tournament. Jake is an undersized FRESHMAN…(yes I said it…FRESHMAN) heavyweight with the wrestling skills of most lightweights. In his first round he had to wrestle an athlete from Deep Creek who towered over him. This kid looked like an NFL linebacker… Jake won 10-8. In the last match of Friday night, Jake had to wrestle the heavyweight from Patrick Henry – Roanoke who had to run to make 287 on Friday morning. Jake, who weighs just over 220, pinned him with agility! In the semis, he had to wrestle an equally large man and won 9-3. IN the final, he wrestled a replica of Paul Bunyan from Franklin County. With the score tied at 1 with 10 seconds to go, Jake attempted his favorite takedown and was inches from finishing when his opponent caught Jake on his back and pinned him with 3 seconds left on the clock. We were so proud of him for going for it… He is fearless, and without risk, rarely is there reward!
Here are the final Brackets:
http://www.fcps.edu/RobinsonSS/athletics/wwrestling/2011_%20Final%20Brackets.pdf
After the event, I was interviewed by USA wrestling, and this morning it was posted on www.themat.com… Here it is…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CimRmwaDc0s&feature=player_embedded#at=14
Below are a few newspaper articles from the weekend:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/17/AR2011021706390.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/20/AR2011022000071.html
http://burke.patch.com/articles/robinson-captures-first-state-wrestling-title-since-1985
These are a few of the matches from the weekend from Live Sports Video who were webcasting the event. It is free to view, but you do need to log in.
Next week, a few of our athletes are going to wrestle in the freshman state tournament in Richmond. Hopefully I’ll have good news next Tuesday!
Thanks again, and if you know of anyone who doesn’t receive this message, let me know, or direct them to the many ways we communicate…Here are a few.
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http://ramswrestling.shutterfly.com/ - We have Great photos done by one of our amazing wrestling parents…
http://www.fcps.edu/RobinsonSS/athletics/wwrestling/varsity_wrestling.html - NEW Wrestling Home Page with our schedule:
Talk to you soon!
Bryan
Bryan Hazard
Middle School Health Specialist / Physical Education Instructor
Head Wrestling Coach
Robinson Secondary
Physical fitness is not only one of the most important keys to a healthy body, it is the basis of dynamic and creative intellectual activity.
John F. Kennedy
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