It’s the home stretch and time for several of Fallon’s wrestlers to turn the corner.
The Greenwave compete in their final two-day tournament in Fernley leading up to next week’s regional seeding meet. Fallon hits the mat at 2 p.m. today in Fernley and 9 a.m. Saturday.
Coming off a solid performance in Spring Creek last week, Wave coach Louie Mori will be without several of his top grapplers, which allows for his more inexperienced ones to make their mark.
As an example, Jordan Schultz (145 pounds) won his first tournament title last week, giving those younger wrestlers an example of hard work and fortitude paying off.
Two wrestlers, Mori said on the cusp of turning the corner are Terry White and Mason Smith. White has shown vast improvement over last year, although he battled through an injury early this season.
Still, White has been solid at 106, while Smith is coming off a 3-2 record at Spring Creek.
For the others, though, today and Saturday is an opportunity to show they belong in the lineup for the regional seeding tournament.
“If a kid comes into this tournament and has a tournament, he will go to the (regional) dual,” Mori said. “A kid coming out of this tournament feeling good about himself is really important.”
Preparing for this week, Mori said, will consist of shorter practices and less group work to keep the athletes fresh and free — or to recover — from injury and illness.
The loss of a number of upperclassmen this weekend is the result of SAT testing and the junior prom.
Nevertheless, Mori said he will take a full team including JV wrestlers, to compete in Fernley.
“Generally, this tournament isn’t as tough as Spring Creek,” he added. “It’s a great tournament to come out of the season with. We are looking to get some of younger kids more matches.”
A turning point in the season was the tournament at Douglas High School. Mori said the attitude shifted and has been more positive in the weeks after.
“I think they are seeing they are right there with kids in their weight classes,” he added. “I think they just need a little more work or a little more heart and they are going to come around.”