New-look Polk Middle rolls past Macon Middle in season debut
New faces, familiar result.
Polk County Middle kicked off its 2023-24 season on Monday, topping Macon Middle 78-30 in a Blue Ridge Conference wrestling matchup at Polk.
It’s a year of transition for the Wolverines, with much of last year’s BRC championship squad moving on to Polk County High School. But that didn’t stop Polk from winning 13 of the day’s 18 matches, racing to a 30-6 lead and steadily building the margin throughout the afternoon.
“A lot of new kids, and a lot of kids that got some mat time last year and you can see improvement, like the Eadus twins (Acer and Callum),” said Polk Middle head coach Jerry Cox. “They weren’t starters last year, but they went to tournaments and got better, and they’ve filled those roles for those kids wrestling at the high school.
“These kids want to keep the ball rolling. They might not have the reputation that some of the older kids had just because of how last year went, but they’ve been working in the background.”
Unlike last year’s squad, the current Polk Middle roster has a healthy blenmd of eighth and seventh graders, with a few sixth graders in the mix as well. One of those, Trenholm McMinn, made his starting debut in Monday’s match.
“A young team and still growing,” Cox said. “A really athletic team. And even with the sickness going around, we had two or three kids out who will eventually start for us, any time we get in the 70s, it’s a good night for us.
“There are some kids that are brand new that are super athletes, some that are brand new that are just coming into wrestling, there are kids that are older and have been here a few years. That makes practice and matches pretty fun.”
The Wolverines will be back in action on Tuesday, traveling to R-S Central Middle School for a tri-match with the Hilltoppers and Thomas Jefferson Classical.
POLK COUNTY MIDDLE 78, MACON MIDDLE 30
76: Silas Amorelli (PC) p. L. Massey
83: Jared Contreras (PC) p. J. Stanford
90: Cole Huntley (PC) p. J. Capijano
98: Liam Jackson (PC) p. A. Baker
106: R. Gazorn (M) p. Trenholm McMinn
113: Gavin Waldbillig (PC) p. C. Pittman
120: C. Robbins (M) p. Gordan Threlfall
126: Jayvin Clark (PC) p. M. Dinoey
132: John Jarrett (PC) p. T. McCann
138: Andy Serano (PC) p. C. Brennan
145: Isaiah Staley (PC) p. B. Carpenter
152: Danny Bradley (PC) by forfeit
160: Callum Eadus (PC) by forfeit
170: G. Young (M) p. Chester Wilson
182: Acer Eadus (PC) p. J. Jenkins
195: D. Bailey (M) p. Lander Moss-Barnhart
220: Hudson Hyde (PC) p. M. Sinclair
250: B. Dining (M) by forfeit
