An improving Polk County Middle School wrestling squad will make for a tough opponent during the second half of the Blue Ridge Middle School Conference schedule.
The Wolverines are battling teams tough enough in the first half.
Polk Middle dropped a 58-39 decision to Hendersonville Middle School on Thursday at Polk Middle, but the two teams were tied 24-24 midway through the match before a series of Hendersonville pins pushed the deadlock in the Bearcats’ favor.
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And while Polk head coach Ben Johnson would have preferred to leave the gym with a victory, he still found ample reasons to be happy with the match.
“We’re definitely improving technically,” Johnson said. “The guys are really to click and understanding what they have to do.
“The bulk of this team is first-year wrestlers, so it just takes a while. But we look much, much better than when we started.”
Polk Middle kept things close early on as Michael Bradley won by pin at 195 and Devin Panchyshyn did the same at heavyweight. Ethan Edwards earned a forfeit at the 83-pound class, and Kevin Sandoval’s pin at 113 led to that 24-24 deadlock.
Hendersonville Middle won the next five matches, including a thrilling match at 126, where Polk’s Christian Davis fought from the first whistle to the last before dropping a 19-11 decision.
“He’s had some tough luck,” Johnson said.
Braden Miller stopped Hendersonville’s streak with a 10-4 decision at 170, scoring the first six points of the match. Hayden Shumate then closed the meet with a late pin to win the 182-pound class.
“Our upper weight guys are excellent,” Johnson said. “They are really carrying the team in practice and matches.
“Our lighter guys, if they could just have gotten the right chest pressure, they would probably have done a lot better tonight. But overall I am pleased with the team and pleased with what the coaches have done.”
Polk Middle returns to action on Monday, traveling to Flat Rock for its final match before the Christmas break.
