Hughes optimistic heading into 4th year
Curt Hughes enters his fourth year as head coach of West Greene optimistic with 26 wrestlers on the roster as his team goes through preseason drills.
The Pioneers lost one of the key pieces to their lineup following the graduation of Jake Durbin. Durbin, who wrestled at 140 in 2010-2011, was a Class AA state qualifier.
“We definitely lost one of our key guys in Jake, but we have some strong returning lettermen,” Hughes said. “I think we can fill most of the weight classes. That seems to always be the issue with our team.”
Wade Durbin returns for West Greene after reaching the Southwestern Regional tournament last season. The senior is tentatively scheduled to start at 160.
“Wade is more of a leader by example, but he does get the guys going in the wrestling room,” Hughes said.
Other returners with varsity experience that will start for Hughes are Matt Johnston, who wrestled at 145 last season, and Cody Jacobs, who will take full advantage of the new changes in weight classes and wrestle at 195. Both Johnston and Jacobs are juniors.
Senior Jordan Gifford is eyeing either 145 or 152 after battling injuries during his sophomore and junior years.
“In terms of the new weights, I think they could have added more in the middle,” Hughes said. “It’s just tough to go against a team when you already forfeit four or five weights.”
The numbers are up from last year’s team, but some of those wrestlers will go back to the junior high program as ninth graders. Hughes also noted that offseason conditioning had a decent turnout.
“We always have a nice turnout for the offseason workouts,” Hughes said. “It’s not mandatory, so it’s good to see some interest. We want the guys to stay for the whole season.”
The Pioneers will once again compete in Section 2-AA with the likes of Jefferson-Morgan, Southmoreland, Mount Pleasant and Yough. The Pioneers open their season Friday, Dec. 9, at Waynesburg Central.
West Greene will wrestle in the Brooke tournament, the Southmoreland Christmas tournament and the Tri-County tournament.
Hughes is eager to see how his wrestlers fare at Tri-County, which features teams from Fayette, Greene and Washington.
“The Tri-County is a pretty solid tournament,” Hughes said. “It is a real good indicator of where you are at. If you do well there, you have a pretty good shot at the post-season tournaments.”