Scotties off to slow start
The Southmoreland High School wrestling team got off to somewhat of a slow start in the 2015-16 season.
The Scotties were without four members of their team as the season got underway, one because of eligibility issues, the other three because of injuries.
“I honestly thought we had a chance to be a top-five team,” veteran coach Ryan Shaw. “We have seven pretty good wrestlers in our lineup and with the others we counted on, it might have been pretty good. We’re still in a pretty good position, I think.”
That group is led by 120-pounder Tyler Griffiths, who finished eighth at states last year and 285-pounder Jake Beistel, who was a runner-up to Burrell’s Al Beattie in Hershey. Griffiths is a sophomore and Beistel a senior.
Senior Cole Lambie missed the first few weeks of the season with eligibility issues, but will be back at either 106 or 113 when the Scotties host the Southmoreland Tournament on Dec. 29-30.
Shaw expects to get solid contributions from guys like Anthony Wise (126), Jake Virgin (138), Evan Myers (152) and Jaden Datz (160).
“Even with being down the three guys who are out for the year with injuries or chose not to stay on the team, I still feel we can be competitive with every other team in the section,” Shaw said. “Take a team like Mount Pleasant, they’re pretty good from 113-120-126-132. We’re pretty good through there as well, so you go in thinking you’re not going to be giving up bonus points there. I think we’re sitting in a pretty good place.”
With an eye toward the latter part of the season, Shaw made a decision prior to last week’s dual meet against Derry. He decided whenever possible he was going to match his best wrestlers against Derry’s best.
“I wanted to see where my guys were at this point of the season and there was no better way in my mind to do that than against good competition,” Shaw said.
That meant Griffith went up against the Trojans’ strong 120-pounder, Shawn Broadway, and Shaw was very pleased when Griffiths won, 15-4.
Virgin went up against state placewinner Stone Kepple and was pinned in 1:55. And Myers was paired against two-time PIAA champion, Micky Phillippi, a match that was very close with Phillippi winning, 8-5.
“Evan took Phillippi down, which rarely happens,” Shaw said. “He was tied with him 3-3 going into the final period. Wrestling matches like that not only tells you where you are but where you need to go. The bottom line is we’re trying to prepare our kids for the postseason.”
Shaw points to busy summers as a reason for improvements he’s seen in Griffiths, Myers and Beistel.
“Those three trained hard during the summer,” he said. “Griffiths and Beistel wrestled somewhere in the area of 50 matches and Myers wrestled over 25. And you can see how that has helped them. Tyler has really busted his butt, he’s bigger, stronger and is doing a lot of things well. Myers is one of those “let’s do it” kids. He wants the best kid all the time. Beistel obviously has the experience and has gotten better from the technical side. They’re showing the other kids what hard work can accomplish.”
Further evidence as to the quality of wrestlers Shaw has on his team was shown at the North Coast Wrestling Tournament in Ohio. In a field of 35 teams, the Scotties finished sixth.
“I learned about that tournament several years ago and it’s a good event,” Shaw said. “The kids get a minimum six matches and a maximum of 10. It’s a good weekend for them because of the experience they get and the competition they face.”