Pulaski County High School wrestlers have taken the mat to begin their 2022-23 season, kicking things off with a quad match that featured the Cougars, Rural Retreat, Salem and Glenvar.
“We started off the season facing off against three of the toughest teams in our area on purpose,” Cougar Head Coach Bobby Alger said. “I mean how else do you get good and also evaluate yourself other than facing the type of wrestlers that are going to push you? These are the type of wrestlers that we ourselves would like to become.”
The night started with the Cougars facing Rural Retreat. One problem the Cougars have faced for a lot of years is a lack of wrestlers, which results in other teams getting points by forfeit. That was the case as the Cougars fell 57-18 to Rural Retreat. Individually, Molly Keller earned a win by pinfall over Hunter Pennington and Evan Alger pinned Grayson Irvin.
Next up for the Cougars were the Salem Spartans. The Cougars fell in that matchup 66-15. Three Cougars earned points for Pulaski County. Nicholaus Golden won a 5-1 decision over Caden Thomas. Alger pinned Linkin Callahan. Xavier Ramsey pinned Braden Armes.
The final matchup of the night for the Cougars was against Glenvar. The Cougars dropped that match by a score of 54-30. Austin McNeil earned a pinfall win over Kennerly Nichols. Keller earned her second pinfall win of the night with a win over Damien Weddle. Alger earned a pinfall win over Wesley Heltzel. Jeffrey Eubanks pinned Jakob Palmer. Golden earned a pinfall win over Jacob Campbell.
“We got some wins we didn't expect, and dropped some matches that I feel we should have won,” Coach Alger said. “I have good leadership in the room in Captains Evan Alger and Gavin Warner, along with fellow seniors Nicholaus Golden and Molly Keller, all returning from successful junior seasons and postseason competition. I also get excellent help in the room from Coach ‘Coupe’ and Coach Butler, so I am confident we can make great improvement as the season goes on.”
While the Cougars did send several wrestlers to the state meet last season, Alger stated that he wants to continue building the program to have a shot at earning more team wins as well.
“We're young again, if not in age, then in experience, so that hurts a little,” he said. “What hurts the most though is not being able to fill all weight classes which results in four forfeits per event. That's a lot of points to give up.”
The Cougars were scheduled to be back in action Saturday, with a road trip to Tennessee High School in Bristol. Friday, December 9, the team will travel to Harrisonburg High School for a tournament.