Marianna Wrestling Competes at Wakulla Tournament-Dec. 11, 2008

By Ron Thoreson
The Marianna Wrestling Team traveled to Wakulla High School on December 6 to compete against teams from all over the Southeast. During a successful day, the wrestlers experienced some landmark moments for the season, even with two wrestlers, Josh Kornegay and Jacob Kornegay, sidelined with illness and injuries.
In a never-before-seen match in the panhandle, Junior Allison Hutton wrestled another female wrestler from Lincoln High School at 112 lbs. The match had the entire crowd’s attention. "No one can remember another match in our area that had two female wrestlers," commented volunteer coach Ron Thoreson. "It really shows how wrestling is growing in popularity."
At 152 lbs, Chris Rogers had strong competition from wrestlers from Camden High School, and made an impressive showing. Also at 152 lbs, Junior Scotty Adkins added to his winning record by beating two opponents, one by decision and one by pinfall. Another Junior at 160 lbs., Brandon Robinson was undefeated for the day, pinning one of his opponents with a takedown that elicited cheers from the audience.
Dalton Hendrix, a Freshman at 171 lbs., scored a surprise defensive pin against his opponent from Rickards High School. "I was winning on points anyway," commented Hendrix. Also at 171 lbs., Freshman Ren Stewart also pinned his opponent and increased his number of wins thus far to 4, showing his technical prowess. Another win came from Alex Winskey at 189 lbs. Despite strong opposition, Alex finished with a pin.
At his first tournament, Dylan Reed competed at 215 lbs., and showed his potential when he broke a cradling move by his opponent which usually results in a pin. Senior Sean Small again went undefeated in the heavyweight division, having a pin and winning a technical pinfall against a strong opponent from Rickards High School, in a match that had the crowd’s attention.
"Our wrestlers are improving with each tournament," commented Head Coach Adam Gray. "We are having some great matches and gaining recognition in our district. That’s a great accomplishment for us." "I fully expect some of our kids to advance to at least regionals this year, if not the state level," stated volunteer coach Ron Thoreson. "For such a young team, they are really advancing quickly."
The wrestling team next hosts Bozeman High School in a dual tournament at the Marianna High School gym on December 11. Wrestling starts at 6 pm. Everyone is encouraged to come and support the wrestlers.