Printer-Friendly
Email this Story
Post a Comment (0)
Four Panthers make regionals
STRASBURG – The Panthers will send four grapplers on to this weekend's Region B Wrestling Tournament after each placed in the top-four at last weekend's Bull Run District Tournament.
Heavyweight Jeremy Diley, 152-pound Aiden Demoli, 112-pound Cody Casey, and 103-pound Dan Clement all punched tickets to Friday and Saturday's Region B meet.
"There are still things we need to improve upon, but overall, I was pleased with our effort," first-year coach Patrick Stroup said. "We're looking forward to regionals. We need to take the lessons we learned this week and try to get better."
Jeremy Diley led the Panthers charge with a second place finish. Diley blew through the first two rounds of the tournament to reach the finals. But in the finals, he ran into Manassas Park's Austin Wren, the top 285-pounder in the state. Diley was pinned in the second round, but still walked away with a silver medal.
"All season long, Jeremy has done what he's needed to do," Stroup said. "He's one of our upper classman and he showed his maturity last weekend."
Demoli, Casey, and Clement each won a pair of matches on Saturday, before losing in the consolation finals to finish fourth.
Moving four of six wrestlers onto the regional tournament is a big accomplishment for RCHS.
"Getting four guys to move on is something we were hoping for," Stroup said. "Two-thirds of our team is regional bound."
As for what to expect at the region tournament, Stroup likes Diley's chances.
'We're young and inexperienced, so we haven't seen this type of competition before," Stroup said. "Realistically, I think Jeremy could make it to states. The competition's going to be tougher, but if he wrestles to his ability, he's got a good shot."
You must be logged in to post a comment.