By Duncan Nixon
Correspondent
The Fluco wrestling team scored two wins at home on Jan. 11. Teams from Monticello High, Western Albemarle and Charlottesville came to Fluvanna for the meet. Coach Craig Conner’s squad took on Monticello and Charlottesville but did not wrestle Western Albemarle. All four schools are in the Jefferson District.
According to Wikipedia, high school wrestling, also known as scholastic wrestling, is the eighth most popular high school sport in the United States. It is an overwhelmingly boys sport, but some high school girls do compete. There were several girls on the mat at this meet. Naturally, wrestlers compete by weight class. The National Wrestling Coaches Association recognizes 14 weight classes for high school competitions ranging from 106 lbs. to 285 lbs.
In their first match, the Flucos dominated Monticello, winning by an amazingly overwhelming score of 66-6. In match after match, starting from a standing start, the Fluco wrestler scored a take-down and fall, or pin. In most of these matches the pin was achieved in the first period. Each fall is worth six points in the team score, while a win on points is only worth three points for the winning team. Forfeits, which usually occur when one team does not have a wrestler in a particular weight class, are also worth six points.
In their second match of the night the Flucos wrestled against Charlottesville, while Monticello went up against Western Albemarle on the adjoining mat. Charlottesville put up a fight. The final score was 42-36. That means that if a single pin by a Fluco wrestler had been a pin by the Charlottesville wrestler instead, the team score would have been reversed.
Conner said that some of his most successful wrestlers this season have been junior Sam Stolz at 170 lbs., who has only lost once this year; junior David Alexander Olivia at 157 lbs., sophomore Ryan Perez at 120 lbs. and his only senior on a roster of 24, Aiden Valentine at 138 lbs. Valentine was honored before the match for four seasons of successful wrestling for the Flucos. It looks like the future is promising for the Flucos, as Conner’s roster includes eight freshman and six sophomores.
The Jefferson District Tournament is scheduled for Feb. 1 at Monticello High. The Region tournament will be held at Turner Ashby High on Feb. 11. Conner said that he will definitely have some wrestlers moving on to the Region tourney.
