Sparta
White County's wrestling team is in just its third season as an official high school sport, and in the first couple of meets of the season the team has already recorded seven pins.
Darrin Caudle, Hayden Guerrieri and Austin Myers all collected pins last Monday night. On the girls’ team, Monika García has started the season hot, collecting two pins on Monday and then another two at the I-40 Girls Tourney at Stone Memorial on Friday night.
“Monika was so close to the top last year but just couldn’t crack into the winner’s circle. Now she’s already won two matches this season. It’s great to see the progress she is making,” White County head coach David Foster said. “And, for Austin, he got a pin in his first match ever. He’s got a good future in this sport.”
Foster said he knows the sport is new to White County and that the team is coming in with very little experience. However, after three years at the head of the Warrior wrestling program, he can see progress.
“We had two guys make sectionals the first year. Last year we had another one and had a couple more get close,” Foster said. “We would like to have some more guys make sectionals this year. Having our first state qualifier would be super on an individual level. As a team, I just want to see us improve on last year’s placement in the Region Dual Tournament at the end of January.”
On another level, Foster said he is encouraged by the number of wrestlers returning this season. He hopes their experience will be something they can use to help build the program. Foster would like to see third-year wrestlers encouraging and mentoring those in their first season. Additionally, the White County coach is excited about the number of wrestlers, 30, in the program.
“If interest keeps growing, maybe we can have a middle school team and eventually a youth level team, so experience is being built from a young age,” Foster said. “That is where other, bigger programs are ahead of us”
White County Wrestling will host a home match against Cookeville on Jan. 6.
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