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At first blush, the viewer might be forgiven for thinking 16-1 to be one-sided, and at a cursory level, of course, it is. Let's set the stage (mat?) properly, though, and then give the match some second thought. Prior to this match, Zachary (112 lbs) had appeared in two varsity contests: one at 119 pounds in the first meet of the season against an experienced junior, in which he was pinned in the first round, and one at 112 pounds mid-season against another freshman, in which he earned a pin. Fast-forward to February 5th and the Central Section dual team tournament. Sure, the regular season is important, and sure, for Wayland Wrestling ("Coaching - Conditioning - Heart"), there's no such thing as a "throwaway" match. But tournament time steps it up a notch. By the time that Zachary's match rolled around, #1 seed Wayland had already clinched the contest against #8 Hudson, so the pressure was arguably off. When you're on the mat, though, it's a zero sum game with nowhere to hide. And losing hurts. Sometimes literally. Zachary shook hands with his junior opponent and began to wrestle. He found himself on his back several times against the more experienced Hawk. But he didn't stay there when a lot of young wrestlers might have. No, he fought back to his stomach and kept the match alive. There's no shame in getting pinned. But there's a real moral victory in extending a match when the kid on the other side of the circle's simply better than you are. More importantly, having the confidence and respect of the coaches to put a freshman on the tournament mat in the first place speaks volumes for the quality of the season as a whole. |