With wrestlers from more states than just West Virginia competing, Greenbrier East’s Kaden Stone showed out at the WSAZ invitational in Huntington on Saturday, Jan. 27 with a 3rd place finish.
Coach Davis Solak spoke about his standout sophomore.
“Kaden wrestled really well. He is starting to pick up more and more pace every week. I think he will finish the year really strong. Some people even think the WSAZ tournament is the toughest tournament in the state. Kaden showcased all of his talents and finished that tournament really strong. He currently is ranked second in the state, and he is living up to the hype,” Solak said.
But Solak did not stop there. He believes that Stone may have put the Spartan program of the proverbial ‘regional map.’
“He was in a bracket with 64 people. Wrestlers he beat were ranked in AA/A, AAA, some wrestlers from Virginia, Ohio, and New Jersey. It was a huge accomplishment for him and our program,” Solak added.
Meanwhile, there is a pretty big wrestling tournament this weekend and Greenbrier /county will host it at the state fairgrounds. The State Duals tourney will be this Friday and Saturday, Feb. 2 and 3, and the coach does not want to overplay the hype, but admits it is a pretty big deal to be a part of it.
“First of all, it is a huge achievement to be recognized and qualify for the tournament,” Solak stated.
“However, we are hoping that we can have a great showing. The tournament will be live streamed nationally so we will have a lot of eyes watching. I am wanting our guys and girls to wrestle well and continue to grow to achieve our main goal finishing well regionals and states. With that said, I still want us to finish high at the WV State Dual Meet. We have a few tricks up our sleeve, hopefully we can capitalize with that,” Solak hinted.
With arguably the toughest opponent looming over the Spartans in their opening match, Solak just wants his team to take it all in and relish the opportunity that will be presented in front of them.
“Our thought process for the state duals tournament is to take it one match at a time. We are not trying to put too much thought into the state rankings, and we are trying to wrestle with our best foot forward. With that said, we open the tournament with University High School, and they are currently ranked 1st in AAA for the coaches’ polls.
The bracket for the weekend looks like this:
A/AA
Top:
C1 Fairmont Senior
R3 Greenbrier West
C2 Braxton County
R4 Williamstown
Bottom:
C3 Herbert Hoover
R1 Oak Glen
C4 Point Pleasant
R2 Roane County
AAA:
Top:
C1 University
R3 Greenbrier East
C2 Spring Mills
R4 Ripley
Bottom:
C3 Woodrow Wilson
R1 Wheeling Park
C4 Parkersburg South
R2 Musselman
Round One will begin at noon in the West Virginia Building on both Friday and Saturday.
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