On February 1, Pride wrestling kicked off its postseason at Enloe High School for the always tough Cap-7 Tournament. With the regular season behind them, this would be the first real test for the Pride.
After a hard fought day of competition, Leesville found themselves with five champions, eight finalists, and ten placers out of the eleven wrestlers they brought to the tournament.
The Pride’s own Nigel Gibson and Ryan Koble both placed fourth, narrowly losing their final matchups of the day against undeniably tough opponents. Both wrestlers are relatively new to the sport, and this achievement speaks lengths to their hard work and dedication on and off the mat.
Nathan Henshall, Andrew Cash, and Aydan Gwizdalla all finished as runner-ups in the conference, dropping their finals matchups to the best in the area. For all three of these wrestlers, this is only their second year on the starting lineup, so making a conference finals is huge. While it may have been Cash’s final match of his high school career, Henshall and Gwizdalla both have much more to offer in the coming years of their careers.
Richie Rizzuto, Max Buico, Tucker Jessup, Andrew Doss, and Jacob Polansky all kicked off their post season with a conference title. None of these five are strangers to topping the conference, as they are all repeat champs. For Polansky, Rizzuto, and Buico, it was bittersweet to wrestle in the conference tournament for the very last time of their careers.
With the Cap 7 behind them, the Pride looks to keep dominating in the postseason.
“We’ve got playoffs this week, regionals next week, and states the week after that,” said Buico. “That’s the ultimate goal–states.” Leesville faces Corinth Holders in the first round of playoffs on February 4.
We eagerly await to see if the Pride can stick the landing.
