'The kids came out and wrestled well': Ashland thrashes New Philadelphia behind seven pins
ASHLAND — Ashland’s wrestling team was supposed to host New Philadelphia at Arrow Arena, but the power was out at Ashland High School, so the dual was moved to Reagan Elementary.
The last-minute venue change didn’t have much effect on the Arrows, who won seven matches via pin in a dominating 59-18 nonleague win over the Quakers on Wednesday.
“The kids came out and wrestled well,” Ashland coach Sean Seder said. “It was an interesting start to the night with moving [venues] and all of that, so getting their minds right to where they needed to be [was important].
“The biggest thing tonight was we wanted to come out and improve on the little things and try to get better every day and every week. Most of the kids did that.”
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Ashland’s Korbyn Jones (120 pounds), Griffin Adkins (138), John Metzger (157), Angelo Seitz (165), Hayden Flynn (175), Braylen Hider (190) and Cayden Spotts (215) all pinned their opponents. Milan Parobek won via technical fall (16-1) at 132 for the Arrows, who picked up two other victories by forfeit.
“I would have liked more of the matches to go to the second or third period so we could work a little bit more, but it’s one of those things where if you get a chance to pin a kid, you put them away,” Seder said.
All of Ashland’s wrestlers have different things they’re working on right now. For some, it’s their takedowns. For others, it’s their top game.
Midweek duals are an opportunity for them to work on those things in a live match instead of in the wrestling room against their teammates.
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“At this point, each individual guy knows what he needs to work on, so we wanted to see that tonight,” Seder said.
Ashland has done well in duals in recent years, and this season hasn’t been any different.
The Arrows qualified for the Ohio High School Wrestling Coaches Association Division II Dual Meet State Championships, which will take place Feb. 12 at Louisville High School. They finished third at last year’s state duals, and they’re hoping for a similar performance this season.
Getting — and then staying — healthy is Ashland’s main focus over the next few weeks leading up to the championships.
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“If we can get everybody healthy, I think we’ll be [in good shape],” Seder said. “As far as technique and what we’re working on, I think we’re pretty good there. It’s more or less about keeping everybody healthy.
“Once we get to state duals, there’s no bad teams there, so you have to have your guys ready to rock and roll.”
Reach Chris at csnow@times-gazette.com
On Twitter: CSnow_TG
This article originally appeared on Ashland Times Gazette: Ashland wrestling crushes New Philadelphia behind seven pins
