Titan Classic boosts youthful team's confidence

With few feeder programs in the area for varsity wrestling teams, a team hopes to either have a lot of experienced wrestlers on the squad or to get a lot of mat time for those who are new to the sport.

Cosby is gearing up for the latter option this season. Two early-season tournaments have helped them toward that end, and a tournament held on their home mats over the weekend certainly helped boost the team’s confidence.

The Titans hosted 12 schools in the annual Titan Classic and placed eight wrestlers in final matches. Cosby finished second with 188.5 points.

“We have a fairly young team with a lot of kids that are first-year varsity wrestlers,” Cosby coach Mike Stefanko said. “When we went to Hopewell last week, they got an eye-opener as far as what varsity wrestling is. That was an extremely tough tournament … [This tournament] gives them an opportunity to apply what they learned last week and have a little bit of success.”

In the 152-pound weight class, Cosby’s Ethan Precourt faced off against Robert E. Lee’s Tyler Bender for the championship. Starting in the down position, Precourt found himself locked in a half nelson. As Bender tried to flip him onto his back, Precourt made a quick, heads-up move to get his feet under him and keep his shoulders off the mat to avoid the pin. Bender scored a take-down in the maneuver for a 2-0 edge.

Bender opened a 4-0 lead on another take-down in the second period, but Precourt got on the board with an escape. Bender took a 6-1 lead heading into the third period and scored a 9-1 major decision with a near fall in the final two minutes.

Cosby’s only first-place finish came in the 171-pound weight class. Junior Austin Coburn secured his 100th career victory, pinning Marion’s James Osbourne in one minute and five seconds.

Coburn had put five points on the board with a take-down and a near fall.

“It’s been a good day,” Coburn said with a grin. “It’s our second tournament … This one was a good one to have early in the season and get some guys’ confidence levels up.”

Coburn predicts that his toughest competition is yet to come though and was also using Saturday’s tournament as a warm-up for the rest of the season.

“I feel like I need to keep working on my neutral position and my shots,” he admitted. “Regionals and states is where my end goal is.”

Medalists for Cosby in the Titan Classic included Coburn in first; Jonathan Furey (112-pounds), Blake Cooksey (130 pounds), Christian Evers (135 pounds) and Precourt in second; Matt Metzger (119 pounds), Matt Bridgewater (145 pounds) and Nathan Evers (152 pounds) in third; and Ryan Taylor (275 pounds) in fourth.

“Most of my kids start [wrestling] as ninth graders,” Stefanko said. “Every time they get to step on the mat, they have the opportunity to get better and better … and you get to see them improve match after match after match. That’s why we’re excited [about today’s results].”